Pyotr Skobelev
The Government will not economise on national projects even in crisis conditions
On December 17, 2008, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with the ministers in charge of national projects at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence. The funds allocated for the priority trend in state policy are not always spent rationally and the projects are far from perfect, the Prime Minister said.
When opening the meeting of the presidential council for top priority national projects and demographic policy, Mr Putin recalled that at the October meeting they had agreed to specify the amount of funding and the mechanisms for implementing measures related to these projects.
"The analysis of the submitted materials shows that this work has not yet been completed. Many positions of the sectoral ministries and departments have not been coordinated with the Finance Ministry and the Economic Development Ministry, and there is no clear substantiation for some expenditure items," Mr Putin said.
The Prime Minister understands how difficult this work is in crisis conditions, and therefore asked the sectoral ministers to more clearly specify budget expenditure items. Vladimir Putin also emphasized that there was no talk of economising on national projects, for "they remain among the key trends in our activity in the social sphere and other areas." This year, the Government spent 330 billion roubles for this purpose.
"We are allocating substantial funds for national projects and they must give the highest possible yield, including for resolving social problems and stimulating demand in the economy, which is important in the current situation," the Prime Minister said.
He also recalled that the Government supported the demand for housing recently by helping to complete the unfinished housing construction projects. "We must not forget about long-term prospects. We must continue to allot new land plots for development, including comprehensive development, and provide them with the engineering and transport infrastructure," Mr Putin said. "Such a reserve will later help us to boost construction volumes and thus compensate for the current temporary decline," he added.
Nearly three months ago, the Government decided to change the format of the national projects, which will be renamed as state programmes starting in 2009. Shortly before the New Year, on December 24, President Dmitry Medvedev will convene the council for priority national projects and demographic policy. The meeting will discuss a working plan for the next four years and assess the results of the first year of implementing the state programme for the development of agriculture, which is being carried out along with the national project to develop agribusiness.
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