Tag Archives: government

Kazakhstan unveils pension plan

May 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin)- In 2020, Kazakhstan will probably introduce a new pension scheme that will deduct 5% of an employee’s wages and automatically place it in a government plan, the labour ministry told the Tengrinews website.

Employers will match this employee contribution.

It appears that these planned reforms haven’t been announced more widely and loudly because of a very real fear of upsetting people.

The risk for Kazakhstan is fairly obvious. In Armenia a similar plan triggered widespread demonstrations. The problem is that Kazakhstan and other former Soviet States need to reform and update their pension schemes.

Last year, the Kazakh labour sacked its ministers because of backlash over trying to make women retire at the same age as men.

Persuading Kazakhs to accept the latest plan is also likely to be a serious challenge for the Kazakh government.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)

Armenian President appoints new government

MAY 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan officially appointed a new government which analysts said would be better placed to propel the country into the Russia-led Customs Union. The previous government resigned over its unpopular pension plans, a scheme the new government has watered down.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)

Ex-president criticises Georgian government

APRIL 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a speech via a video-link at the opening of a library in Tbilisi, former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili said he was still unable to visit Georgia because he was on a blacklist. Prosecutors in Georgia want to question Mr Saakashvili about alleged crimes carried out by ministers in his government. He says the allegations are politically motivated.

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(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)

Kyrgyz PM urges police improvement

APRIL 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Perhaps highlighting his reformer credentials, Kyrgyzstan’s new PM, Joomart Ortobayev, criticised the the police for being flawed and corrupt, media reported. Mr Ortobayev said the police were not doing enough to stop the illegal trade in coal. Foreign investors have often complained about police corruption.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)

Kyrgyzstan raises utility tariffs

APRIL 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — July 1 will see costs for electricity, heating and hot water rise for residents of Kyrgyzstan, the ministry of energy said.

The last time the Kyrgyz authorities introduced a major utilities hike was at the start of 2010. A few months later, a violent revolution had overthrown Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Mr Bakiyev’s administration was famous for rolling blackouts and heating shortages as harsh winters and corruption took their toll on the national energy grid.

This time, the government headed by new PM Joomart Ortobayev is proceeding more carefully, staggering prices for energy relative to consumption. Heavy users of electricity will be charged triple the current prices by 2017 but the more economically vulnerable users who use lower levels of electricity will be charged only 22.5% more. Heating and hot water costs are similarly tailored.

Kyrgyz energy utilities remain among the cheapest in the world, but in the context of a struggling economy, some are feeling squeezed and the increases are a risk for Mr Ortobayev who has been Kyrgyzstan’s PM for only a few weeks.

Elena Jdanova, a Bishkek pet store owner, thought that small businesses and the middle class are picking up the tab for poor energy policies.

“Every year the government accuses [citizens] of overconsumption, when we know energy is still being stolen by officials. I have over 130 animals that need constant light and heat. These increases will ruin me,” she said.

Kyrgyzstan’s opposition is likely to use the utilities price increase to whip up support but, long-term, the government had little alternative to reducing the subsidies.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)

Armenian president names new PM

APRIL 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan named the speaker of the parliament, Hovik Abrahamyan, as the new PM.

Mr Abrahamyan’s brief is a tough one.

His predecessor quit abruptly at the start of the month the day after the Constitutional Court ruled that the government’s landmark pension reforms were illegal.

The reforms have been deeply unpopular, as are pension reforms throughout the world which try to make people work for longer and accept a smaller payout.

That mess, essential for sorting out Armenia’s damaged social security system, has to be sorted out.

There’s also the small matter of a vote of no confidence to deal with later this month. Armenia’s economy is stalling and its foreign policy at times feels adrift from its people — it has lurch towards Russia’s Customs Union at the expense of greater EU integration.

Mr Abrahamyan, a 56-year-old economist who has been speaker of parliament since 2008, is going to have to prove a tough operator in his new job.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Uzbek president’s daughter loses Tashkent buildings

APRIL 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government has taken control of buildings in the centre of Tashkent previously owned by Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov, media reported. The buildings are just the latest assets to be taken from Ms Karimova who is reportedly under house arrest.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Armenian president says no to third term

APRIL 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan said that he would not stand for a third consecutive term. His announcement comes just as his government are at a low ebb. Mr Sargsyan is facing low opinion poll ratings and had to appoint a new PM after his ally of six years. Tigran Sargsyan resigned this month.

(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Georgia mulls anti-discrimination bill

APRIL 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — With the carrot of closer EU ties dangling before it, the Georgian government introduced a long delayed anti-discrimination bill to parliament.

The bill, whose passage is necessary to conclude a visa-free travel deal with the EU, is meant to provide protection against discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, colour, gender, religion and sexual orientation. In highly conservative, macho Georgia, discrimination still persists.

A first draft, prepared by the Justice Ministry together with civil society groups, was ready in January and it had envisaged financial penalties for state and private sector institutions that broke the law.

After consultation with various lawmaker, though, the new draft ditched these provisions.

Human Rights activist Tamta Mikeladze, who helped draft the original version, is disappointed. She said the Georgian Orthodox Church lobbied the government to water down the original version.

“I can’t say whether this will be enough for the EU to grant visa-free travel, but I can tell you that it’s not enough to protect minorities from discrimination,” she said.

The government wants to pursue EU integration and pander to the demands of the Church, a powerful group, which contains many anti-European elements. One of its major fears is that it will be forced to accept same-sex marriages.

It remains to be seen if this anti-discrimination bill will be enough to either persuade the EU that Georgia deserves visa-free travel and if it will improve the plight of minorities in the country.

(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)

Uzbekistan boosts PM powers

APRIL 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s parliament approved extending the powers of the PM, media reported, a move that some analysts have said shows President Islam Karimov’s influence is waning. It is still unclear what powers have been transferred to the PM although Radio Free Europe said that parliament would control the cabinet’s activities.

(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)