Izvestia: "Embezzlers to be Named and Shamed on the Internet"
Valadimir Putin considers the development prospects for the North Caucasus
The regular United Russia party conference focused on the social and economic development of the North Caucasus. The idea of holding a meeting on the ground in Kislovodsk was intended to focus the delegates' minds. The result was a sort of presentation of the development strategy for the North Caucasus combined with a road-show to attract investment.
Ahead of Putin's visit, conference organizers prepared a small exhibition about investment projects across the Caucasus. Seven exhibition stands detailed each republic's investment plans. These primarily included resorts, housing construction, oil processing and agricultural production.
Mr Putin never got to see that exhibition, but businessmen and officials did have the opportunity to acquaint him with the most important projects in person. Budyonnovsk (Stavropol Territory) will get a petrochemical complex, Northern Ossetia-Alanya will develop photoelectric nano-microfabrication technology, Dagestan will get investment into the production of construction materials and Kabardino-Balkarya is planning to focus on pure polymer production. Vladimir Putin has approved all this. And to encourage the business community he promised that in future the Ministry of Finance will provide government guarantees of up to 70% on loans to finance development projects in the North Caucasus Federal District.
The comprehensive development strategy for the North Caucasus was presented by the prime minister himself. He spoke in detail about the region's troubled history, about combating armed gangs, about interethnic strife and who benefited from it, and what Russia is now doing to create an attractive investment climate in and image of the Caucasus
"I remember how, back when I first visited Chechnya in late 1999, the schools were closed and everything had either been looted or destroyed. The situation has fundamentally changed since then. We stood together to protect and defend this land; and not only the once. And now, in all good conscience, we do not have the right to back off once we have reached the stage of positive growth," he concluded.
As for attracting investment to the region, the prime minister thinks that business must be "protected from lawlessness and racketeering and that efficient law enforcement provision must be put in place without dividing people into 'ours' and 'theirs'".
"Local officials at the regional or municipal level should treat all investors as if they were members of their own families and protect them in any way they can," he told United Russia members.
A difficult investment climate is not the region's only problem. At present, each fifth resident is unemployed. In Ingushetia 50% of residents of working age are unemployed, while the figure for Chechnya is 30%. This means that as many as 400,000 jobs have to be created across the Caucasus over the next ten years and major Russian corporations must be involved. And in conclusion Mr Putin said that it is vitally important for the region to build double the amount of housing, four to five thousand apartments a year, and to oversee infrastructure development, especially transport. Moreover, the government sees great potential in transforming the North Caucasus Federal District into a North-South international transit corridor. All that needs is the completion and renovation of the Caucasus and Makhachkala-Botlikh highways, the Gimri tunnel and airports in the region. Vladimir Putin believes that tourism will become a veritable goldmine .
"Practically every single region of the Caucasus has something to offer in the very promising tourist sector. And what is on offer varies immensely: from alpine skiing to ethnographic and educational tourism and even just for family vacations," said the prime minister. "For a start we want to set up an alpine skiing tourist hub stretching from the Caspian to the Black Sea. Let's ski!"
Mr Putin wrapped up his address by taking questions from conference participants. One of them asked what should be done to curb corruption in the region.
"What should we do? Hang them, I suppose!" replied the Premier to the audience's approving applause, before relenting, adding: "But that's not how we do things. Expenses will be absolutely transparent: there is nothing to conceal, the federal budget must be opened up to scrutiny. When budget funds are spent inappropriately, details should be posted on the Internet immediately. People have a right to know how much public money is being spent by the authorities and what on. After all, what is the budget? It is people's money. We need to strengthen the performance of law enforcement agencies because it is very important to create conditions in which corruption is no longer deemed socially acceptable.
Anastasia Savinykh
