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Thursday,
August 2,
2007, #146 (1413) Headline:
Tbilisi streets cleaned Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava congratulated street cleaners from the company Cleaning Service, granting certificates and financial rewards to the most diligent, one of whom is only 18 years old. Cleaning Service monitored its staff throughout the year, identifying the top two street cleaners in each region. According to Ugulava, street cleaners' salaries will soon increase by GEL 50. It's also planned to buy new cleaning equipment for the city by October. Ugulava called on Tbilisi residents to help keep the city tidy, and maintain the good work of the street cleaners. About 2400 people work for Cleaning Service, 1700 of which are street cleaners working for a monthly salary of GEL 270.
The market was established in its current form during the civil war, and was initially patronized mostly by soldiers. It has since become a hub of activity for everyday Georgians, and a significant trading ground for hundreds of merchants. Giorgi Lagidze, president of Human Rights Defense of Georgia, declared at a July 31 press conference that, should the deal go through, the NGO would file a court case to defend the rights of the 7000 people working in the Bazroba. "As soon as news spread that the supermarket was to be sold, a special protest committee was created and several protest meetings were held at Dezertirebi Bazroba. The response was that the initial decision to sell Bazroba had been rescinded, but yesterday they changed the director and announced the property was to be sold. The new owner did not appear and the salespeople were not offered anything for compensation. It seems that a five star hotel will be built on the property," Lagidze explained. According to Lagidze, Bazroba traders were warned that if they did not leave of their own accord they will be forcibly removed. "Our lawyers are working on the issue. A big protest meeting will be held on Thursday at the central supermarket and the main demand will be that the new owner explains to the 7000 workers why he bought the property and what is he going do with it. Otherwise the protest will be directed towards Parliament," Lagidze says.
Library staff are confused as to whether the City Hall Social Service will actually implement the reforms. The overarching aim is to have fewer, but larger, libraries; however, the feeling on the ground is that ultimately staff will be laid off and Tbilisi will suffer from a lack of libraries. Marika Bibileishvili of library number #41 believes it is an attempt to make libraries of European standards. "They think that the new generation don't need education or I don't know what happens. They want to reach the German model, but nothing is ready for that," Bibileishvili says. According to her, the reforms will make it harder for youth to gain access to books, as they are likely to have to travel a lot farther to reach their nearest library. "If the wealthy want to read they can buy books but what can those that are less well-off do? It seems everything that is being done will contribute to the poor education of our youth. Youngsters are only interested in foreign languages and computers. As Tbilisi becomes more of a tourist city it seems that the rise of employment opportunities in the services sector, such as barstaff and waiters, will negate a need for education," Bibileishvili said. Headline:
Georgian Wine Producers Union ready to meet Russian control service. The head of the Georgian Wine Producers Union, Levan Koberidze, said that his group is ready to meet Russian control organizations which are busy with embargo issues and, of course, with the main sanitation service. "We don't plan to address Onishenko concretely. It's quite possible he has not received the letter that we sent 10 days ago to the Russian embassy. When Russia first implemented the embargo on Georgian wines we tried to address Onishenko but received no response. We only got an answer from him when we addressed him by means of the Embassy," says Koberidze. "I would read such a document with great pleasure," announced Onishenko when one of the Georgian journalists asked him about the letter from Wine Producers Union. "I have heard about it but I have not received an official document in the usual way. This kind of information interests me a great deal," added Onishenko. The Georgian government appears uninterested in whether Russia lifts the embargo or not. The Minister of Economic Development announced: "The re-opening of the Russian market would be additional stimuli for Georgia but our government is not going to address the issue by any special means." According to the
minister, it is obvious that Georgia is succeeding without the Russian
market, a point he says is illustrated by export figures.
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