The Ingush authorities hope that the recent visit by President Vladimir Putin to the Republic will give a new impetus to social and economic development of the region, the Ingushetia newspaper reports. The head of the republic, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, said in an interview how the problems outlined by President at the meeting in Magas will be solved.
Discussing the issue of dilapidated dwellings, the percentage of which is the highest in the country at 22.8%, Yevkurov noted that this problem is primarily due to a large private fund of dilapidated low-rise dwellings. Today Ingushetia is one of the few regions to have undertaken to put housing into operation quickly at the time of the crisis. It is planned to put into operation 22 reconstructed apartment buildings for 2,450 people. 85,500 square meters were put into operation in the first half of 2015, which is 51.3% more than in the same period of last year. The number of new housing grew 19.4% compared to the same period in 2014, due to the funds of the population.
Another problem is the high subsidizes of the region. According to the head of the republic, the current situation is caused by weak social infrastructure and absence of the industrial base. However, work is increasing from year to year in this direction. The own revenues of the consolidated budget of the republic increased by 11.3% in 2015. These measures will allow to reduce the dependence on subsidies from 84% to 76.9% by the end of this year. If we compare these results to 2009, a positive tendency is evident. At that period of time the dependence on subsidies was 94.7%. It is planned to reduce this figure to 50% due to the implementation of major investment projects in the real sector of the economy. They are horticulture, development of large meat and dairy complexes and refineries. By the end of 2018 the level of development of intensive farms of the republic is to become the leader of the North Caucasus Federal District and maintain more than 1000 hectares of highly productive gardens of intensive type.
As for the unemployment rate, which is significantly higher than the national average, Yevkurov noted that the situation hasn’t occurred suddenly. However, the total number of unemployed people have decreased by 20,500 in the past three years. The republic has a program of employment of qualified professionals, as well as programs directed at encouraging and supporting small and medium-sized business. It may reverse the trend in the mid-term prospect. About 20% of the employed population is involved in the sector of small and medium-size enterprises. The proportion of entrepreneurs is increasing annually. The average monthly wage in the country increased by 5.3% in 2015.
The republic resists the reduction of child mortality, as well as the elimination of the deficit of qualified doctors and nurses. For many years Ingushetia has had the highest fertility rate in Russia. In the first half of the year child mortality fell by 20%. A new perinatal center in Nazran will be equipped with modern technologies. Pregnancy and childbirth will be monitored by qualified staff at all stages. A sharp drop in mortality and minimizing the risks of young mothers is expected. The lag in the construction of the center was allowed by the general contractor, but now builders practically fit into the timeline and the project will be completed before the end of November 2015.
In addition, the recently updated fund of medical centers has grown more than 80%. In 2015 the wages of doctors will be 137% of the average wage in the country.
The head of the Ingush Republic also noted that 10 new schools are planned to be built in 2015-2016 in the framework of the target program 'The south of Russia and the socio-economic development of the Republic of Ingushetia'. It will allow us to abandon a three-shift schedule.
Investors and large businesses were involved in order to implement the social programs of Ingushetia. Rosneft allocated more than 500 million rubles for the construction of a kindergarten for 240 children in Malgobek, as well as the construction of a new school for 540 pupils in the Sunzha district. In addition, agreements were reached with a number of large companies on the construction of several fitness centers in the region.
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Energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia is developing in several directions, including the sphere of mutual energy supplies, Azerbaijan News reports. A new contract for the delivery of gas from Russia to Azerbaijan was signed the other day.
According to the head of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Rovnag Abdullayev, the gas supplies will begin on September 20-21. This issue was discussed in the summer at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, where the heads of Gazprom and SOCAR agreed that the Azerbaijani side will provide transportation of raw materials to the consumer.
The private Azerbaijani company AzMeCo will receive natural gas as a raw material for the production of methanol and other petrochemical products in the future. According to the contract signed in Baku between AzMeCo and Gazprom, the Russian fuel will cover completely the demand in raw materials for the methanol plant. The contractor will be the Russian sales division of the Russian company LLC Gazprom export. The direct executor will be SOCAR, which holds and operates the gas pipeline system in the country. It will deliver raw materials to the client from the seller.
"It's a medium-term contract for the sale of gas amounting to up to two billion cubic meters a year. The natural gas supply will provide the guaranteed capacity utilization of the Garadagh methanol plant. They are planned to begin in the near future," Gazprom informs.
According to the newspaper, the company AzMeCo has close ties with Russia's Sberbank. Last year it signed a five-year memorandum of cooperation amounting to $1.5 billion, including an ability to refinance the methanol plant amounting to $450 million. Investments of AzMeCo in the construction of this company amounted to about $500 million.
Meanwhile, the contract for the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Russia, signed in October 2009, is still in force. Today Gazprom has a contract (with possibility of extension) on the purchase of Azerbaijani gas, which allows to pause and resume the supply of gas at any time. This year, the transfer of Azerbaijani gas to Russia hasn’t been carried out yet.
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Armenia's GDP growth is planned at the level of 4.1% this year in the state budget. According to the National Statistical Service, from January to July 2015 the economic growth in Armenia was 4.2%. According to a recent report, the Central Bank of Armenia improved its forecast for economic growth in 2015 and now it expects GDP growth in the range of 2.1-2.5%.
However, according to Business Express, the rate of economic growth is used by the government from year to year as proof of self-efficacy, apparently forgetting that it should be the basis for the prosperity of the nation. According to official statistics, the poverty rate in Armenia is 34%. 25 thousand people leave the country for economic reasons annually. The words ‘monopolization’, ‘corruption’ have already dried mouths. The high level of economic inequality leads to the restriction of private enterprise development and income growth, the author complains.
The newspaper cites the words of the Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian, who in an interview for Armenian-TV, referring to the topic of population decrease in consumption against the background of economic growth, he explained that the level of consumption in Armenian society has never depended on the volume of production and exports. "Money transfers were sent to our country in large numbers, and the level of consumption always exceeded the volumes of production," he said.
According to the official data presented on the site Ayastannyus, private transfers from Russia to Armenia in January-June 2015 were addressed to individuals for non-commercial purposes. They amounted to $399.4 million. Despite the fact that they have decreased by 36.3% in comparison with the same period last year due to the devaluation of the ruble.
Thus, the interconnection between ‘‘economic growth and incomes’’ in Armenia is reversed, Business Express reports. The population receives transfers, spends money on buying goods and services, and provides income to business and growth in the economy. That happened in the years of the double-digit economic growth during the crisis period in 2008-2009. Nothing has changed, the article informs.
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On September 18 the Parliament of Georgia approved in the third and final reading a bill on the reform of the prosecutor's office, which provides a new procedure for the election to the post of chief prosecutor of the country, Georgia-Online reports.
At present, the Prime Minister appoints and dismisses the chief prosecutor upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice. New rules will provide a more complicated procedure for electing the chief prosecutor with the participation of the Parliament and the new collegial body – the Prosecutorial Council.
The Prosecutorial Council should be created within a month after the law comes into force and it should consist of 15 members, who will be headed by the Minister of Justice. It will consist of prosecutors, judges, deputies of the parliament, one of whom will be elected by the parliamentary majority. The other deputy will be elected from those who remained outside the majority. Another two members will be elected by the parliament according to proposals of higher educational institutions and civic society organizations.
After consultations with the academic community, civic society representatives and experts of the law, the Minister of Justice will represent the Prosecutorial Council with three candidates for the post of the chief prosecutor. The body should choose one by a majority of no less than 2/3 of the votes. A citizen of Georgia can lay claim to the position if he has a clean criminal record, a higher legal education and a minimum of 5 years of experience in criminal cases as a judge or a lawyer. He should be a recognized expert dealing with criminal law from academic circles or civic society organizations, with ten years of experience at least.
The nominee will be presented to the government. If approved, the candidate must be approved by the Parliament for a term of six years. It is necessary to be supported by 76 deputies at least. The same person cannot be elected as chief prosecutor twice.
The bill also provides for an early release procedure of the chief prosecutor from his post. An important role is assigned to the Prosecutorial Council and the Parliament, which takes the final decision on the matter.
Tbilisi Week cites a deputy of the Republican Party from the ruling Georgian Dream coalition. The head of the legal committee of the Parliament, Vakhtang Khmaladze, called the bill an important step to ensure that the Prosecutor's Office has become politically independent. He believes that the proposed reform of the prosecutor's office will be accountable to the Parliament and the mechanisms of parliamentary control of prosecutors will also be created.
I don’t agree with many opposition MPs, who still see a great influence of the government of the ruling coalition in respect of the process of submission and approval of the chief prosecutor. An MP from the National Movement, Giorgi Vashadze, called the bill an imitation of a reform. The MP from the opposition Free Democrats party, Shalva Shavgulidze, made a statement that the existing bill, the government and the ruling coalition will keep full control over the process, and therefore it cannot lead to a de-politicization of the prosecutor's office.
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Russia's first interactive restaurant was opened in Vladikavkaz, Region 15 reports. The main feature will be interactive tables, where guests will be seated. A few taps on the touchpad table and the visitors can read the history of a meal, its recipe and ingredients and then make an order that immediately goes to the kitchen of the restaurant. In addition, guests will be able to see how chefs cook the dishes based on their preference. An interactive game with the use of technical capabilities of the table will allow the time to pass.
"It's an absolutely new level of service. The features of such equipment can fully meet the requests of the guests, Hetag Bitarov, the author of the project of the restaurant NEO writes. "The program has several languages. You can read news, watch movies and popular videos on YouTube, make purchases online. You can also connect other devices in order to play in a big company, and communicate with nearby tables."
Now in the world there are three such places: in Cyprus, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A few are being built now in Europe, North America and Asia. According to the experience of foreign colleagues, touch tables and stands are the main highlight of the restaurant. They are a key focus of the visitors’ attention. They make the biggest impression and a wow-effect, which should motivate a person to return there and invite friends.
"Certainly, the project will be more interesting to a younger generation. But I think that many people will visit NEO out of curiosity, regardless of visitors’ age," Bitarov says. "The main thing now for us is to form a team of interested and enthusiastic young people, who want to work and realize their ideas. They should belong to the NEO generation: sociable, creative, initiative, free. It is the only way we can keep the atmosphere of this place and share its atmosphere."
