Rural Residents to Benefit from New Community Centers

UNDP and the governments of Switzerland and Austria have joined efforts with the Government of Georgia to ensure quality public services for rural communities.

14.000 people will enjoy easier access to public and business services once two new Community Centres open in the regions of Kvemo Kartli and Racha-Lechkhumi & Kvemo Svaneti.

The community centres in the villages of Kachaghani, Marneuli municipality, and Chrebalo, Ambrolauri municipality, will be constructed by the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, with USD 400,000 in assistance from the governments of Switzerland and Austria. The project will be implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Georgia. UNDP and PSDA signed an agreement on the project on 26 February 2019.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing efforts of the Georgian Government aimed at providing better access to public and private services for all citizens of Georgia, including people living in remote mountainous regions, representatives of national and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities,” said Munkhtuya Altangerel, Deputy Head of UNDP in Georgia.

Soso Giorgadze, Chair of the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), stressed that a wide range of services will be available in the new community centres.

“Sixty-four centres have been serving rural communities all over Georgia since 2012,” Soso Giorgadze said. “The new sites in the Ambrolauri and Marneuli municipalities will open in 2020, offering up to 14 thousand residents easy access to 200 public and private services, a modern library and a fully equipped conference room to be used for civic engagement events. They will also provide office premises to local representatives of the municipalities’ mayors.”

Assistance to the Government of Georgia in establishing new community centres in rural areas is part of the wider support to regional and local development provided by UNDP and the governments of Switzerland and Austria. Since 2013, UNDP, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) have been working closely with the national and local authorities, civil society organizations and local communities to help promote local self-governance, increase citizen engagement in decision-making and assist local economic development.

Photo Source: UNDP