|
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA: THE NEW KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES ARE TAKING UP THE DUTIES
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev will deal with the bureaucrats by himself, but he will invite Russian companies to put in order country’s power economy.
The very first day after his inauguration new Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appointed his partner in electoral campaign Felix Kulov to the post of acting Prime Minister. This appointment was one of the conditions Kulov had made before entering into the alliance.
However, Felix Kulov will be considered a regular Prime Minister only when the Cabinet is formed.
The same day at the extended session of the Kyrgyz Government the President set the main priorities of the new Kyrgyz authorities’ policy. Kurmanbek Bakiyev regards putting the administration and the economy in order to be his main task.
From now on the activity of all the Kyrgyz officials will be controlled by the presidential administration which will even monitor functionaries’ business travels around the country. The discipline will be paid special attention. “I require the iron discipline and order. Officials should not leave their offices without any needs of service until 6.00 p.m. and they should use their working hours only for the designed purposes”, said Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The head of the presidential administration Usen Sadykov and acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov will be responsible for the order in the officialdom. In addition, the President is going to build his executive chain of command as his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin does. “From now on the heads of local services, except for courts, the prosecutor’s offices and the security services, will be appointed only when they will have been approved by the local administrations”, the President stated.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev is going to involve Russian companies in reforming the economic sphere of the country, in particular the power economy. In accordance with the decree, in autumn the Kyrgyz Parliament will treat the question of the transfer of the local distributing energetic companies into the concession that will include the Russian power plants. “There are influential and potent Russian companies, which are able to put this sphere in order”, Kurmanbek Bakiyev said. The economic analysts believe that the RAO “UES of Russia” and the “Basic Element” would most likely participate in the concession.
In the observers’ opinion, Kyrgyz President’s plans of rebuilding the country have been expected. Actually, that is the fulfillment of his election promises. However, the experts are afraid that the new authorities will fail to reach all their goals. A member of the Carnegie Center Research Council Alexey Malashenko said that the implementation of the anticorruption policy can cause serious problems. “Most officials in the Parliament and in the Government belong to the circle of the former President Askar Akayev. Kurmanbek Bakiyev has virtually no adherents. A lot of the officials are involved in various abuses. It is doubtful that the new Government will manage to change the bureaucrats for the better”, the expert thinks. According to Alexey Malashenko, fighting corruption is a keystone for the Kyrgyz authorities. On the one hand it can foster their popularity; on the other it implies a fight against the people close to the President. “That is why it would most likely be entrusted to Felix Kulov, - the analyst said. – Felix Kulov is a much tougher person than Kurmanbek Bakiyev. He keeps good ties with special services. Besides, one should not forget about his imprisonment”. By choosing this option Kurmanbek Bakiyev would be able not only to partially absolve himself of the responsibility for fulfilling this paragraph of the election program but also to protect himself from the potential negative reaction on the part of the officials whose interests might be hurt during the staff renewal.
Nelly ORLOVA
“Nezavisimaya Gazeta”, August 17, 2005
Translated by “Eurasian Home”
|
