Tag Archives: appointments

Turkmen President reprimands several officials

JULY 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — During a visit to the Mary province, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov reprimanded several government officials and sacked several others for delays to various construction projects, opposition websites reported. Earlier in July, during a visit to the Lebap province, Mr Berdymukhamedov sacked 11 public officials. As Mr Berdymukhamedov fights to contain the fallout from a worsening economic outlook, his rampages against and sackings of government officials intensifies.

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(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Turkmenistan reorganises its oil and gas ministry

JULY 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a move that took observers by surprise, Turkmenistan abolished its oil and gas ministry which had, officially, run the most profitable economic sector in the country, part of a wider structural reform of the government.

At a cabinet meeting, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov justified the move as an effort to improve management and governance systems n the energy sector.

Turkmenistan is considered an important stakeholder in the world’s energy nexus, and the move shook analysts. It holds the fourth-largest gas reserves in the world and exports gas mostly to China via pipeline. For over a decade, European and US lobby groups have pushed for a Trans-Caspian Pipeline to pump Turkmen gas to Europe. Turkmenistan is also building TAPI, a gas pipeline to export gas to India, via Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Simon Pirani, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said that aside from internal causes, which are hard to guess, a range of external factors could have played in Turkmenistan’s decision to reorganise its hydrocarbon sector.

“The continuing relationship with China, despite lower off-take of gas than Turkmen officials had hoped, the improved ties with Iran and the quite bad relationship with Russia could all be relevant factors,” he told The Conway Bulletin.

The change, however, is unlikely to shift the way that Turkmenistan does business, a system that revolves around the whims and decisions of President Berdymukhamedov.

“Companies and international organisations are aware that Turkmenistan is a centralised system,” Mr Pirani said.

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(News report from Issue No. 290, published on July 22 2016)

Turkmen President sacks officials

JULY 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — During a working visit to the north-eastern Lebap province, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked 11 local government officials and reprimanded over a dozen others for failing to keep up with the government’s industrialisation and development plans. Mr Berdymukhamedov has already sacked dozens of public officials this year, in a major restructuring of the country’s regional powerhouses.

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(News report from Issue No. 289, published on July 15 2016)

Turkmen President continues his firing spree

JUNE 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a trip to to the northern Turkmen province of Dashoguz this month, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov continued his firing spree by sacking seven officials and reprimanding nine others, the local language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Mr Berymukhamedov has sacked dozens of government officials over the past couple of years as he looks to shift blame over an economy that continues to falter.

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(News report from Issue No. 287, published on July 1 2016)

Kazakh President sacks senior officials

JUNE 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Barely two weeks after the Kazakh authorities quashed unsanctioned protests with dozens of arrests around the country, President Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked Yerlik Kenenbayev, the Presidential Administration’s police supervisor/adviser, and Nurmakhanbet Isaev, the deputy prosecutor. Mr Nazarbayev did not explain the sackings, but analysts have said it could be linked to the May 21 protests.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Tajikistan distributes jobs for in-laws

APRIL 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Amonullo Sadulloyev, the brother- in-law of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, was made chief of Southern Electric Networks, a power distribution company based in Kurgan-Tube. Last August, Mr Sadulloyev was sacked as the deputy director at the national power distributor Barqi Tojik. Transparency activists have criticised Tajikistan for its perceived nepotism.

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(News report from Issue No. 278, published on April 29 2016)

Kazakh President appoints new personal advisor

APRIL 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev nominated former energy minister and Kazakh government veteran Vladimir Shkolnik as his personal adviser. Mr Shkolnik was sacked from the post of energy minister in March. Mr Shkolnik will also hold the role of adviser to state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaigas.

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(News report from Issue No. 276, published on April 15 2016)

Sariyev quits as Kyrgyz PM to fight corruption allegations

APRIL 11 2016, BISHKEK (The Conway Bulletin) — Temir Sariyev quit as Kyrgyzstan’s PM, less than a year after taking the job, after he was accused of corruption over a roadbuilding contract.

Three days later parliament voted in Sooronbai Jeenbekov, considered a heavyweight politician from Osh and loyal to President Almazbek Atambayev, as the new PM.

Emil Juraev, a professor at the American University of Central Asia, said Mr Jeenbekov may have been handed the PM job because he is able to unify bickering north-south factions.

“The new PM is a figure that suits all interested parties,” he said. “He is less ambitious and autonomous, compared to Sariyev.”

Still, Mr Jeenbekov is Kyrgyzstan’s sixth PM since a new constitution that handed more power to parliament was imposed in October 2010, highlighting just how fractured the Kyrgyz political landscape is.

On the streets of Bishkek, the frustrations of ordinary Kyrgyz that another PM had lasted less than a year were evident. Kablanbek, 60, said that he was disappointed to see Mr Sariyev go already.

“He should have worked for at least two-three years. Quitting after one year in office was a terrible idea,” he said.

At the centre of the latest corruption allegation to hit Kyrgyz politics was a contract Mr Sariyev handed to a Chinese company last year.

Mr Sariyev has denied that there was any corruption involved. Giving a resignation speech at this final government meeting, he said that he was the victim of lies and intrigue.

“I have neither time nor intention to play such political games,” he said. But many people held a different view. They have become cynical of Kyrgyz politicians and high levels of corruption. Daniyer, a 25-year-old student, reflected the views of many when he said: “In such positions, everyone tries to seize the opportunity to rob the country.”

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(News report from Issue No. 276, published on April 15 2016)

Kazakh Pres. sacks energy minister

MARCH 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked former energy minister Vladimir Shkolnik immediately after a parliamentary election. This was part of a government reshuffle that switched several top-bureaucrats in government and local administrations. Mr Shkolnik, the highest-profile government official to be sacked, was replaced by power sector veteran Kanat Bozumbayev.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)

Georgia picks CBanker

MARCH 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s Central Bank picked Koba Gvenetadze, a former IMF banker, to be its chief, replacing Giorgi Kadagidze whose term finished in February. The following day, President Giorgi Margvelashvili approved Mr Gvenetadze’s 7-year term at the Bank. Georgia’s economy has been under increased pressure from the falling value of the lari and rising inflation linked to a fall in oil prices and recession in Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)