Press Digest 02.10.2014
Will pensions increase by only 10 GEL from 2015?
We are strongly determined to neutralize the Independent Zone that is fraught with Akhalaia’s adherents and criminal bastards
Mass pillaging in Abkhazia –Georgian residents of the region kept in constant terror
***
Will pensions increase by only 10 GEL from 2015?
"From 2015, the Government is expected to allocate a larger amount of funds for the pensioners. However, the authorities have not yet fixed the date for when they plan to distribute higher pensions to our elderly citizens; neither have they released any further information regarding this subject; however, as the Rezonansi gazette found out pensions in Georgia will most likely increase from September, 2015, by 10 laris only.
“As the budget project has it, within the reforms that are to be passed in 2015-2016, social issues are planned to be refined in our country; pensions and other social benefits are expected to ratchet up in the future. “However, at the Finance Ministry, they have not yet made it clear when pensions will increase. “We are working on this issue now, and we promise you that the pension package will undoubtedly be improved. The date when boosted pensions will be distributed to our citizens will be set later,” says the Finance Ministry. However, the Rezonansi gazette decided to obtain further information regarding this immensely acute issue independently,” says the article.
“After detailed analysis, we have figured out that as much as 1.360 billion GEL has been allocated for our pension fund. This means that next year, the Government will have to allocate 34 million GEL more than the aforementioned sum to finance the pension fund. By increasing financial resources of the pension fund, we plan to increase pensions. Due to the fact that our economic advancement is moving at a snail’s pace, the Government will fail to boost pensions from January 1. That makes us presume that the authorities will employ an already tried method and next year they will increase pensions by 10 GEL,” reads the paper.
“As the Social Service Agency informs, as many as 683 thousand pensioners reside in Georgia today. And if they boost the pensions of all these people by 10 GEL, they will have to deplete the state budget by more than 27 million GEL. Our Government obviously withdraws financial resources from the state budget for social purposes and first of all, for pensions. This is a rather large amount of money which is why they are still seeking additional resources. However, at the same time, 150 or 160 GEL is peanuts which cannot really guarantee a carefree life for the elderly,” writes the author of the article.
“The Georgian Dream Government to which our people have given their vote of confidence without hesitation has only partially delivered the goods by increasing pensions by 150 GEL that is the lowest compensation our people get in Georgia. As specialist maintain, pension expenses substantially depletes our budget annually. Thus, the Government has to pace up the process of passing pension reforms to rectify the existing situation in the immediate future,” concludes the author of the article.
We are strongly determined to neutralize the Independent Zone that is fraught with Akhalaia’s adherents and criminal bastards
"Our organization was founded 2 weeks ago. What we intended to achieve by creating this organization was to crush the National Movement by depriving it of all resources they gain thanks to the Independent Zone members. We are strongly motivated to neutralize this terrible organization that is the embodiment of evil. Really serious facts have been put on the table against it and its members who do not even try to hide their belligerent stance,” announces one of the leaders of “Free Generation”, Lado Sadgobelashvili in his interview with the Alia gazette.
“They wear military outfits, on Facebook they post their photos in which they are armed to the teeth; they undergo different military training courses too. We have kept a close eye on their actions for 5 months and have found out that this body is a military organization, band of terrorists, an organization that is replete with criminals. Among them, you can come across the supervisors of the former “under aged,” who callously tortured the inmates under Akhalaia as well as the latter’s advocate guys that beat us with baseball bats on 30 September. Two weeks ago we urged this organization to hoist a white flag by declaring self-liquidation. With this demand, we gathered outside its office. It’s also worth noting that those at the helm of the Zone urged their adherents to take more active steps in our political arena. Giga Bokeria is said to have bellowed across the office: “you miserable couch-potatoes! For what do you take your salaries?! Reports go that Saakashvili took these people to Sarpi and urged them to give vent to their aggression by directing it against the locals,” maintains Mr. Sadgobelashvili.
“Koba Khabazi is a person who is in charge of the Independent Zone; everyone knows that this is the truth and if this is the truth why do they typecast this organization as an NGO?! They don’t even try to hide that the Nationals are their bosses and they control absolutely everything there. They strain to ensure the entire Europe that the Government is breaching their rights; they want to exhibit themselves as an oppressed and humiliated power. However, the actual fact is that they only pose as victims of violence; actually they themselves provoke the people and counter the police. By doing this, they aim to achieve one sole purpose -- to drive the country into disarray and convince the entire world that the police force refuses to toe the line by trampling on their own people’s rights. I have accumulated really serious information regarding the Independent Zone; I have to keep this information under wraps for a short time though… These people simply want to cause chaos and anarchy in Georgia by arranging another Maidan here. They have simply declared ideological and national war on our Government,” asserts the respondent.
“As for Mr. Davitaia … One of the journalists for the Asaval-Dasavali gazette, Jaba Khubua, has been in contact and asked us to gather outside the “Reporters Office.” We gathered outside the building, where he turned to Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Tchikaidze, and urged him to imprison Mr. Tchkadua who beat Davitaia and who was recognized by the victim instantly. We drafted a letter in terms of this issue to introduce it to the Independent Zone representatives. We had nothing bad in our mind; neither had we guns, bats or some other weapon… However, the members of the Zone posed aggressively and their faces were set in a sulky come-on. One of them even had a knife, while another one was armed with a taser gun; the rest of them threatened us with bats. To cut it short, they chased and beat us; we did not give them any reason to do this,” alleges Mr. Sadgobelashvili.
“We have already submitted special video footage that captured the criminals and can prove their guilt… And before these bastards perpetrate some unspeakable crime, we do call loudly to our authorities to throw these thugs in jail as soon as possible,” concludes the respondent.
Mass pillaging in Abkhazia –Georgian residents of the region kept in constant terror
"Pillaging families and abducting the people … the residents of Gali have issued complaints regarding the increasing crime rate in the region; allegedly, the situation here is incrementally worsening, and the Georgians do stand a strong chance of having to flee the region one day. As the locals maintain, plunder and human trafficking has become rampant. And after the new Government takes up the reigns of the region, the Georgians are expected to find themselves in a more unbearable situation as the new political biggies are likely to bring in new restrictions. The cost of land will also increase, and the residents will presumably be obliged to pay 600 GEL for a hectare of land,” reports the Rezonansi gazette.
“The region is in a state of complete anarchy and chaos; they pillage the families here; they take the people hostage and ask bail for them. They have even stolen 2 or 3 tons of nuts from several families. I don’t know why, but under the former rule, the locals did not face such problems. Our peaceful life ended shortly after the Power changed hands here. Now they intend to increase the cost of land and impose additional taxes on us. They warned us that new regulations would be put in place after the inauguration ceremony. We are clueless regarding whether these new rules will be applicable to Georgian only or to other residents of the regions too,” states one of the residents of the village Otobaia, Irma Salia.
“We want to feel secure and lead a normal, peaceful life. We are kept under a constant terror; we are sure that one day we will also share the looted families’ fate and will be robbed too. Fear has overtopped all other humane feelings here but as we are unable to find a way out from this critical situation, we are forced to live a dog’s life here full of fear and intimidation. We have sounded the alert over this situation; we have sued the criminals; these criminals are still at large though,” claims the resident of the village Gagida, Irma Rogava.
"They abduct our people and urge us to pay a ransom. One of the residents of the village of Otobaia vanished without trace 6 months ago. First the offenders urged his family to send them a ransom in the amount of 30 thousand GEL; then they stopped doing this, and the man, in fact, “disappeared.” 3 or 4 such incidents have already taken place in our village… As for our schools, after tearing up the Georgian textbooks, they simmered their rage down a bit; however, the influence of Russian in our school is still sorely felt and they still want to replace the Georgian language schools with English language ones. Thus, as you yourself see, we have been dragged into a dead-end critical situation and only a miracle can lead us out of it now,” concludes Ms. Rogava.
