Poverty key issue in Georgia vote

from The Taipei Times

AFP, RUSTAVI, GEORGIA

Once a model of Soviet industrial might, the city of Rustavi is today a grim example of the stubborn poverty plaguing the small republic of Georgia.

Built after World War II on the orders of Stalin, Georgia's most famous son, Rustavi was the country's industrial center, with 160,000 residents toiling in chemical factories and metal works.

As snap presidential elections draw near, poverty is a key issue and the city symbolizes the mammoth task facing reformist leader Mikheil Saakashvili as he seeks a new term.

All but a few of the factories have stood silent since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the rows of concrete apartment blocks built to house factory workers are crumbling and decrepit.

At least 30 percent of local residents are unemployed and more than a third have left since the early 1990s in search of work.

And Rustavi, 25km south of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, is hardly unique -- similar scenes can be found right across the Caucasus country.

In this Saturday's polls, the opposition hopes to capitalize on widespread discontent with poverty and free-market reforms enacted by Saakashvili since he took office in 2004.

"Saakashvili's government has not only failed to deal with poverty, it has made things worse," said Malkhaz Gorgaslidze, the head of the Rustavi campaign office for leading opposition candidate Levan Gachechiladze.

LIBERAL REFORMS

Saakashvili, who in 2003 led the peaceful, pro-Western Rose Revolution, has been widely praised abroad for making liberal economic reforms.

But the changes, which threw thousands of public-sector employees out of work and privatized swathes of the economy, have been less popular at home.

Discontent erupted in November when tens of thousands took the streets for a series of protests against the government.

Saakashvili called the early election after riot police clashed with the protesters and he imposed a nine-day state of emergency.

In the weeks since, Saakashvili has sought to regain support by announcing a slew of new social and employment programs.

He has vowed to more than triple pensions by next year, provide free health care to nearly 700,000 poor families and pay parents 1,000 lari (US$628) for every newborn child.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Much criticism of Saakashvili has focused on his government's immense spending on infrastructure projects.

Critics say that the vast amounts of money spent on repairing damaged roads and renovating buildings should have been used to combat the country's crushing poverty instead.

"All these new roads and fresh paint in Tbilisi aren't helping people who don't have enough to eat," Gorgaslidze said.

Saakashvili and his colleagues counter that the infrastructure projects were essential.

"Some people just won't understand. You have to create a base, the conditions to address poverty," said Lasha Mindeli, a lawmaker with Saakashvili's United National Movement and his campaign manager in Rustavi.

"Unfortunately many people still have a Soviet mentality and think it's up to the government to provide them with jobs, instead of creating conditions for the economy to grow," he said.

24-HOUR ELECTRICITY

In Rustavi, for example, government projects have brought 24-hour electricity supplies to a city that four years ago had electricity only four hours a day, he said.

Water and natural gas supplies have also been fully restored after nearly two decades of constant interruptions.

But those free market arguments have yet to win over many in Rustavi.

"Yes, we do have access now to gas and electricity, but how are people supposed to pay for it without jobs?" said Marina, 42, as she shopped in the city's central market.

"The authorities focus only on creating illusions, facades to make it look like things are getting better," she said.