CAC Improves Social Assistance Services for Vulnerable Populations in Mtskheta-Mtianeti

116 year-old Eter Bedoshvili moved from Dusheti to Rustavi to live with her daughter a year ago. After moving, she was removed from the government’s list of socially vulnerable citizens and stopped receiving social assistance payments. She now lives in harsh conditions with four members of her family in a room of an old kindergarten. Eter’s story is typical of those the Civic Activities Center (CAC) is advocating for in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region.

In February 2012, the CAC, in cooperation of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Center, started implementing its project to assist socially vulnerable people in-cluding large families, people living alone, and those with special needs.
“We provide consultations and technical assistance to families living below the poverty line in Mtskheta-Mtianeti to help these people to apply to the State Program to Eradicate Poverty to get social allowances,” said Ekaterine Pirtskhalava, the project director.

116 წლის ეთერ ბედოშვილს მას შემდეგ შეუწყდა სოციალური დახმარება, რაც ის თავის ქალიშვილთან გადავიდა საცხოვრებლად. ორგანიზაცია CAC ეთერის მსგავს ბევრ ადამიანს დაეხმარა მათთვის კუთვნილი სახელწმიფო დახმარების მიღებაში. /116 year-old Eter Bedoshvili stopped receiving social assistance payments when she moved in with her daughter. CAC helped people like Eter receive the benefits they are entitled to under the law.

CAC began by conducting field visits to those in need and collecting relevant information and documentation for the Social Service Agency. At the same time, reporters from the Mtskheta-Mtianeti Information Centre prepared several re-ports and articles to publicize the problems of socially vulnerable people in the region. In addition, the CAC developed recommendations to improve the imple-mentation of the State Program to Eradicate Poverty.

Over the course of the project, CAC provided consultations and technical as-sistance to 16 households (31 people). As a result of their efforts, three families were added to the state assistance list, three more families received medical insurance packages, and one family started receiving the monthly benefits that they had not been receiving. Additionally, 29 families received legal assistance. CAC’s work also revealed violations of beneficiary rights, which led to the firing of the Head of the Dusheti Region Social Service Agency. For more information about the project, visit http://www.icmm.ge.

EWMI G-PAC funded CAC’s project through the Citizens’ Advocacy Grants Program. EWMI G-PAC also assisted CAC by providing a mentor, Dimitri Gugushvili, an expert on disadvantaged populations in Georgia. Mr. Gugushvili helped CAC with project planning, establishing partnerships with other Geor-gian CSOs working on the same issue, and fundraising strategies.

Ozurgeti CSO Raises Capacity in Strategic Community Planning

Local government budgets are often based on short-term annual cycles, which poses a challenge to addressing long-term community needs. To improve the ef-fectiveness of public services in addressing these needs, the Ozurgeti Young Scientists Club (OYSC) worked with local government institutions in Lanchkhuti and Ozurgeti to improve long-term planning strategies.

According to Mindia Salukhvadze, the Head of OYSC, connecting annual budg-ets to a long-term plan is vitally important for meeting community needs. “Long-term strategic development plans are required which would give them oppor-tunity to spend their money more effectively,” Ms. Salukhvadze said.

„ოზურგეთის ახალგაზრდა მეცნიერთა კლუბი“ საჯარო მოხელეებს ადგილობრივი მმართველობის პროცესებში მოქალაქეთა მონაწილეობის შესახებ ტრენინგს უტარებს/The Ozurgeti Young Scientists Club conducts a training for public managers on citizen participation in local government.

OYSC targeted the managers of pre-schools, museums, departments of public works (including parks maintenance and street lighting), the Local Tourism Cen-ter, and the Agro-business Center to increase the transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of these institutions.

OYSC identified these particular institutions because together they constitute approximately one-third of the annual budgets in Ozurgeti and Lanchkhuti.

Through advocacy efforts that included teaming with other local CSOs and conducting public awareness campaigns in the media, OYSC succeeded in devel-oping official partnerships with six government institutions in Lanchkhuti and Ozurgeti.
OYCS held group consultations and trainings about citizen participation in pub-lic planning with these institutions, and worked with them to develop long-term strategic plans to guide annual budgets. The Lanchkhuti and Ozurgeti local councils later approved these strategic plans.

The project improved local government capacity in strategic planning and public management, and improved local government cooperation with local CSOs. OYSC and local government officials have an official agreement to develop simi-lar plans for six other government institutions in the coming year.

EWMI G-PAC funded OYSC’s project through the Citizens’ Advocacy Grant Program.

Union Links Citizens with MPs in Ozurgeti

In Guria region citizens are working to hold their elected officials accountable. The legislation on local self-governance obliges local Members of Parliament (MPs) and village representatives to meet their respective communities regularly and to report to citizens regarding ongoing and planned activities. The timeline of such meetings is also determined by the legislation. However, citizens have not been informed about their rights to meet decision-makers. Consequently such meetings have not taken place.

The Union for Democratic Development of Georgia (UDDG) is working in five villages of Ozurgeti Municipality in Guria region to establish this direct contact between local communities and officials.

UDDG obtained the approved timeline of these meetings from Sakrebulo (the local representative body) and publicized this information widely. Citizens in five villages have signed a petition requesting the local government to organize a general meeting with citizens.

UDDG representatives inform citizens about their rights to meet with village representatives.

“This is our chance to talk about the most pressing village problems with local government,” a woman said during a meeting in Jumati village, as UDDG collected signatures for the petition. “Such meetings should become a tradition because villagers must know what the government thinks and the government should know what people think,” she continued.

Indeed, citizens’ advocacy, facilitated by UDDG, resulted in 11 meetings between local residents, MPs and village representatives. During meetings, residents expressed their concerns and MPs promised to address these issues. Local officials have found these meetings useful.

“Village support programs are being carried out more effectively in the villages where local populations are active,” said Aleko Mameshvili, the Head of Ozurgeti Sakrebulo at a public advisory council meeting. “For that
purpose the role of local NGOs is important in terms of engaging local
communities in the decision-making process and making participatory mechanisms work in reality,” he said. Mameshvili emphasized the important role that UDDG had played in fostering communication between officials and citizens.

Now UDDG is monitoring MPs to ensure that they act on concerns raised by citizens. Meanwhile, people have become accustomed to this “novelty”; more and more citizens are seeking to meet with local MPs.

In order to facilitate future meetings, UDDG has developed detailed instructions regulating citizen engagement in decision-making processes in Ozurgeti Municipality. They hope that their proposed instructions will replace the currently rigid and ineffective legislation. The instructions provide detailed procedures for ensuring public participation and generating public feedback regarding the planning and distribution of funds allocated for villages in Ozurgeti Municipality. This includes involving citizens in determining the rationality of allocating funds to specific villages; installing mechanisms for identifying and categorizing community needs; and establishing procedures for community meetings. Ozurgeti Municipality has informed UDDG that the proposal is under discussion and its approval will be discussed at the next Sakrebulo meeting.

UDDG’s advocacy efforts were made possible through an EWMI G-PAC Citizens’ Advocacy Grant in the amount of $14,773.

Group Empowers Construction-affected Citizens

Landslides, unfair compensation for property adjoining new roads and interrupted utility services are among the concerns of citizens living in Svaneti region.

In the last few years, the government of Georgia has initiated wide-scale infrastructure projects there. One project involves rehabilitating the Zugdidi-Mestia road, financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The new road will bring benefits to local communities, as well as visitors.

However, the rights of construction-affected communities have not always been respected in the process.

In March 2011, Guram Tikanadze Svaneti Youth Center embarked on an effort to ensure that the Zugdidi-Mestia road construction project respected local citizens’ rights. The Center received $11,259 for their initiative from the EWMI G-PAC Citizens’ Advocacy Grant Program.

Svaneti Youth Center involves experts in monitoring construction of the Zugdidi-Mestia road.

The Center monitored daily construction activities; conducted a technical assessment of the road construction project; and identified problems in the construction project design as well as breaches of citizens’ rights. Then, the Center involved local residents in communicating their concerns to the construction company, the Georgian Road Construction Department, the Municipal Development Fund and the Asian Development Bank. As a result, the construction company has changed its initial plans. They have replaced water and sewage pipes in Latali village, a component unconsidered in the initial project design. The company also built a retaining wall to prevent future landslides.

Further, 24 families living near the construction site were added to the list of households to receive monetary compensation from the Bank. Compensation already has been paid to almost 60% of the affected households.

Following advocacy by the Svaneti Youth Club and local citizens, the construction company replaced water and sewage pipes near Latali village.