Act of vandalism in the capital shall be punishable by a fine of GEL 300, a repeated act shall be punishable by a fine of GEL 500. Such a statement made today the Mayor of Tbilisi.

“As you know, improving and landscaping public areas, and creating a comfortable environment in general is a priority for us. It is important that parks, squares, gardens, roads, underpasses, public transport and other public facilities are improved so that the citizens can move around comfortably day after day. A lot of resources, both human and financial, are spent to reach such improvements.

You see that in recent years, many parks and public gardens have been built or repaired, and many public sites have been improved. Amidst this, it is very sad that the equipment at such places, as well as in new public transport, is frequently and purposefully damaged, usually by adults. Apart from the fact that the infrastructure and equipment is damaged and our citizens can no longer use it, its restoration and replacement need additional funds, which, could be otherwise used for other programs and further benefit for our fellow citizens. No doubt, liability in this regard needs to be enhanced to prevent such acts of vandalism.

According to the effective regulation, damaging or destroying someone else’s property entails liability only if the value of the damaged or destroyed property exceeds 150 GEL. We have contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and drafted amendments to the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia: the intentional damage or destruction of infrastructure/inventory in a square, road, park, public gardens, underpasses, or other objects intended for public use, including traffic signs and lights, outdoor surveillance cameras, intentional damage to public transport or intentional damage or destruction of inventory in public transport shall be punishable by a fine of 300 GEL. A repeated act shall be punishable by a fine of 500 GEL or administrative imprisonment. The above bill will be submitted to the Parliament of Georgia, and we have high hopes for the support of the legislators”, - said Kakha Kaladze.