By Vestnik Kavkaza
Chechen media reported that in Grozny on June 24 under the chairmanship of head of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin All-Russian Conference of control and audit bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation a "State audit of the system of regional economic security" was held, attended by representatives from more than 60 regions of Russia.
Speaking at the meeting, the chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber urged all regional and municipal control and accounting bodies to pay attention to the issues of regional economic security.
With regard to Chechnya, he noted that it is one of the regions of Russia where funds allocated from the federal budget are most effectively used. As an example, he mentioned the stadium, "Akhmad Arena", which is considered one of the best facilities of its kind in Russia. Moreover, its construction cost amounted to slightly more than five billion rubles.
Chairman of the Accounts Chamber has expressed confidence in the necessity of the preparation of the federal target program for the creation of the industrial infrastructure of the country. According to him, the only Grozny oil refinery, which was once one of the largest in Europe, could produce up to 30% of the consolidated budget of the Republic.
In summary, Stepashin noted the need to join efforts of state and local governments to improve the basic mechanism of inter-budget relations - the system of division of powers between levels of government and assigning them appropriate revenue sources.
According to the local newspaper "Republic News", during the event, the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that in the next five years the government of the region is going to turn the republic into a thriving one that supplies other subjects of Russia. "We have created all the conditions for this”, the president said, “there are a lot of projects, programs, and we have agreements with the leadership of the state. Our challenge is to make sure that there is industry in the Chechen Republic. Today we have an agreement with a number of investors and are ready to sign an agreement with them. Many foreign investors wished to invest funds in the republic. So, I think in the near future the republic will be a donor which the Chechen-Ingush Republic was long ago.
The newspaper also reports that during his stay in Chechnya Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Russian Federation visited the village of Veduchi, where the construction of the season ski resort of the same name is going on and expressed his opinion that the Chechen Republic has a huge potential for tourism, and it is still one of the prospects of its development.
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According to the newspaper "Ingushetia", the republic's authorities intend to give serious consideration to the creation of the region's stock of rental housing. It is supposed to do this in the region through the implementation of technologies for construction of low-rise housing which, according to experts, because of its affordability, can greatly facilitate the solution of the problem for the people themselves to ensure comfortable housing.
The article reports that at a meeting on the subject held in Magas, the Minister of Construction of the Republic Mikail Barkinhoev, given the fact that many people have owned land allocated by the state to solve the housing problem, but not used by them due to lack of funds for construction, proposed to build on these sites 2-3-4-storey houses or 1-2-floor cottages with a total area of apartments from 80 to 120 square meters. After the completion of the construction landowner is offered housing for a more favorable price than other potential tenants, and the latter will buy the house at fair market value, or all of them will be given a long-term lease with option to purchase housing.
Using modular pre-fabricated construction, the author explains, is assumed, in addition to their cost-effectiveness, because of their seismic resistance and energy efficiency, especially due to the fact that to adjust their production, there is no need to build new capacity, and the potential of the existing Malgobekskiy house-building plant can be used, which, in addition, will help reviving the company and providing people with jobs.
The minister also said, according to the article, that President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov proposed building up the coastal park of the capital to make at least 10 percent of "square meters" housing for rent, constructed by this method.
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In Azerbaijan, on the eve of the election another opposition coalition has been created. The newspaper "Terefe" reports that the two political forces - the "Public Association" Baku Revival" and “National Association for the Homeland" have signed a cooperation agreement.
As the head of the first non-governmental organization Abbasaga Mamedly said at the press conference, cooperation will not be limited to the period of the presidential election. Elections, the newspaper reports, in his view are an opportunity for democratic change in the country, involving the most neutral strata of society in this process is. He mentioned the main problems of the country, which force people to go into politics: corruption, bureaucratic arbitrariness, a lack of support for middle-class entrepreneurs. To solve these problems, as he believes, it is necessary to unite all forces.
In turn, the leader of the “National Association for the Homeland" Abdul Abdulaliyev said he sees the goal of the coalition not in the separation of the masses, but rather in the integration and activation of the population to participate in the elections. He also said that they are negotiating to bring other political organizations to the coalition, but did not give specific names.
Regarding the nomination of a single candidate from the coalition, he said that their organization has a good candidate, but they do not want to announce his name in advance, the author of the article reports.
"The Mirror" newspaper in an article on the same topic recalls that Abdulaliyev, better known as Haji Abdul, was once active supporter of the former Azerbaijani President Ayaz Mutalibov and played a big role in his rise to power in the early 90s. He was subsequently convicted and spent several years in prison. After his release, he was not involved in politics, and since last year he has decided to return to it again.
However, at the conference Abdulaliyev answered negativelythe question on the relation of ex-president Ayaz Mutalibov to the new block. At the same time, he did not rule out that the members of the movement and Mutalibov himself support the same candidate for the presidency, the newspaper reports .
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In Armenia, the system reform of the military industry continues. In this vein, the local "New Era" newspaper reports, the government has recently made another very important step by adopting a resolution "On the Procedure of Development, Adoption and Implementation of National Standards for Production of Military Industry."
It should be said, the author of the article explains, which in the military-industrial sector of Armenia there are still mostly Soviet military production standards which have lost much of its relevance. The government resolution will help to create a modernized framework of regulations for its standardization. According to the paper, the author continues, in the military industry secret product standards, processes and work methods of control such as testing, measurement, analysis will be adopted.
The development of these standards will be carried out by the national standards body; they will be approved and adopted by Standardization Technical Committee, which includes representatives of the Ministry of Defense and other interested parties. The article says that the approved military standards will be mandatory for public procurement. Work on the standardization of military products will be based on the annual program developed by Standardization Technical Committee and other interested parties on the basis of priority areas for standardization. Accordingly, now the annual state budget of Armenia will provide the funds for the implementation of development programs of military standards.
Thus, the paper concludes, the implementation of this resolution will, in accordance with international standards and experience requirements, carry out systemic reforms in Armenia's defense industry and provide the armed forces of the country with military equipment.
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Now, determining the direction for investment in the North Caucasus region will be much easier. The "Ingushetia" newspaper reports that at the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Investment internet portal http://investkavkaz.ru of the North Caucasus Federal District was presented, which has become available to users. In the near future an application for iPad will be available.
The publication says that the initiative to establish the portal which would unite all the necessary information in the most convenient form was put forward by the government commission on the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus Federal District in 2010.
Now representatives of the business can quickly and fully obtain all necessary information about the major ongoing projects, the proposed investment areas and special economic zones. The portal also allows to find out more about applicable laws, forms of government support and the latest news in the region. An important component of the resource is an interactive map with all current investment objects for each of the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, which makes the portal a unique and useful tool for the investor.
According to the General Director of JSC “North Caucasus Development Corporation", which represents the portal, Anton Pak, investors will now have an absolutely clear idea of where to come and invest. "Our task is to attract investment and promote the region's economic potential. This portal demonstrates that the North Caucasus is open for cooperation and is ready to implement really ambitious projects. Successful business on clear and transparent rules is possible here”, he stressed.
The newspaper cites the opinion of Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District Alexander Khloponin about this innovation, who said: "This online platform will help to improve our performance in attracting investment to the region and will provide constant communication with investors. I believe that the new resource is an important step in the formation of a favorable investment climate in the North Caucasus Federal District.
