The President of Georgia visited the Chiatura Region today, and travelled to the mountainous village of Khreiti with the Prime Minister and other members of government. Mikheil Saakashvili rode the 18 kilometer road portion in a bus with them and learned about the local problems.

The Head of State also met with the local population and discussed issues that are problematic for them. The residents of Khreiti named the lack of a road, non-functionality of the water system, and the poor condition of public schools, which have not been renovated in years, as the main problems. The President and the Prime Minister of Georgia promised to fix these problems. According to the President of Georgia, Khreiti will become an example of how problems should be handled in mountainous regions.

“I don’t know of any government in the world which travels so much. For example, two members of our government are IDPs. They have lost everything. They know well the hardship of poverty and how tough life is for people who do not have anything. We have Vano Merabishvili, whose story I have told many times. Despite the fact that he excelled at his studies, he was under the threat of being expelled from the technical university twice because his family could not afford it. He grew up in poverty and that’s how he lived. I know this well because I have known him since then. When I met Zurab Adeishviil, he travelled to Tbilisi from Rustavi every day. He had come from the Mtis Dziri Village of the Kvareli Region in Kakheti, and he was renting an apartment in Rustavi because he could not afford one in Tbilisi. Zura was my assistant at the Judiciary Committee back then. Zurab Tchiaberashvili is also from one of the villages of Kakheti, and he worked his way up through poverty. Our government has been formed out of our people, and this is why we understand well the demands of specific people, their problems, and what needs to be done immediately. Today is the first workday of the new government of Georgia. I wanted them to see the existing reality including the harsh situations which we have in many places instead of just sitting in their offices and reading reports, which by the way are dominated by positive assessments and progress. Very good, hard working, ethical and educated people live here. I know this well because I spent a large part of my childhood in upper Imereti. This place was not fixed under any type of government. We did not fly up here by a helicopter. We wanted to travel this road. We brought the members of government on a bus here in order for them to see what road each one of you travels in order to go to Chiatura every day and come back. Many of you work in Chiatura. There is a new hospital there which we are proud of, there is the market and this place has a general door to Chiatura. Look at this school which has not been touched since it was built. We have built a lot of good schools. Some of them are so good that they have no counterparts in Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA –with elevators, glass facades, and the best gymnasiums. However, there are still such schools left that have had no care. Khatia Dekanoidze is the new Minister of Education and Science. It is hard to talk about the education reform being complete while there are such schools still left in Georgia. 8 years have passed since the Rose Revolution. A generation grew up here, and besides the new desks and books, which we started to change 2-3 years ago, they have not felt the betterment. Aside from this, this village is not connected to water. There are a lot of places in Imereti where water cannot reach houses. People should not have to carry water from 2-3 kilometers away. This is how it was 5 centuries ago. This is what I wanted the government to see” – stated the President of Georgia while talking with the local residents.