Press Review of the Caucasus (January 11-17)

The focus of the Azerbaijani press is the economic consequences of the rapid fall in oil prices for the country. The halving of the rate of the manat in 2015 had a negative impact on household incomes and consumer prices in Azerbaijan. The weekly ‘Region Plus’ tells about the steps taken by the government to find the way out of this situation. First of all, these are the measures against the artificial rise in prices. This symbiosis of an actual exchange rate of the manat to the retention of inflation within acceptable standards is seen as an opportunity to create new prospects for the development of the non-oil sector, which has gained the status of the main budgetary donor due to the fall in energy prices. The staff of the supervising public services have conducted joint activities to identify instances of artificially high prices and shortages of goods on the part of businesses and to bring perpetrators to justice.

Another task of the state is the maximum simplification of business activity and the elimination of bureaucratic obstacles. Today, due to a significant reduction of income from energy exports, the state can no longer act as a major investor and donor support keeping afloat private initiative. There was a need for new, non-financial incentives, providing investment and business activity of the business. To this purpose a law ‘On the suspension of inspections carried out in the field of entrepreneurship’ was passed in the autumn, and on December 29th 2015 the Milli Majlis approved the first reading of the bill ‘On Licenses and Permits’. In preparing this document the experience of the EU member states, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and other countries was used.

The new rules for licensing provide simplified rules for issuing such permits. The rights of business licenses are transferred to the multifunctional service center ASAN, although 23 government agencies were involved earlier in the reconciliation process and the issuance of permits.

The bill provides for the establishment of a single set of rules for granting permits for commercial activities. Previously, this area was regulated by numerous laws and circular state structures. It is also contemplated to abandon urgent licenses going to indefinite permits. It is planned to create a unified register of licenses and permits, as well as the portal of the ‘electronic license’. The deadline for the decision on granting the license would be reduced from 15 to 10 working days, and all permits up to 7 working days. The main new feature of the bill is the introduction of the principle of ‘silence gives consent’: if during the statutory period an entrepreneur is not receiving the refusal of the licensing body, he can begin operations without a formal license.

The newspaper ‘Azerbaijan News’ notes the possible positive effects of the devaluation of the country's currency. In the first place, a lowering of the rate of the manat can provide for a development of its own processing, in particular of the gas and petrochemical industries, the beginning of which has been already made. In many ways Azerbaijan still has a decent supply of resources and a certain technological base for the production of highly processed products concentrated in the industrial parks. Investors will benefit from the placing of production of the components of high-tech products on the territory of the republic, from alternative energy to means of communication. For example, KamAZ has launched a car factory assembly line in Ganja, which will begin to produce up to 1500 trucks annually. Their cost can be attractive for Iran, Iraq and the other Middle East countries. In the coming year Russian-Azerbaijani projects in shipbuilding could be developed.

In addition, you can activate the tourism sector, which can help to reduce the prices of tourist facilities in the area of ​​nutrition. Here an important tool is the lowering of prices on airline tickets, which has been announced by ‘Azerbaijan Airlines’. In particular, the cost of tickets to low-cost areas –  Moscow, Dubai, Istanbul and Antalya – will amount to 89 euros.

Some benefit from the devaluation of the agricultural sector will be received, especially in the part that is focused on exports. The Russian direction after the introduction of the sanctions against Turkish imports is being strengthened as a vector of product sales. A certain portion of these positions may take Azeri fruits and vegetables.

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At the last meeting of the last year the parliament of South Ossetia voted for a transition to a fully professional basis of work. This means that MPs who are still able to combine work in the executive branch with parliamentary activity should choose whether to refuse work or to give up their seats in parliament. According to the online edition of ‘Sputnik- South Ossetia’, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Legislation, Legality and Local Self-Government, Olesya Kochieva, the amendments to the Constitution have already been sent to the president for signature. The head of state must sign them within ten days, after which the Parliament will begin work on a fully professional basis.

According to her, all the constitutional provisions and terms of the Parliament have been met. "Theoretically, it is not permitted for the president to reject these amendments. With regard to the constitutional laws, the Head of State does not have the right of suspensive veto," the deputy explained.

According to a survey that was conducted by the publication earlier, after the transition of the legislature to a professional basis, some of the deputies have decided to continue their parliamentary activities, while others have chosen to work in the executive branch. Some of the deputies have not decided yet, and will decide only after the amendment will enter into force.

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The newspaper ‘Pravda Dagestan’ informs that on January 15th the head of the republic of Dagestan, Ramadan Abdullatipov, met with Honored Artist and People's Artist of the Azerbaijani SSR, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu in Makhachkala, who arrived in Dagestan to take part in the celebrations dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the birth of the composer Murad Kazhlaev.

Welcoming the guest, the head of the republic noted that in 2015 the cultural life of Dagestan was full of significant events, and confirmed the uniqueness of the creative potential of the republic. The beginning of 2016 has been also marked by an important date – the 85th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding composer Murad Kazhlaev, who is widely known not only in Dagestan and Russia, but throughout the world. "You have known Mourad Magomedovich for many years, and it is gratifying that the big celebration became a holiday for Azerbaijan," Abdullatipov said. Polad Bulbuloglu noted that in Azerbaijan Murad Kazhlaev is really considered to be its own, since he lived in Baku and studied with the prominent Soviet composer Kara Karayev. The creative activity of Murad Kazhlaev also started in Baku. He became a famous and popular composer, he glorified his small home, Dagestan, created remarkable works, including the music for a ballet based on the poem by Rasul Gamzatov ‘Mountain Girl’, the ambassador stressed. He said that Murad Kazhlaev was awarded the Order of Friendship of Azerbaijan – one of the highest honors, which the ambassador handed over to him later in the evening in the Russian Theater.

Bulbuloglu also talked about the indissoluble economic, spiritual and cultural links established between Dagestan and Azerbaijan. The relationship of brotherhood and friendship between the two peoples, especially among intellectuals and creative people, has always been present. For a long time they have been exchanging groups, creative experience. Especially in recent years the country has seen many positive changes, there are many cultural, humanitarian programs.

In turn, the head of Dagestan noted Azerbaijan's contribution to the preparation of the commemorative events in honor of the 2000th anniversary of Derbent, reconstruction of streets and squares. Then the representative delegation from Azerbaijan arrived at the celebration of the ancient Russian city of Derbent. In the future, cooperation will continue. In particular the Olympic Sports Center and the building of the Azerbaijani Music and Drama Theater will be built in Derbent.

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The newspaper ‘Ingushetia’ reported that the first phase of the construction of the Sports Palace, designed for a thousand seats, will be launched in the country in the near future. As the chief architect of the Republic, Lida Plieva, reported to the publication, it will be a new and unusual building for the country, in which it will be possible to hold not only sporting events, but also events of the republican, national and international importance. We were considering various grounds, but settled on the north-western part of the capital, where the general plan has been already approved for the construction of the national stadium for 5000 seats and the racecourse. "If I may say so, it is the sports block of  Magas,  the Ice Palace will be a part of this complex,’’ Plieva explained.

She added that this is not a costly and not a very versatile object. Such technology has already been successfully used in Russia, for Ingushetia it will be the first experience of the building-transformer. From the building of the Ice Palace ‘Erzi’, built in Nasir Corte, this place will be different in that it will be possible to clean the ice and hold competitions in basketball or futsal, erect a stage and establish, for example, New Year's performances for children. The box dimensions will be standard, so competitions of any level can be held. The building will consist of prefabricated panels and steel structures that are not necessary to import from abroad. They are unified, they can be gathered as a puzzle, they are produced in Russia, the nearest assembly plant in Rostov-on-Don.

The work on designing the building-transformer is being paid by ‘Rosneft’, which has already allocated funds for the construction of several social facilities in the republic.

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In North Ossetia, private preschools have joined the program on elimination of waiting lists for kindergartens. Now the conditions are such that many representatives of social businesses are really interested in working together with the authorities. According to the newspaper ‘North Ossetia’, the possibility of cooperation was actively discussed at the end of the previous year. To date, the electronic waiting list for kindergartens is more than a thousand children from 3 to 7 years, and the Minobre, given the dynamics of fertility, are confident that this figure will grow. To solve this problem through the budget is difficult, which is why it was decided to contract privateers. They were promised certain subsidies. The country has 15 non-state kindergartens, which are attended by 628 children. However, only 6 kindergartens are licensed, and the government intends to work only with them. Under the terms set by the Ministry of Education to commercial nurseries, apart from having a license, they must take at least 20 children. The state subsidies will amount to 48 thousand rubles per child per year . That is, at a minimum density of 20 children, a kindergarden will receive 960,000. This money can be spent on staff salaries, textbooks, manuals and toys. The specialists of the Ministry will ensure that the subsidies are spent exactly as prescribed.

Representatives of the commercial market believe that the government support will bring most of the private gardens working illegally out of the shadows. Now they are holding back in fear of large tax liabilities. To protect their rights, even entrepreneurs have joined the Association of Private Pre-school Educational Institutions. According to the chairman of the organization, Marina Dzhadzhieva, this business is not the most profitable. The number of children is always changing, there is no stability. Therefore many people think that they cannot fulfill all their financial obligations and stay in the shadows. Many work semi-legally: they create IB and operate without a license. Now the Association is working to ensure that they receive a license and could qualify for a subsidy. At the same time, the representatives of the gardens belonging to the Association promise to significantly lower the payments for parents. If the amount is now in the range of 8-13 thousand, in the near future the representatives of the commercial establishments are willing to reduce it to 6 thousand rubles per month. "Many people think that our children will not go there, because in the public garden it is cheaper in any case. Yes, it's true, but our groups are smaller, and more attention is given to each child,’’ Marina Dzhadzhieva said. ‘’I guess only when all they see a really acting current program, the number of private kindergartens will begin to grow."

For 2016 all the legal and regulatory framework has been prepared for the implementation of public-private partnerships. It determines the amount of 20 million rubles, which must be provided in the national budget for 2016. The amendments to the main financial document of the plan will be made in the near future, the article reads.