Saakashvili Opens New Training Center in Gldani

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili laid the foundation of a new professional development center in Gldani district on Saturday. The new, huge center which is due to be opened in May 2012 would provide people with professional trainings for further employment. Sharing the grand plans for developing Gldani the president promised to promote other suburbs and eradicate the feeling of “hopelessness” among the citizens, especially the younger generations. Disparaging the former government for giving privileges to particular districts according to their living places, Saakashvili rejected such a selection of people. “Everything will be the best here,” the president said, addressing Gldani residents and promising to solve all their problems.

Recollecting how desperate people felt in the 1980s due to the lack of elementary living conditions in suburbs, Saakashvili stressed how dramatically things have changed for the last several years during his governance. “We made roads, solved problems with electricity and gas provision, but the majority of issues have been solved by the local population of Gldani,” he said praising people for making small businesses and employing people. Talking of the new training centre as a symbol for overcoming unemployment and hopelessness, the president hoped this centre would also eradicate the problem of insufficient qualifications among potential employees.

Talking of the suburbs' importance over central districts of towns as a criterion for developing countries, the president expressed his confidence that one day everyone would move to live and work in suburbs like Gldani. “This is a historical district full of prominent public figures - Gldani seems to have been the place for intelligent people, who couldn’t get on the list of privileged figures, as well as IDPs, eager to get apartments for cheaper prices,” said the president highlighting that those people had a special wish and ability to restore their lives.

Stressing the importance of training people in various professions, Saakashvili said people should regain belief in themselves. “If we create new standards, I’m sure everything wrong would finally remain in the past like a terrible dream,” he encouraged citizens. Praising everyone for their solidarity towards one another, Saakashvili announced that he would participate in “building the future” of Gldani by personally supervising the construction procedures with the rest of the staff.

“If this district overcomes its problems, the rest of Georgia will also do the same,” Saakashvili said. Welcoming the “huge construction” the government has carried out during the last several years, the president promised to bring the process to an end despite criticism. “Let others criticize us, we will do our job,” said the president promising to help people overcome poverty. “What is being done today is an indivisible part of our dreams,” Saakashvili said referring to the new training centre hoping that a good start would have an even better ending.