19 IDP Households became Property Owners
First Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Giorgi Amashukeli, Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia, Giga Giorgadze, USAID Deputy Mission Director, Thomas Morris, and Regional Director of Danish Refugee Council, Paul Mackintosh presented real estate ownership certificates to the IDP households.
Rehabilitation of the former kindergarten building in Marneuli Municipality was implemented by the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia, with USAID funding.
On November 12, 2013, under the Municipal Infrastructure and IDP Housing Rehabilitation program keys of apartments were presented to 19 IDP households in Marneuli. Though, up to the present the living area was not in their ownership. The apartments were legalized for the token payment of GEL 1.
Water and gas heaters were installed in each apartment of the two-storey building. Playground for children, outdoor lighting network and parking lot were arranged in the yard. The IDP-s established a condominium for joint management and maintenance of the common space.
The event is of great significance not only for issuance of ownership certificates to the IDP-s but even more so for the fact that privatization process will benefit to the progress of IDP integration with the place of their residence.
There are 24 apartments in all in the building, which were distributed among 19 IDP households through holding a draw (according to set criteria large families are granted larger areas, which in certain cases envisages transfer of two apartments in their ownership), 17 apartments are one-roomed, 7 – two-room.
The IDP from Abkhazia Malkhaz Megrelishvili is a veteran of wars for Abkhazia and Samachablo. For a long period of time, Malkhaz Megrelishvili with his wife and two children was living in the garage-type building. The Inquiry Group of Kvemo Kartli Regional Service of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia was familiar with inadequate housing conditions of Megrelishvili family and suggested filing an application to them. Today, after 21 years of expectation Malkhaz Megrelishvili became a property owner.
The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia, Shota Rekhviashvili, Gamgebeli of Marneuli Municipality, Merab Topchishvili, and Engineering Specialist of the USAID Office of Economic Growth, George Kokochashvili.
