PM: State Assistance to Citizens Gradual & Fair

"I remember that one time, during a debate in Parliament, a representative of the opposition told me that this was too little, and that the assistance needed to continue. I told him/her I would use precisely his/her advice, and that I would recall his/her advice while announcing this assistance, which is what I am doing now. From the very first day, we maintained that this assistance would be gradual and fair, and we continue to do so. I reiterate that this is the 3^rd stage. Believe me, unfortunately, the situation is developing in such a way that there might be a 4^th stage, and it is possible there might even be a 5^th one. What should we do, should we abandon our citizens to face their problems alone during the economic crisis because of someone's criticism? No, of course not," Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated at a briefing held at the Administration of the Government, in response to a journalist's question.

The head of the government once again noted that self-employed persons who failed to meet the requirements related to the appropriate documentation will nonetheless receive 300 GEL in assistance.

"In terms of assistance pertaining to utility bills, this amounts to approximately 200 million GEL; in terms of child assistance, this amounts to approximately 170 million GEL. The truth has some sort of value, does it not? For the past five months, the main blows and criticism concerned how self-employed persons would prove their employment status, suggesting that we had established such strict rules that a large number of the people who had applied would not have been able to receive the assistance. In reality, 250,000 persons really had applied to receive the one-time assistance of 300 GEL to which self-employed persons are entitled. Of them, 170,000 people provided the appropriate proof in terms of documentation and, of course, they received this assistance. The remaining 80,000 who had provided partial proof but whose documentation was imperfect – these are precisely the people who found it difficult to provide proof. Today, we announce that we are closing this program, and since the economic crisis is continuing, we will compensate these 80,000 citizens as well," he stated.