What Happened with “Guria Regeneration Foundation”

Nino Mshvidobadze, Guria

In December of 2011, during his visit in Guria region, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili announced about establishment of the Guria Regeneration Foundation and nominated Ramaz Nikolaishvili, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure to be head of the Foundation.

“It will be Guria’s year for me in the western Georgia and we will assist every resident of Guria region to rise to his feet. We are creating president’s Guria Regeneration Foundation, which will be headed by Ramaz Nikolaishvili, but I will also supervise the foundation together with him,” Mikheil Saakashvili said in Guria.

Saakashvili said the Foundation had to renovate infrastructure, to supply the region with gas and install gas-meters. The Foundation had to fund arrangement of the Ureki seashore, rehabilitation of water and sewerage systems, Bakhmaro mountainous resort. The Foundation had also to fund training of qualified professionals in Guria region.

“Together with the Education Ministry we want to establish a regional center in Ozurgeti for the training of people of all ages. Local people have everything – sea, mountain, fresh air but they need wealthy life and we will assist them. We will put an end to their poverty and they will start honorable life. We should speak about Ureki seashore which shall be better arranged. Bakhmaro will be a crown of all it. It will be the most attractive Georgian resort,” said Saakashvili.

Despite these statements, there is no information about the Guria Regeneration Foundation. Guria regional governor Valeri Chitaishvili told humanrights.ge that Guria regional administration has not received any funds from this Foundation.

“I cannot say anything about this Foundation. I can only say that Guria region has not received funding for any project from this Foundation,” Chitaishvili said.

We got in touch with Ozurgeti district majoritarian MP Zviad Kvachantiradze and found out that he also tries to get some information about this Foundation.

“I have been looking for the information about this Foundation for a long time but in vain. I know that Saakashvili promised population to establish this foundation and Ramaz Nikolaishvili was nominated to be its director. People hoped this foundation would really regenerate the region but as we see now it did not exist at all. It was one of those false statements which President used to make. It was his next bluff to deceive voters. If there was a fund, it should have been registered. Despite many attempts, we could not find registration document anywhere,” said Kvachantiradze.

We got in touch with Magda Popiashvili, interim head of public relation service at the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and asked to clarify whether Guria Regeneration Foundation really existed or not.

“As we found out, the Ministry does not hold any official information and documentation about this foundation. I cannot say what really happened; you’d better apply to the President’s administration with regard to this issue,” Popiashvili said.

Despite many attempts, we could not get through the president’s administration. However, local newspaper Guria News published Ramaz Nikolaishvili’s statement:

“The Foundation does not aim to receive investments only from citizens, but the Foundation can also get state investments. Those facilities that were constructed, are being constructed and will be constructed in Georgia have been funded from the state budget. So, it was meaning of the president’s statement and you might have misunderstood something. State budget funded concrete projects, like Bakhmaro, playground, etc,” Nikolaishvili said.

Despite the aforementioned statement of the former minister, it is fact that president meant completely different think when speaking about the establishment of the foundation in Guria. He said the foundation would subordinate to the president and should have some functions with regard to regeneration of infrastructure in Guria. It is also fact that Guria had not received any funding from this foundation as current regional governor claims.