Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze says the verification of databases of socially vulnerable families showed that a significant share of beneficiaries no longer required social assistance.
Speaking during his annual report to Parliament on June 26, Kobakhidze announced assistance was discontinued for 22,707 families out of 40,225 reviewed.
He stated the data were from June 1 and followed a nationwide reassessment of social welfare records.
“On June 1, the verification of 40,225 families was completed. Of these, social assistance was terminated for 22,707 families, which is 56.4%. The amount saved was GEL 54.7 million,” Kobakhidze said.
The PM noted there had been “speculations” over social assistance levels, arguing that many beneficiaries no longer met eligibility criteria.
He added that some recipients had monthly incomes exceeding GEL 3,000–4,000 while still receiving allowances.
“The reason was simple. A kind of moratorium was announced after 2020, and there was no review of the bases. As soon as we started the review, what we already knew was confirmed,” Kobakhidze said.
Kobakhidze added the review process will continue, with data on around 65,000 more families expected to be reassessed by the end of the year. He said savings could reach GEL 75 million.
