PM Garibashvili visits remote Racha region, meets locals
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Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has met locals from one of the country’s most remote regions – Racha – and introduced them to a new law that will foster development in the mountain areas.
Today Garibashvili travelled to Utsera, an alpine village in west Georgia’s highland Racha region, in the upper Rioni River valley and edged by the Greater Caucasus Mountains and listened to the problems facing locals.
"No attention has been paid to the mountain areas for years and as a result we now have a very hard situation,” Garibashvili said.
"The mountains are becoming empty; families are leaving their homes and moving to cities, which is a big mistake.”
The PM promised the villagers his Government would address the current problems and make their lives easier, then presented the newly-adopted Mountain Law and told them how this law would benefit them directly.
These benefits included:
- Each family in the country’s mountain regions will receive 100 GEL monthly financial aid from the state for two years following the birth of every newborn child. This financial aid will increase to 200 GEL for every third, fourth and subsequent children.
- Mountain residents will enjoy a non-taxable income if their salary is 6,000 GEL or lower.
- Individuals and legal entities in mountain regions will be exempt from profit tax for 10 years.
- Those who permanently live in a mountain region will be exempt from property tax for any land they own.
- State-funded schools and other educational institutions in mountainous regions will enjoy increased vouchers.
- Doctors in mountain regions will receive a supplemental salary twice as high as the state pension, while nurses will receive a supplemental salary as high as the state pension.
- People living in the mountain regions will enjoy 20 percent higher pensions and social assistance.
- The Government will partially fund heating expenses for the mountain population during winter months.
- Teachers in mountain regions will enjoy a supplemental salary as high as at least 35 percent of their original salary.
- Teachers in mountain regions who participate in programs initiated by the country’s Education Ministry will see their salary increased by 50 percent.
- Those living in mountain regions will get 50 percent of their electricity expenses funded by the Government.
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