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Majority of the population looking for additional income

Many Georgian citizens are finding that their paycheques are not covering basic needs. Rezonansi reports that the majority of Tbilisi residents can buy food and pay taxes on their monthly salaries, but do little else. To make larger purchases, Georgians often save for months.

Residents say this is why they do not refuse additional work at their jobs. Furthermore, many would like to hold second jobs, but there are few of these on offer in the capital.



Tbilisi ranked low on standards of living

Tbilisi is one of the least liveable places in the world, according to a study from ECA International.

According to the survey, out of 400 global cities Georgia's capital ranks 199th. Only a few months ago, Mercer published a similar list, on which Tbilisi placed 214th out of 221.

City Council Vice Chair Jaba Samushia, from the Christian Democrats, was not surprised at Tbilisi's standing, reports Kvela Siakhle.

“Unfortunately, Tbilisi was in... a shameful place. When making rankings, there are several issues considered: healthcare, social and ecological environment, transportation, communications, etc. The foreign experts evaluated and found that there is a very difficult situation in Tbilisi. The media, which is controlled by the government, claims that living standards in Tbilisi are [similar to that] of a European city. But it turns out that the European experts do not agree. This rating reaffirmed that government policy is completely wrong:

You cannot build bridges and have hungry people. We often say that the government’s main concern should not be concerts and fountains, but people,” Samushia remarked.

“The ecological condition of Tbilisi is dramatic, not to mention the polluted air and destroyed green spaces," he continued. "The Mtkvari river is full of rubbish and one can easily solve this problem. There is special equipment to clean the river, but nobody bothers to do. It is a very good idea to construct a new park near Europe Square but is it really the biggest problem for the capital? Communications and many other problems are unsolved and we are building squares".