Today, at a meeting held at “The Tbilisi Marriott” luxury hotel “The Democratic Movement” presented its “Main Directions of the Country’s Social Policy and Development”.

The presentation was attended by the diplomats accredited in Georgia, the representatives of the political parties and NGOs, as well as the political experts.

The document drafted by “The Democratic Movement” contains the analysis of the country’s social policy flaws and the relevant priorities and prospective directions as they are viewed by the Party.

The statistical analysis reflects the poverty and demographic indicators, the unemployment dynamics and the changing trend of the State support to the healthcare system . . .

The document authors point out at the unavailability of the publicly discussed social policy conception.

They say that business interests, forming the focal point of the social sector have shifted the social aspect to the background.

They are also highly critical of the relevant laws, which they describe as unjustifiable.

The pensioning system in place does not secure meeting its main objectives of eliminating poverty and a guarantee of a decent old age – (according to the 2009 data, there are over 1700000 destitute people, i.e. 40% of the Georgian population).

The methodology of the social allowance is unreliable.

The employment policy is PR-oriented and ostentatious.

The Labor Code is employer-tailored.

The disabled are socially vulnerable.

The public spending for healthcare is mostly inexpedient and not cost-effective.

The healthcare public guarantees are murky: the oncology, cardio-surgery, urgent hospitalization and first aid programs have been cancelled, and the children’s medic care, as well as and the treatment of infectious diseases have been curbed.

The “100 New Hospitals” and “Cheap Insurance” projects have come to nothing.

“The Democratic Movement” believes that the social sector ought to rely upon the realistic social safety and robust guarantees.

The far-reaching, publicly discussed measures should underlie the social policy.

For the sake of the purposeful social allowances, the methods of detecting the below-the-poverty line social groups should be perfected; the employees should be eligible for certain employment guarantees and the unemployed supported in their search for jobs.

The Labor Code should contain robust employee guarantees.

For the sake of securing decent old age, the pension scheme allowing for internal investments should be introduced.

The Party believes that initial healthcare and urgent medical care, as well as the quality and patient-targeted medicine are essential to the healthcare system.

The draft conception promises the availability, high quality and efficient use of medicines, the effective anti-drug policies, relying upon prevention, support to the drug-free lifestyle and decriminalization of drug-addiction.

If pursued, “The Democratic Movement” social policy holds promise of:

the social security system, which will prevent extreme poverty and speed up the improvement of the socio-economic stance of the active social groups;

the system of equally accessible State-secured benefits;

the protective mechanisms paving the way to the essentially different healthcare and pensioning reforms, which can be implemented without significant political risks.

 

National_Social_Politics_Problems_and_Main_Directions_of_Development_georgian_version.pdf