|
Monday, October 22, 2007, #201 (1468)
The government began distributing utilities vouchers last week to pensioners, teachers and Georgia’s “socially vulnerable.” President Mikheil Saakashvili admits that 63 percent of Georgians can be considered poor, according to the newspaper Rezonansi. Around 800 000 pensioners, 70 000 teachers and 1.2 million socially vulnerable citizens will receive the one-off assistance payments, according to the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Davit Tkeshelashvili. The GEL 100 payments will be given as natural gas and electricity vouchers, or solely as electricity vouchers for village residents without natural gas. Families in villages will also get 50 kilograms of flour. Opposition politicians suggest that around 3 million Georgians, out of a total population of 4–5 million, require government assistance, and that the country’s situation is only going to get worse under current policies. Tkeshelashvili, however, commented that it should not be assumed that people receiving government assistance are living below the poverty line. Just 330 000 Georgians can be considered to be living below the poverty line, he said, according to Rezonansi. |
As government aid program begins, debate over how many Georgians need assistance