Government will provide each family in Georgia with one-time GEL 20 allowance to pay electricity bill starting from February 10, Alexander Khetaguri, the energy minister, told President Saakashvili at a meeting on Wednesday

Finance Minister, Kakha Baindurashvili, said at the same meeting that GEL 20 million (about USD 11.1 million) would be allocated from the state budget for this purpose.

The decision has been described by the government as part of its "anti-inflation" policy to help mitigate inflationary pressure on citizens. Inflation hit 11.2% at the end of 2010.

“It's already something; it's a sign of solidarity of the government towards those problems, which our people are facing,” Saakashvili said at the meeting, which was also attended by Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Vera Kobalia and Agriculture Minister Bakur Kvezereli.

“Our task is to rule out internal factors in the inflationary process. It is difficult when so much is spent on infrastructure development projects," he said.

He also said that the country's response to high inflation should be creation of new jobs, including through increasing agriculture production.