Kakha Kaladze – About everything: the City Hall is to blame, Kakha Kaladze is to blame — is that fair? There is legislation, there are rules - Neither I nor my teammates are the kind of people who storm into families' homes with special forces and drag them out

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze stated that neither he nor his teammates are the kind of people who would forcibly evict residents of dilapidated buildings from their private property.

Speaking to journalists about the incident that occurred yesterday at the “Station Square” area, Kaladze explained that the municipality’s approach is to provide citizens with the opportunity to participate in a project aimed at replacing dilapidated buildings with new ones.

“Is everything the fault of the municipality, the fault of Kakha Kaladze? Is that fair? When it comes to responsibility, everything—good or bad—that happens in the city is the responsibility of all of us. But it’s wrong that you constantly politicize and speculate, claiming that Kakha Kaladze and the municipality are to blame whenever unfortunate incidents occur. There is legislation, there are rules. Neither I nor my teammates are the kind of people who would storm families with special forces and evict them, as happened in the case of Tabukashvili Street. That is not the right approach. We are building a modern state, where we tell people: we are giving you the opportunity to use this program and, instead of living in dilapidated, crumbling houses, you will receive new apartments. We take responsibility for this; the municipality stands as a guarantor, and we’re not talking about investors here. I understand the population—some people express concerns and fears that someone might fail to build these buildings. There’s a basis for this fear. For 30 years, there have been unresolved issues—some investor would come, start work, and countless people have been left ‘abandoned.’ We are the people who have completely resolved this issue—we started the process of completing decades-long unfinished constructions, and that’s why people have these fears. But here, it’s not about an investor, is it? The municipality stands as a guarantor and is responsible for ensuring that these buildings are constructed, and these people are given the opportunity to live in normal conditions,” Kaladze stated.

Regarding the question about the offer made by the municipality to the local residents, the mayor noted that it specifically involved participation in the replacement program.

“We offered these people the opportunity to participate in the replacement program, which is documented. I can show you the documents. We told them that the municipality is ready to facilitate the evacuation and demolition of the mentioned building and the construction of new housing. All of this is documented, with the signatures of the residents living there. If I’m not mistaken, only two people agreed to move out and be provided with rent, and they are currently covered for rent. Let’s talk about this reality. Fine, you may have a slightly different attitude toward me as a politician because you have your own political interests, but is it acceptable to constantly spread lies and false information? Years will pass, I won’t be mayor, there will be other governments, other mayors of the city, but these problems will still exist, won’t they? If we don’t communicate these problems properly and don’t give them fair assessments, we will always face them,” Kaladze stated.