“We all can do that! Learn from us! Follow our good practices and manage your Participatory Budget!”
Gori
What do people like most in Gori district?
Of course sports and recreation, so if one village has a sports ground or workout simulator, the residents of another village definitely demands the same.
Ateni Valley
“When babies learn walking and talking here, they already want to become wrestlers,” – Shota Vanishvili tells us with a smile, and as a sign that his words are true, he looks at the playful children trying to use the wrestling tricks on the stadium.
“A good wrestling hall is everyone’s dream, which we have fulfilled, but, unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we cannot train yet, though imagine, we have legendary coaches,” – Shota says and continues the conversation: “How do we want our children to be successful and healthy citizens?” Sport is the prerequisite for everything, and if we do not have the proper infrastructure, we will not be able to meet the challenges we face.”
Wrestling hall – Ateni. Kartli.
Arranged bathrooms and shower of the hall
The wrestling hall is completed, the outdoor stadium will be finished by the end of December. There are several villages in the Ateni Valley and now they will have two stadiums, one wrestling hall. The people of the valley managed to create this infrastructure on their own initiative.
The stadium will be ready by the end of December
“How did we manage? – By our activity, by owning information. The “Participatory Budget” has been created in Gori district for only a few years, and, surely, with its help.”
– What is the “Participatory Budget”?
Nino Goloshvili joins the conversation. Nino is a “Participatory Budget” coordinator in Gori.
This is the fifth year we have the “Participatory Budget” in Gori. It was introduced in Marneuli as a result of consultation with the Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia and then we shared their experience and adapted to our reality in Gori. Our goal is for citizens to be more actively involved in the development of their municipality, to have more trust between the government and the citizens. A good mechanism for this is the “Participatory Budget”. That is, money is allocated from the local budget, but for what, the people decide themselves.
– What is the control mechanism and how transparent is the process? – we ask Nino.
“With the help of the Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia, trainings were held on the first stage, what is the “Participatory Budget”, what stages should we go through. For the development of the “Participatory Budget”, the non-governmental sector is involved at various intervals, the local population and the government are systematically involved… As the main coordinator of the “Participatory Budget” in Gori, I conducted special trainings on how to write a project, a budget. Consequently, mutual control is very strong, which eliminates any doubts. We have shown a good example of cooperation to the local government and next year the “Participatory Budget” will be – 2 980 000 GEL.
We go from Ateni valley to Gori, to the settlement of the station.
When the population, disturbed by garbage and an increase in the number of reptiles, again turned to the local authorities with a request to clean the area, they learned that there is the “Participatory Budget” that can solve the problem better than just taking out the trash.
Maia Mujaridze: “When we heard that there is the “Participatory Budget”, we gathered the population. More than 1 500 people live in this place. It was decided by a majority vote to ask for money for the construction of the stadium and park.
The area that used to be filled with trash and mud, now is the most crowded place. Stadium and park, children’s playground, gazebo, night lighting.
“We take care of all this as if they were our own; if a chair or swing is damaged, we repair it ourselves. Last week, a neighbor brought a welding machine and we repaired the damaged attraction together. This means thinking like a team and taking responsibility” – says Maia. Now a new project on additional landscaping has been drawn up, and they also hope to attract additional funds from the local budget.
Village Plavi
Sport, sport and sport again.
A workout space was arranged in the village center.
“The whole village is happy, it miraculously attracts the youth, the school children and some adults. From the very beginning, the arrangement of this place caused a great stir, everyone hugged me and thanked me”, – says the project manager Zaur Meladze with shining eyes, the project manager, who created a dream place in the village through the “Participatory Budget” together with the locals.
Workout ground – village Plavi, Kartli
The day is sunny and there is a lot of noise around, the children are having fun on the workout simulators. Some parents watch them from the park set up there… Slightly adults, dressed in tracksuits, are training diligently.
Park – Village Plavi, Kartli
It is the most crowded place in Plavi. Inspired by the success, Meladze is not going to stop. “This place lacks a cafe, the people ask for it also, and the next possible project will be to open a cafe in the center of Plavi,” – Zauri tells us with confidence.
