The leader of the opposition coalition "Georgian Dream", the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has paid a fine of 48.4 million dollars to the budget for violation of election laws, but demanded that the money be used exclusively for paying restitution to the victims of hurricanes and floods in the province of Kakheti in Eastern Georgia.
Hurricane winds, hail and flooding in Kakheti have left hundreds of families homeless, completely destroying crops and grapes. There have never been disasters on this scale in Georgia before. In fact, famine will be a threat to the population next winter. President Saakashvili ordered the creation of a staff headed by Prime Minister Merabishvili. The President and the Prime Minister live in Kakheti now: Saakashvili is in his domain in the Kvareli district, and Merabishvili is in the regional center of Telavi, which was the location that most suffered. The staff meets twice a day. The authorities have a great chance to demonstrate the effectiveness, professionalism and ability to cope with the most complex situations. "We will do our best to ensure that no Kakhetian will feel deprived and abandoned to his fate," Saakashvili promises. Thousands of construction workers from all over Georgia are already deployed in the region; the reconstruction of housing is being carried out almost round-the-clock. The government announced that it would compensate for the losses of the peasants, i. e. the destroyed crop of grapes and fruit. For these purposes, as well as for the elimination of the consequences of the hurricane and flooding, including the rehabilitation of infrastructure, the amount of 160 million laris (almost $100 million.) has been allocated. The decision to include appropriate amendments to the budget was adopted at the extraordinary session of the parliament. The Ministry of Finance announced that 80 million GEL is a foreign grant, and another 80 million is allocated from the reserve funds of the president and the government.
The aid to the victims has become a major topic in the media space, gradually transforming into a massive public relations campaign of the ruling party United National Movement (UNM). Its leaders, wearing boots following the example of the president, are in the Kakheti region day and night, without missing an opportunity to comment on the ongoing work.
The head of the opposition coalition "Georgia Dream", the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is not far behind his rivals in the forthcoming October parliamentary elections. Until recently, he categorically refused to pay a fine of 80 million laris (about 48.4 million dollars) to the budget for violating the law on the financing of political parties and attempting to bribe voters, considering it illegal. But after the disaster in Kakheti, Ivanishvili said he was willing to pay the entire amount of the fine to the budget on condition that the money would be spent "transparently and only on the victims, under the supervision of the public." "We have already paid 80 million GEL, an unlawful fine, to a special account, which was pointed out to us by the National Bureau of Execution,” an ally of the billionaire, Eka Beselia, explained to VK. – “This means that all the decisions on the arrest of the property of Bidzina Ivanishvili should be abolished."
The members of the ruling party are convinced that Ivanishvili found a reason to pay the fine without losing face, in order to get back his bank "Cartu", where the National Executive Bureau appointed its external manager in order to withdraw the fine. "Ivanishvili was about to pay a fine, when his lawyers and supporters immediately began to demand to return the bank,” Nugzar Tsiklauri, one of the leaders of the UNM, said to VK. – “So let them determine what they have made this payment for: is the purpose to help the victims or to get back the bank?"
The National Bureau of Execution confirmed to VK that "paying all the amounts of the debt by the debtor stop all actions on its forced withdrawal." Thus, the external manager, Vladimir Ugulava, appointed two weeks ago, will soon leave the bank, and the previous administration, loyal to Bidzina Ivanishvili, will come back. "It will provide the billionaire with an opportunity to continue the campaign by legal channels and not by means of "black money", David Avalishvili, an independent expert, explained to VK.
As for the control over the expenditure of funds, the spokeswoman of Ivanishvili, Maya Panjikidze, reported to VK that the opposition intended to seek assistance from non-profit organizations and the population of the regions: "We have formed a special group of majoritarian MPs from all the affected areas and non-governmental organizations, which will closely monitor the authorities to spend the money for the victims, and not for any other purpose".
The Kakhetian peasants derived a benefit from the pre-election campaign of Mikhail Saakashvili and Bidzina Ivanishvili. Many of them say that "a blessing in disguise" and the confrontation between the two bitter rivals helped them gain a significant amount of compensation for their lost property.
