By December 3 rd , citizens should have been able to check their names on the debt cancellation website as promised by the Minister of Finance of Georgia Ivane Machavariani. However, the website is not yet launched. The chairman of the Supervisory Board of Cartu Foundation Nikoloz Chkhetiani told to bm.ge about the delays with launching the website. According to him, the system cannot go live until the credit organisations hand over the exact lists of debtors. The Minister of Finance also stated the same. “Technically it is ready, we are awaiting the list of debtors from credit organisations. As soon as we receive the list, it will be immediately put on the website. The process is two-sided and without these lists, it is impossible to inform the citizens.
As soon as the list is given the website will be launched immediately. Of course, citizens will be able to check their names in a manner that complies with personal data protection” – explains Chkhetiani. Chkhetiani states further that whatever amount is necessary will be spent on the project. Currently, 100,000,000 GEL has been mobilized. The debt cancellation concerns 600,000 people, including those who have been blacklisted. These are the people who have had outstanding loans for over a year. According to the government and the Cartu group, the value of the portfolio of these loans comes to 1.5 billion GEL. According to the international observers, the debt cancellation programme was launched most probably to buy the votes ahead of the second round of the presidential election. “The government promised the citizens to have their loans annulled. The loans of 600,000 Georgian citizens (the total of which amounts to 1.5 billion GEL) will be covered by a private financial institution linked to the chairperson of the ruling party.” - Writes OSCE in its preliminary conclusion. The Prosecutor’s Office is looking into the lawfulness of the voter list programme.
Author: Shota Tkeshelashvili
