The FINANCIAL — Georgian and international organizations have got actively engaged in the initiative offered by TBC Bank to contribute humanitarian support to the refugees in the country.
According to Maia Rcheulishvili, the founder of Center Point, a development company, Center Point has several apartments planned for construction in Gori, the cost of these constructions will be GEL 5.625 million.
“We are doing our best to provide more and more families with apartments. The original flats were too large, approximately 150 square meters, supposedly we will divide them,” Rcheulishvili declared to The FINANCIAL
“Three hundred firms are registered in Georgia, those which have a relatively high turnover must together unite and help our government and refugees. As far as I know at least one hundred families have been displaced by the crisis. I think that the problem of organising assistance could be easily solved if these families would be allotted to certain companies. Then those organisations and companies would have the responsibility of taking care of them,” Rcheulishvili added.
TBC Bank made an announcement of its contribution of GEL 5 million as humanitarian support. This amount will be used for assisting all refugees and children left without a home regardless of their nationality and ethnicity; as well as for the children of soldiers who died in the war.
“In this grave condition the country is in, we consider the place of business to be next to its people and the state and to be doing everything it can for their support. For this particular objective, TBC Bank is today establishing an international fund for the support of those suffering from the war, in which we make our first contribution to the amount of GEL 5 million,” stated Mr. Mamuka Khazaradze, Head of TBC Group and Chairman of TBC Bank’s Supervisory Board.
“Many of TBC Bank’s partners and Non-Governmental Humanitarian Organizations are interested in this initiative. At the present moment the fund contains only GEL 5 million, this amount will grow and grow in the upcoming days, as for example we know that one of the first contributors will be Levan Vasadze who is going to transfer USD 1 million to the fund. We have created a supervisory board which will control the allocation of these funds. The members of the council would be the directors of Rustavi2, Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) and the newspaper 24 Hours (24 saati). We decided the council should be represented by members of the mass media for increased transparency,” Khazaradze added.
On Khazaradze’s offer to take part in this initiative raised by TBC Bank, Ted Jonas, Managing Partner of DLA Piper's Tbilisi office, answered “Yes!”.
DLA Piper helps companies around the world to succeed by meeting their legal needs wherever they are doing business. The company’s office in Tbilisi has been known as the highest quality provider of legal services in Georgia.
In the words of Zaza Kikvadze, Director General of Borjomi, GG&MW (Georgian Glass and Mineral Water), we cannot name the exact amount of money which will be transferred to the fund.
“It is a completely new suggestion for companies and we will need time to research funds. Borjomi will take part in the event of course. Each company has its own account and we will transfer money directly there. This conflict has seriously affected our company, but Borjomi has not stopped its production process. The losses of the mineral water company are yet to be known,” Kikvadze noted.
According to Samson Pkhakadze, Chairman of the Wissol Board of Directors, the company will of course be engaged in the humanitarian mission.
“The situation has certainly affected the country’s economy, but I can declare proudly that it has not damaged our company’s funds,” Pkhakadze added.
According to TBC Bank though, this war should not be reflected in the Georgian economy.
“There was panic amongst the population on August 8 and 9, customers began to ruin long term deposits, but now the situation has stabilized completely. If there are no additional conflicts from now on, the banking sector will not suffer in Georgia. Currently any losses would be very minor. By August 18, Georgian banks will return to the same working terms and credit lines will also be offered to the customers,” the bank added.
“I can declare proudly that Center Point is standing steady on the market and will successfully overcome this crisis. Shock was expressed at the disaster by the Georgian developer, but fortunately our company is not dependent on banking credits,” Rcheulishvili noted.
Sarke Group staff also decided to render assistance to the refugees from the conflict zone. The people were evicted from force from their homes and home region.
Necessary humanitarian aid materials were collected by the initiative of Sarke collective: clothes and products. Those materials were then delivered to the Patriarchate of Georgia for distribution.
“Aid materials are being collected by Sarke staff. We want to give an example and appeal to different organizations to follow our example. Our aim at this time is solely to help our compatriots,” Sarke staff declared.
In the very near future Sarke Group will hand out the solid funds that it has raised. According to Revaz Charkviani, Director of Sarke Consulting, the money transfer has been delayed because of several banking procedures that it must go through.
According to Otar Kiria, Head of the Development Solution PR Department, they have already helped the refugees by giving GEL 5 thousand, and the amount is growing day by day.
“We allocated GEL 5 thousand for aid in the first few days of the conflict. Development Solutions has made inquiries about the location of refugees in Tbilisi. We found 140 of them in the Gldani district; they were lacking all necessary vital materials. On the first day we brought them food, on the second day we provided them with mattresses and domestic supplies. We have provided our assistance to the refugees situated on Dadiani and Kandelaki Streets. The company is continuing to support the people,” Kiria added.
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