The Mayor Kakha Kaladze holds a municipality government meeting
By Tsotne Pataraia
Thursday, September 5
A government meeting was held in the capital Tbilisi on September 4. The mayor Kakha Kaladze touched upon a variety of issues important to the municipality along with some general political processes.
Kaladze commented on the ongoing shifts in the government of the country. He expressed his gratitude to former Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze, who resigned on September 2, emphasizing that Bakhtadze has always been a big supporter of Tbilisi Municipality. Kaladze also wished success to Giorgi Gakharia, former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, who has been introduced to become next PM, and other ministerial candidates, expressing hope that cooperation will lead to various significant initiatives in the future, since the support of the central government and joint efforts are of crucial importance for carrying out major projects successfully.
The mayor of Tbilisi has also made some announcements. Together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Tbilisi City Hall will announce a tender for the purchase of a 12-meter, 110-unit bus on CNG. According to Kaladze, in this case, the main task of the city hall is to clean up the city from so-called Yellow that causes serious problems regarding air pollution and are one of the major sources of discomfort for the population. In addition to buses, the mayor of Tbilisi also focused on zoning hourly parking. According to him, the project will soon cover the whole city, especially the central streets and districts. At the same time, following the decision of the government of Tbilisi, 59 families will receive living spaces for 1 GEL.
Mayor Kaladze also noted that Tbilisi has become a member of the World Cities Tourism Association:
“Helsinki has hosted a summit entitled "Smart Tourism - Roads for Urban Development and Innovation", in which Tbilisi became a member of the World Cities Tourism Association. Benefits of Association Membership - Active cooperation in tourism between its member cities, establishing new links with various industry associations, thematic and business meetings, promoting tourism products and awareness, etc… We all know how important tourism is to our country and our city. We are very pleased to have become a member of the association,” Kaladze said.
There were also unfortunate cases pointed out during the session. About a month ago, in the sixth district of Gldani, Tbilisi City Hall arranged an illuminated green park divided into three zones into 3 hectares. The solemnly opened park has been damaged by some vandals. Mayor Kaladze also presented photographs depicting the damages at a government meeting:
“We have fulfilled our promise. We have built space for new trees, there are several new spaces specially designed for children, such as a basketball court, a skateboard and bicycles roads, along with playground attractions for the little ones, special zones for animals. Space is lit and green and it is very good, but unfortunately we have come across some facts of vandalism,” the mayor of Tbilisi stated.
Kakha Kaladze instructed the Security Service and the Municipal Inspectorate to tighten up the security measures as well as to allocate cameras and additional staff who will conduct temporary patrols.
