The President summoned a meeting of the disaster elimination task force, which was attended by members of government. Mikheil Saakashvili expressed interest in the process of the large scale restoration works that have begun in order to eliminate the results of the disaster. The President of Georgia, who has not yet left the devastated region, received a report from members of government. Mikheil Saakashvili also spoke about the new initiatives of government, which envision compensating the affected population that experienced loses.
As the President noted, the government is basically doing an unimaginable thing in order to help the population. According to the Head of State, the people who were the most affected will receive full compensation and the rest will be partially assisted. As for the agricultural loans, by the decision of the government, the deadline for paying the loans will be extended by one year for the affected population and the state will cover the interest.
“I walked the streets of Telavi last night and saw that communication restoration works are actively going on. The cleaning works were to begin in the morning and that’s how it happened. We added reserve officers and the cleaning works will basically finish by the end of the day. It is of course very important to work with banks regarding the loans people have taken. The fact that covering these credits will be postponed until next year is already a good thing. We should all work so that these people are able to pay loans next year. We should all assist them so that they are able to take care of their own agriculture so that these loans do not feel like additional weight for them next year. As for compensations – some people, who had a little land and lost all of the crops, will be compensated completely, but many people will not, of course, be fully compensated. This was practically impossible to do, but for some people it will at least be enough to receive the money back that they invested in crops. This will ease their situation. Under these conditions, when the budget is already distributed and we had to summon an out of order parliament session, the government has achieved something unimaginable in terms of allocating the means. I cannot recall an assistance of this scale, in the recent history of Georgia, during any disasters. This was necessary because we have seen the scale of damage the disaster has caused. We could not have left this place helpless – the families have suffered inconceivable loses. Right now, the most important thing is to finish the rest of the infrastructural works on time. We should take care of not only Kakheti, but all of the regions that the disaster has reached, and help all of them despite the fact that we have seen the most damage here. We are continuing monitoring of the situation consistently. A large part of the government will keep working here during the next several days, and the most important thing is to keep all of the promises that the society has received from us on time, and not to be late even by one hour. All of our efforts and actions must be coordinated within the deadlines we have announced” – stated the President.
The Prime Minister of the country gave him information regarding the amount of compensation. He stated that those who have had 100% damage will get 1300-1500 GEL from the state. Those whose property was damaged by 70-80% will receive 800-1000 GEL, and those whose property was damaged up to 50% will received 300-500 GEL. Vano Merabishvili added that those who have bank loans will have a chance to postpone them by one year, and the state will cover their interests. The population is already receiving an aid package including flour, oil, and sugar. The government of Georgia is also considering the restructuring of agricultural loans.
As for internal communication restoration, according to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the population of Kvareli and Telavi is fully receiving natural gas supply, and the Gurjaani and Telavi regions will fully be supplied by the end of the day.
Alexandre Khetaguri also noted that electricity restoration works are going on intensively. The population is already receiving electricity in the Napareuli area, it will be supplied to Telavi for several hours during the day, works are underway in the Gurjaani Region and it will be fully restored by tomorrow night. According to the Minister, the works will be completed within two days. As he noted, the water problem will also be solved in two days. Before then, the population will receive water in containers.
Mikheil Saakashvili also touched on the issue of taking care of the rest of the crops. On this issue it was explained to the President that chemicals are already being distributed to the farmers, and in case the state cannot help them with technology they will receive diesel fuel.
The restoration works are going on around the clock.