Speculation over utility vouchers
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Wednesday, November 19
Changes regarding the utility vouchers are still in progress. The Mayor’s Office has not made any final decision concerning the issue yet, as the vouchers concern Tbilisi’s 2015 budget as well, which is a just a draft now. However, the United National Movement (UNM) believes that the Mayor’s Office is trying to cheat people in terms of vouchers and cut money.
Utility vouchers are given to Tbilisi residents annually and are worth 20 GEL per month, from November to April. Tbilisi residents have already received the November voucher.
According to the UNM statement, Mayor of Tbilisi Davit Narmania’s statement through which the residents of Tbilisi will receive 20 GEL during the first three month of 2015 as utility vouchers is a lie.
“We would once again like to emphasize that in the 2015 draft, the utility voucher funding amount is being reduced by 6,904,500 GEL. That means that each family, except socially vulnerable ones, will receive 10 GEL vouchers in 2015,” reads the statement.
The UNM statement reads that the proof of this fact is the Tbilisi 2015 budget. “The budget clearly states that the utility voucher will be received by 384,126 families and the money allocated for this expense is exactly 19, 206,300 GEL, which is equal to 30 GEL in the first three months of 2015,” reads the statement.
Head of the Revision Commission Nugzar Malaghuradze said that UNM’s accusations are a lie. “The information spread by the UNM is false, I have absolutely different numbers. I also want to say that the 2015 Tbilisi budget is just a draft and some changes might be made,” stated Malaghuradze.
There is one more news with regard to the utility vouchers. According to the Mayor’s Office’s, a special commission will be formed to study the issue. Some families might not get the vouchers in 2016.
“There are many families with solid income and they are not in need of utility vouchers, while there are families who need more support, and that’s why we plan to work on this issue in 2015 and launch a new project from 2016,” reads the statement.
A discussion of Tbilisi’s city budget is planned for November 20.
