Vladimir Putin continues to explore the Kamchatka Territory.
The prime minister has reprimanded the governor of the Kamchatka Territory for his failure to spend the budget money.
It is the last day of Vladimir Putin's visit to the Kamchatka Territory. The prime minister continues to live on Moscow Time, even though the Kamchatka Peninsula is located far from the capital. Tuesday's meeting on the fishing industry ended at 3:00 a.m. local time (19:00 Moscow time), and yesterday the prime minister had a conversation with the Kamchatka Territory governor shortly before midnight, though his watch showed 12 a.m. Moscow time.
Typically, the prime minister's meetings with regional heads are less than news worthy. But yesterday's conversation between the two leaders, both federal and regional, had a rather curious angle. It turns out that territory authorities have not spent all their budget money, not that they misuse the funds (this subject was not raised), they just don't use all the money. Vladimir Putin, who usually reprimands governors for inefficient expenditures, accused Alexei Kuzmitsky of excessive frugality, and thus inefficiency.
The fact is that some 3.5 billion roubles were allocated to the budget for the seismic refitting of residential buildings and social facilities, but only 700 million roubles have been spent so far.
"You don't want me to have to take the money back and give it to the Regional Development Ministry instead, do you?!" Putin said as he leaned across the table.
"No, I don't," Kuzmitsky leaned back into his seat, a bit nervous.
He explained the lack of fund use by the fact that few construction companies meet tender requirements, and the authorities thought leaving the money in the budget where no one would steal it was preferable to contractor misuse.
"Of course, this money should be spent as efficiently as possible," the prime minister agreed and added at once, "With zero tolerance for corruption."
But Vladimir Putin didn't stop there: he had been monitoring the territory's press where he saw a report of petrol price increases. This happened at the beginning of 2010, though the prime minister saw it only recently. The governor tried to sidestep the facts by citing another report: the price increase did not exceed 2%. But Vladimir Putin interrupted him, "I have checked everything." Thus the Kamchatka Territory Governor was forced to promise a visit to petrol stations personally to talk with the businessmen and influence their pricing policy. At the same time, the prime minister charged the governor with supervising utility prices to prevent unreasonable increases like one that took place at the beginning of 2010. Such issues should be checked in a timely manner and be justified by economic conditions, he emphasized.
The prime minister had a serious conversation with the Magadan Region governor as well. "A state of emergency has been declared in your region due to the floods. What is being done?" the prime minister asked Nikolai Dudov. "The response headquarters is up and it has identified how dangerous the flooding is. A decision has been taken to stabilise the situation," the governor said. The section of the Kolyma federal highway from Atka settlement to Orotuka settlement was closed after heavy rains destroyed sections of the road, and there are no roads to detour around the closed section. Drivers had to turn around and go back to their settlements. According to Nikolai Dudov, several villages were blocked and about 40 vehicles on either side of the road could not drive through due to the flood.
"The villages are currently in no serious danger," the governor reported. "You have to supervise the situation personally and help people who are stopped on the roads. Report back to me on the situation later today," the prime minister demanded. Vladimir Putin inquired whether the region had a sufficient work force and resources to struggle with the disaster. "We have enough to correct this situation," the governor replied. Vladimir Putin also told the governor to provide financial support to all those affected by the emergency.
Generally, such regional dysfunction would only irritate the prime minister, but the Kamchatka Territory is an isolated region of the country, and is usually only recalled for the famous Valley of Geysers. The latter has impressed Vladimir Putin. The prime minister spent two days almost one on one with nature in company of brown bears and gray whales.
Olga Bay at the Kronotsky nature reserve, another stop on Vladimir Putin's itinerary, is a milestone in grey whale development. The California-Chukotka gray whale breeds in California and comes here for food, contradicting human logic. The mammals are listed in the Red Book.
Having put on a special wetsuit, the prime minister went to search for whales in a motorboat. Two years ago the prime minister knocked out an Ussuri tigress having hit it with a syringe filled with somnifacient. "I felt the thrill, I missed three times and only hit it the fourth time", Vladimir Putin confessed as he came ashore. Though, scientists on board explained the prime minister's inaccuracy by a rough sea. "From now on I have even greater respect for what scientists do here," the prime minister noted. "Travellers need help in getting to wonderful places like this. I am confident that such trips will be in demand," the prime minister believes.
Pierre Sibide
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
By the way, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the Life-giving Holy Trinity Cathedral. The cathedral, whose construction was launched in 2002, is set to be opened for parishioners in early September. The cathedral will be the eastern most stone temple in Russia. The prime minister was presented an icon of the Holy Trinity, made from semiprecious stones by Kamchatka's local masters. Mr Putin reciprocated by presenting the church with an icon of St Nicholas the Miracle Worker from the mid 19th century.
National issue
Pierre Sibide