The President of Georgia appointed Levan Bejashvili as his personal representative in Kakheti. The former Chairman of the Chamber of Control will head the Restoration and Rehabilitation Center of Kakheti. He will lead the task force which aims at eliminating the damage caused by the recent disaster in the region. As Mikheil Saakashvili noted, Levan Bejashvili has extensive experience in managing state funds and it will help him in his new capacity.
“It’s a very brave action from your side to leave a high government post in order to help your native Kakheti Region. It is true that there were no victims, but collapse of this scale has never happened in Georgia. You have great experience in managing and spending state funds in relevant ways and this is very important. The Parliament has allocated a huge sum in order to eliminate the disaster results, but in the end I think it will reach several hundreds of millions. This is why I ask you to become a personal representative of the government and myself, in the Kakheti Region, and lead the task force. The members of government and I will be involved in the process, but we will need you now, and during the vintage season as well” – noted the Head of State while talking to him.
During the meeting with Levan Bejashvili, Mikheil Saakashvili once again discussed the results of the disaster, preliminary data, and already administered works. As Levan Bejashvili explained to the President, approximately 1045 houses and 109 residential buildings have been damaged in Telavi. According to him, the restoration works are currently going on very intensively. As the Head of State noted, the victims need assistance not only in Kakheti but in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samtskhe Javakheti regions as well.
“A construction force of this scale and such a precedent has never happened in Georgia. If this had happened 5-6 years ago we would have nothing left, not to mention in the times of the previous government. I would like to tell the victims that we are increasing the power and we will reach every family soon. I understand that this is not enough relief for those who are expecting help, but everybody will receive compensation as promised. Many other works are being administered in order to ease their lives. We will continue assisting the victims with food packages in the future because we took responsibility to do so in Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Javakheti. We will keep our promise and we won’t leave anyone helpless. People can completely trust us” – stated Mikheil Saakashvili.
According to Mikheil Saakashvili, meetings with people continue, and people approach the situation with understanding. Additionally, according to Levan Bejashvili, the number of construction companies participating in the disaster elimination is increasing every day and the local residents are also valuing the help of the government.
“Of course it would be better if this disaster never happened but in this case I think people have seen that the government is effective and on top of things. This does not mean that we can relax because many people are still without roofs on their houses, and many more have not yet received their compensation. This process must end soon, and we need to have the best vintage from the saved vineyards. We should constantly take good care of Kakheti and adopt new breeds of grapes next year, so that people get a better harvest next year. We should also think about the fact that these loans that we have postponed will need to paid back next year” – stated the President.
The meeting of Mikheil Saakashvili and Levan Bejashvili was held at the government house in Kutaisi.