Khloponin dispels myths

The federal centre has no intention of “showering the North Caucasus with money.”The deputy chairman of the government of Russia, plenipotentiary envoy of the Russian President in the North Caucasus Federal District, Alexander Khloponin, told journalists in Yessentuki that talks on this theme appear “due to lack of information, misunderstanding of the budget process and the situation in general.”

“Here we are dealing with the problem of slight understanding of figures, which leads to confusion of people,” Khloponin said.

According to him, the first myth - that much more money is spent on each resident of the NCFD than on residents of other regions, is nonsense. “The most supported territory in the district is Ingushetia, where the level of financial support from the federal budget per a person is 12 thousand rubles. In some depressed territories of Russia this sum reaches 64-70 thousand rubles,” Khloponin noted.

“The main condition of the state development programme is not “showering with money,” but establishing an environment favorable for capital and investors in the North Caucasus Federal District, as well as development of the economy and establishing enterprises,” the envoy is sure.

Khloponin highlighted the inadequacy of complaints of corruption toward Stavropol Territory in comparison with other republics of the NCFD. The point is that instead of the federal target programmes for regional development, a united State programme of the North Caucasus development will function. “All the proposals from Stavropol Territory are included in this programme. Along with construction of the canal between the Azov and Caspian Seas, all proposals were considered. Stavropol Territory plays one of the key roles in the Caucasus,” he stated.

ITAR-TASS