Batumi Residents Will Also Have To Pay Unified Electricity, Water and Cleaning Bills

Maka Malakmadze, Adjara

The Batumi residents will also have to pay electricity, water and cleaning taxes in one bill. The Batumi City Council issued the resolution on January 17. The protest of the Council Members from the opposition parties had no result again.

Although the oppositionist members of the City Council actively protested the approved program of the economic development, the amendments were introduced to the program. The local budget allocated 370 000 GEL for the Electricity Distribution Company “Energo Pro-Georgia” for the administration of combined bills.

Batumi City Council’s member from the Republic Party Irakli Chavleishvili is sure that those, who will not pay the sanitary cleaning taxes, will have electricity supply switched off. “Since the sanitary cleaning organization was working badly, the subscribers did not pay bills timely. Consequently, people have accumulated large debts. Now, unless they cover the debts, the electricity supply will be switched off for them.

Mamuka Jgenti, member of the Batumi City Council from the National Forum: “A person might not have a dust at all, if he does not have money to cook dinner. Despite that, she/he will have to pay the tax for cleaning. Otherwise, he will not have electricity! They compel people to pay taxes in similar way. Nobody can live without electricity.”

The Human Rights Center interviewed several resident of Batumi.

Lamara Devadze: “I have not paid the cleaning tax for several years already. Sometimes I cannot pay even water tax because the tariff is too high – 1.85 GEL per person. I can hardly buy bread with my income from trading and could not afford communal taxes. I hardly managed to pay electricity bill.”

Merab Lortkipanidze: “I purchased the flat five years ago and the previous owner had not paid the cleaning and water taxes; the debt amounts to 300 GEL. It was not urgent problem in those days and I did not ask the previous owner to cover the debt. But now, according to the resolution of the Batumi City Council, unless I pay the debt of the previous owner, I will have electricity supply switched off. It is unfair.”

Lela Rukhadze: “Why do they always take after Tbilisi in every innovations? Why should we also pay the communal taxes in one bill? They try to withdraw old debts from people by creating problems in electricity supply. Now, we will have to live in darkness.”

Head of the economic policy department at the Batumi City Hall Tite Aroshidze said the joint administration of bills was necessary to create single system for communal taxes. “After unified administration, each subscriber will receive individual bills and will find out their current and old debts. The population will receive the new bills within a month. Meanwhile, we should carry out preliminary research to census our population accurately.”

The Human Rights Center asked what will happen if a subscriber does not pay a tax, and Tite Areshidze answered: “It is within the competence of the Regulation Commission; it will select relevant sanctions on disobedient tax-payers.”

The Batumi City Council duplicated the decision of the Tbilisi City Council a year later – Batumi residents will also receive combined bills.