A new community centre opened in the village of Kachagani in the Marneuli municipality today, expanding access to over 200 public and private services for 20,000 residents. The community centre also houses an office of a local self-government representative to ease citizen engagement in decision-making and provides access to a modern library and well-equipped conference facilities.

The new community centre was established by the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union (EU) and the governments of Switzerland and Austria.

“We are proud to open the 74th community centre in Georgia fully tailored to the needs of people in towns and villages,” said Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani. “Community centres give people easy access to public services, such as obtaining of birth certificates, ID cards and property registration. Additionally, local residents can get services from the banks, access internet and library, meet representatives of local self-governments and engage in the projects for the benefit of their communities.”

“Access to services and the engagement in decision-making are a foundation of local development,” said Ambassador of Austria Arad Benkö. “We support community centres in the remote rural regions to expand opportunities available for the citizens and ensure that quality services are available in every village of Georgia.”

“Better access to services means more opportunities, a better social environment and the greater engagement of people in the decisions that define their future,” noted UNDP Deputy Head Anna Chernyshova. “It is especially important in the rural areas where people need more information about the tools they can use to participate in local governance and become the owners of development.”

Kachagani is the first of the two villages where community centres were constructed with UNDP, Swiss and Austrian support. The centre in Chrebalo, a remote village in mountainous Racha, will be opened in 2020. Tailored for the needs of people living in the national minority regions and the remote mountain communities, both centres will provide crucially important services to more than 24 thousand local residents.

Assistance to community centres is part of a wider effort UNDP implements with funds from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) to foster local development in Georgia’s regions and assist reforms in local self-governance.

Media Contact

• Sophie Torchinava, PSDA, s.torchinava@sda.gov.ge
• Sophie Tchitchinadze, UNDP, +995 599 196907, sophie.tchitchinadze@undp.org
• Magda Nowakowska, UNDP, +995 598 822544, magdalena.nowakowska@undp.org