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Politically Motivated State Assistance Program for Infants Abolished

December 11, 2008

Gela Mtivlishvili

According to the resolution of the Georgian Authority issued on December, 2008 State Assistance Program for Infants from poor families has been abolished. Before the presidential elections of November 5, 2008 Mikheil Saakashvili promised to assist such kinds of families with grants of 1,000 GEL at the birth of each child. However, this initiative was canceled on December 5.

The amendments were introduced to the resolution of the Georgian government issued back on December 17, 2007. “The family that was registered in data base of socially excluded families and if at the birth of the child or within six months after the birth of the child the family will be granted with the social-economic rating points less than 100, 000, will not receive the allowance after December 5 of 2008,” stated the resolution # 234 of the Georgian government issued on December 3 2008. According to the document, the deadline for program implementation was to be December 31, 2008.

Socially excluded families do not have information about the changes to the state program that was called “honorable start” by President Saakashvili during pre-election campaign. Media sources have not distributed information about this initiative.

“I am expecting a child late in December. I was going to buy necessary items for the child with the 1,000 GEL the state was supposed to allocate me. This government claims everyday on TV that they increase the funds for social programs but in fact the families who really need their assistance cannot get what we expected in the past,” said 38-year-old Lia Arjevanishvili.

Eka Natsvlishvili was also waiting for the promised 1,000 GEL allowance. “Social agents examined our living conditions twice and granted us with 80,000 points. We were not granted with financial or medical assistance. However, the house where we live in is not our property, we are renting it. My husband is disabled person and cannot work. We are bringing up our two minor children with the support of our relatives. I decided to have the third child, in spite of our difficult life. I had expected that the allowance of 1 000 GEL would help us to buy clothes and food for the baby,” she said.

Neither those impoverished families can obtain the1 000 GEL whose children were born before November 2008. This is because of resolution # 234 the Agency for Social Subsidies, and persons were barred being issued allowance cards after December 8 2008, banks were also not allowed to accept cards and give money to socially excluded people after December 15.

According to official statistics a large number of families applied to the agency of social subsidies and requested social assistance but could not get allowance yet. For example, child of Albina Pilavova was born in March of 2008 but because of the delay in obtaining a birth certificate and bureaucratic mechanisms in the agency for social subsidies, Albina Pilavova could apply only now make an application for the allowance of 1 000 GEL. She said that according to her information they could apply for the allowance within one year following the birth of the child.

We at the Human Rights Centre understand, based on our information, that the state program for the children born in impoverished families was canceled based on the draft resolution prepared by the Georgian Ministry of Labor, Healthcare and Social Welfare. In order to find out the real reason for the decision we contacted Sopo Gvalia, head of public relation department within the ministry. Despite many attempts to get access to the requested information from the Ministry, we failed, Gvalia stated that they had ten days time to provide the information but we are still waiting.

Ucha Nanuashvili, executive director of the Human Rights Center assessed the resolution # 234 of the Georgian government as a step backward. “Evidently, this was a program was initiated for gaining votes during pre-election campaign and without sustainability. It might be stated that abolishment of the program will have serious impact on demographic situation and it will worsen the situation. It is one of the most disadvantageous steps of the government,’ said the head of the Human Rights organization.

Pikria Chikhradze, a leader of the New Rights, stated that seizing the minimal assistance from impoverished families equals genocide. “When, during the previous parliament the New Rights initiated a program for the resolution of demographic problems in the country, Mikheil Saakashvili replied to us that the National Movement had more global program for the eradication of this problem. Daily and methodical reduction of social allowances demonstrates the actual attitude of the government towards the demographic problems,” concluded Chikhradze.

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