Protest Demonstrations Replaced Performances

Employees of the Kutaisi Opera and Ballet Theatre have opposed the local government. The reason is 50 000 GEL apportioned to the theatre from the state budget. Present budget for the theatre is the fourth part of the last year one. That money is enough to pay only three-month-salary of the employees.

“Kutaisi Meliton Balanchivadze Opera and Ballet State Theater faces great problems because of the local authority. It is not an accusation; it is a reality that proves how representatives of the government are eager to close down the theatre. The local authority wants to sell the building,” said the employees of the theatre two days ago in their appeal to the Human Rights Center’s Kutaisi office.

Last year, local budget apportioned 200 000GEL to the theatre. This year, 150 000 GEL was cut off because of unpaid bills. The total debt of the theater amounts to 340 000 GEL.

“The theatre has allocated the debt because of the budget was too minimal during previous years and sometimes it could not receive apportioned money either. Case materials include official document to prove the situation. Having done the restructuring of the debts, the theatre could not receive 284 thousand lari. An employee of the theater had a salary of 14 lari and very often they could not receive that money either. Thus our debt amounted to 124 000 GEL. That sum was added with fines and finally it reached 340 000 GEL. If the theatre had received that 284 000 GEL, (it was a transfer) it would not have allocated so large debt. The local authority was to transfer money to the Tax Inspection together with checks,” said Domna Nikabadze, accountant-in-chief of the Kutaisi Opera and Ballet Theatre. According to him, the only solution of the problem is to cancel the debts for the theatre and increase its budget.

The local authority has already made a decision. They are not going to increase the fund of the theatre. “That debt was being allocated during many years. The theatre will not resolve the problem even if we apportion 200 000 GEL to it. Thus we have to think over another solution of the problem,” said Gizo Tavadze, the head of the Cultural Service Department of the Kutaisi City Hall.

Performances have not been staged since the Kutaisi district budget was settled and the budget of the Opera House was reduced. The members of the Theatre Company and singers, together with administration employees, hold demonstrations and arrange official meetings to resolve the problem. They said the authority has doomed 250 people to unemployment and the theatre has declared “Golden Pause.”

“The Kutaisi Mayer has stated it would be a Golden Pause. However we cannot understand the meaning of his words. He might be in a mood of joking. Otherwise, the money they have apportioned to us is not enough the pay our three-month salaries. The opera theatre has ceased functioning. If a musician stops playing and singing, s/he would never manage to do anything valuable in the future. The situation proves that the authority does not need opera and try to prevent us from working. Nino Burdjanadze does not seem to be worried about her native city and her voters. We have petitioned her, however she has not replied to us yet,” said Lia Vardosanidze, a member of the theatre orchestra.

The theatre employees are sure that the Kutaisi Authority does not need the theatre and is ready to sell the building. “We always sent representatives of the local authority invitation cards to our performances; however nobody attended them,” said employees form the theatre.

The performances have been staged through many difficulties recently. Very few of audience knew that half-frozen members of orchestra were playing for them and the actors were terribly cold when they were acting on the stage.

Nowadays, there is no furnace in the theatre and actors are holding demonstrations instead of putting on performances. Their aim is to rescue Kutaisi opera.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi