The IATF studied the case of the Rustavi Mayor’s Office providing free potatoes to 420 socially vulnerable families on the outskirts of Rustavi and in the village of Samgori on June 18.

The IATF found that the Service Agency of the Ministry of Finance provided free potatoes  to the Rustavi Mayor’s Office; the potatoes had been confiscated from an organization that owed money to the state. The Rustavi Mayor’s Office then distributed the potatoes it had received from the Ministry of Finance to socially vulnerable individuals. This act is not connected to the use of funds from the national or local budgets. 

It should be noted that the Ministry of Finance has been regularly providing socially vulnerable individuals with illegal property that has been confiscated, especially products that could spoil in a short time, through local administrations and other organizations. This practice is not illegal. The distribution of such goods by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Finance under Part 4 of Article 27 of the “Law on State Property.” According to the Law, “Property that is in the hands of the state can, with agreement from the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, be given to national and local administration agencies, as well as to other agencies and organizations. State movable property, depending on its variety, can also be used for social purposes.”

Despite this, considering the current electoral context, and—in order to prevent any potential association of this established practice with electoral aims—the IATF recommends to the Ministry of Finance: 

• To suspend the distribution of confiscated illegal property for social aims through local administrations during the electoral period; 

• If needed, such property should be given for social aims only to charitable organizations, orphanages, and other institutions that are part of the State Care Agency.

Contact details for the secretariat of the Inter-agency Task Force
Contact Person: Nino Imedashvili
Tel.: 2 28 77 08; 2 74 49 20; 599 48 70 47
Hot Line:577 63 02 92
E-mail: iatf@iatf.gov.ge