A state audit has swept through the Ministry for Internally Displaced Persons of Abkhazia, uncovering violations that refugees, civil society, and journalists have literally been screaming about for decades.
While hundreds of refugees in need waited in vain for assistance, budget funds vanished “into thin air”—even going toward funding “dead souls.” This is the brief conclusion that can be drawn from the audit report, which reviewed social programs for 2022–2024.
It turned out that in nearly 80% of cases, the commission decided who would receive aid without clear criteria—essentially, subjectively. Holiday food packages worth tens of thousands of lari were distributed to people for whom they were not intended. It also emerged that in 26 cases, social assistance was sent to deceased beneficiaries, and two pieces of expensive specialized equipment were handed over to someone without even specifying the recipient.
Most importantly, during the reporting period, officials failed to review one in three applications from internally displaced persons (IDPs)—amounting to over 2,300 applications—including requests for temporary housing. In other words, citizens without a roof over their heads waited years for an answer while their documents gathered dust on shelves.
For those following the issue, the state audit’s findings came as no surprise. The systemic neglect of refugees’ needs has dragged on for years, and the current violations merely confirm the long-standing diagnoses of human rights advocates.
For instance, according to reports by the Social Justice Center and the Public Defender of Georgia, about half of the 300,000 internally displaced persons have been waiting in queues for decades, and tens of thousands of families have still not been provided with long-term housing. Moreover, hundreds of families remain in dilapidated buildings (such as former sanatoriums and hotels) that are officially recognized as hazardous to life and health. Previous audits of other agencies responsible for IDPs had already revealed bloated payrolls, misappropriation of funds for official vehicles, and the fact that up to 80% of the budget was spent on maintaining the bureaucratic apparatus itself rather than helping people.
For decades, the distribution of housing and subsidies has taken place through an opaque, constantly shifting points system, with refugees regularly alleging corruption and nepotism. Due to bureaucracy, people have spent their entire lives waiting for government assistance. Driven to extreme despair, some took radical steps.
For example, in 2025, 44-year-old Zamir Kvekveskiri committed self-immolation in the courtyard of the Agency for IDPs and subsequently died of his burns in the hospital. In 2022, 52-year-old refugee from Abkhazia Zurab Chichoshvili jumped from a window of the dilapidated Kartli sanatorium and died. In 2014, Dali Aburjania, a resident of Poti, attempted self-immolation. Two years earlier, Vakhtang Chanturia made a similar attempt. In 2010, Nana Pipia set herself on fire and passed away.
All these tragedies occurred in different years, under different governments and different heads of the agency. The state audit report has merely confirmed what everyone in Georgia has known for a long time. Now, the main question is whether these latest findings will lead to real change or remain just another document with no consequences.
