City Hall offers market space to evicted Marjanishvili street vendors

Street vendors who worked around Marjanishvili metro station will be able to continue their business in designated trading spaces.

At the Tbilisi municipal government session, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze spoke about the crackdown on street trading and the removal of unauthorised structures.

“As you are aware, unauthorised street vending is strictly prohibited, particularly when it occurs in an unregulated manner around busy metro stations where thousands of commuters pass daily. We have received numerous petitions, letters, and calls from local residents urging us to restore order around the entrance to Marjanishvili Metro. Pedestrians were simply unable to navigate the space freely, to say nothing of the unsanitary conditions created and the blight cast over a historical district,” the Mayor stated.

He said City Hall plans to rehabilitate Marjanishvili Square soon.

As for the traders, the mayor said they had been warned many times, to no avail.

“I want to make it abundantly clear that the fate of these individuals is far from a matter of indifference to us. We understand their plight very well. It is no coincidence that the municipality operates extensive healthcare, social, and economic support initiatives to assist those most in need. I sympathise with the vendors who were trading near Marjanishvili station; no one wishes to see families left without a livelihood. Therefore, alongside enforcement measures, we proactively sought commercial spaces where they can carry on their business. Suitable locations have already been secured at the Kalakis Guli and Tergi markets. The vendors from Marjanishvili will be able to transition their operations to these facilities,” Kaladze explained.

The mayor instructed Davit Makatsaria, Governor of Chughureti District, to meet these people once again and explain in detail what City Hall is offering them.

At the Tbilisi government meeting, Kaladze also thanked the Municipal Inspectorate for carrying out their duties.

“I want to highlight the work of the staff of the Tbilisi Municipal Inspectorate, who, despite a great deal of resistance and entirely undeserved abuse and swearing, carry out their duties conscientiously and enforce the law so that our city is orderly and the interests of Tbilisi residents are protected. Thank you for standing guard over Tbilisi,” Kaladze said.