Kutaisi, 16/08/2013 On Thursday, August 15th, 2013, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), Kutaisi branch, conducted

d public meetings in Ianeti and Jikhaishi villages and Samtredia city, in Samtredia municipality, Imeriti region. The purpose of these meetings was to facilitate dialogue between the constituents and their parliamentary representative, to address and highlight issues faced in their localities and assess how these issues are being resolved. Such visits are but one of many conducted by GYLA Kutaisi branch in the context of an independent project entitled My Voice in Parliament, launched in July 2012 and funded by the East-West Management Institute. Details of which can be found here. Of particular interest during this set of consultations, was our visit to evaluate the living conditions of IDP accommodation in Samtredia city, provided by the state, through the recent renovation of an unused hospital on Republic Street. While the provision of dedicated housing for IDPs represents a general improvement in terms of their living conditions, the quality of the accommodation falls short in affording the quality of life to which people require. The issues fall into four broad categories; lack of access to key facilities, drainage issues, safety concerns, and observably low standards in terms of the quality of the renovations carried out. The provision of key facilities is low. Only the first floor residences have running water, second floor homes receive partial water provision, and third floor residents have no water access. There are pipes, but they are not connected to the mains. Similarly, none of the homes have access to gas; there are external gas pipes visible on the outside of the building, but no connections to individual houses, and the gas pipes that do exist are not connected to the mains supply. Electricity is technically available, but is intermittent in terms of the houses it reaches (again upper floor apartments are the worst impacted) and appears to be of only limited reliability; lighting appeared to be unavailable in all communal spaces and most houses. Finally, sewerage pipes lead from the housing into septic tanks sunken in the yard, however they have not been connected to the mains sewerage system, so already are clogging up.

This build up of wastewater from the homes exacerbates an existing drainage problem caused by the close proximity of a stream which is prone to overflowing. Irrigation tracks appear to have been dug, but lie dry while water builds up in pools in section of the yards; so are obviously not working. Beyond the obvious inconvenience and health hazards of such water and refuse build up, the failure to dissipate water away from the buildings is also causing damage to the foundations of ground floor homes, with rising damp observable to varying degrees in most ground floor homes. For houses that have been occupied for just one month, this level of mould is severe and posses a real and serious risk in terms of respiratory illness. The location of the new houses, a renovated hospital, also poses risks. Residents reported health issues among children who had ingested old medicine and drug capsules left littered around a partially demolished hospital building which is yet to be renovated. On inspection, there did not appear to be any obvious medical debris, however given the potential risk to children it is a real concern of the residents. The final area of concern raised by the residents, is the generally poor quality of the work that had been carried out. Flooring is warped and uneven, electric fittings have been left exposed and areas of partition wall (which is plasterboard) are already crumbling. For the 84 families that are now housed within these small homes, the extent of issues after just one month of occupation are of serious detriment both to their wellbeing and their quality of life. While upper floor residents have properties which are completely unliveable given a lack of water, electricity and gas fittings, residents on the ground floor are already suffering from the encroachment of groundwater and issues of rising damp. GYLA Kutaisi branch views these conditions as inhumane and will be seeking to establish the terms on which the government entered into the provision of this housing, and whether their obligations have been fulfilled. GYLA Kutaisi branch will continue to actively monitor and evaluate the response of MP and other concerned authorities to this information, and is seeking to ensure that appropriate remedies are provided in a reasonable and satisfactory manner. Reported: Robbie Marwick, GYLA Kutaisi branch Volunteer.