\“You’ve been coming out every day for 6 months talking to us about economic growth, but you can’t reduce the price of eggs, let alone pensions - it’s already been 3 months. That economic growth of yours keeps ending up in one official’s pocket, then another’s,” stated “For Georgia” MP Ketevan Bakaradze during a plenary session of Parliament.

According to her, unfortunately, money cannot be found for children’s medicines, for increasing pensions and social allowances, yet “there is always money to steal for officials.”

“Today, approximately 24% of Georgia’s population are pensioners - elderly people who have a phobia of even entering a pharmacy or a shop. I don’t know if there is any other country where so many pensioners can have bank debts. One could speak endlessly about the challenges faced by pensioners living in Georgia, about elderly people who, instead of a dignified old age, are forced to fight for survival in this country due to social injustice and corrupt deals.

Do you know why I am emphasizing this topic? You were hosting the Prime Minister of Armenia, who presented Armenia’s economic growth figures and then what did he do?! He increased pensions after that economic growth. You’ve been coming out every day for 6 months talking about economic growth, but you can’t reduce the price of eggs, let alone pensions - it’s already been 3 months. That economic growth of yours keeps ending up in one official’s pocket, then another’s.

According to official statistics, 700,000 people receive subsistence allowances. However, as it turned out, due to the collapse of the healthcare system, these figures are artificially inflated, and we are dealing with massive fraud. Hopefully, an investigation will begin in this direction and facts of improper disposal of budget funds will be identified.

Let us return to vulnerable groups - approximately 130,000 people with disabilities are registered in the country. How many of them have access to medicines, quality medical services, basic needs?! Due to the harsh reality of our country, people are literally fighting for survival every day; parents are fighting for the necessary medications to preserve their children’s lives - which is a right guaranteed by law. Since enforcement mechanisms do not exist, they are forced to hold protest actions, spend nights in the rain and snow so that a lethal outcome does not occur - as happened three days ago with the death of a teenager diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Unfortunately, money was not found for children’s medicines, but there is always money for officials to steal! Likewise, no financial resources - or more precisely, no desire - were found to increase pensions and social allowances, despite the fact that you yourselves constantly talk about a flourishing economy and well-being.

Let me remind you that when our political force submitted a bill on establishing a minimum wage threshold, you refused even to discuss it. You cited damage to business and an increase in unemployment as arguments. Let me remind you how many parliamentarians themselves own businesses?

Increasing people’s purchasing power is not relevant, but interesting changes are being introduced to the law on the rights of persons with disabilities, which was supported by 84 deputies in the first reading. The bill, which your Prime Minister Kobakhidze called ‘flawless’ and which was for some reason removed from committee review, is in fact discriminatory.

It contradicts Articles 11, 12, and 17 of the Constitution of Georgia (concerning the restriction of fundamental human rights without justification). It also contradicts several articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities cited in the same bill and its explanatory note (e.g., Article 9 and the commentary to that article concerning accessibility). It is also incompatible with EU Directive 2016/2102.

Society demands explanations: why are you restricting basic rights granted by the Constitution and the Convention to persons with disabilities? What arguments do you have? Is it again sovereignty, public order, protection from foreign influence? Or the deep state conspiracy theory? Or is this yet another in the series of restrictive laws you have been rushing through recently? The public has the feeling that here too your personal and political interests intersect.

It was precisely to strengthen the interests and rights of persons with disabilities that our team proposed a new parliamentary platform, which was deemed excessive bureaucracy and ignored.

Hopefully, in order to avoid further embarrassments, you will treat the initiatives we have proposed with more attention and care,” Bakaradze stated.