Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Tajikistan cancels electricity rationing

JAN. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan cancelled electricity rationing because a new thermal power station has come online and the water levels in its reservoirs, vital for turning the hydropower stations, are high. This is important because power rationing had become a staple of Tajik life every winter. Tajikistan wants to turn itself into something of a regional electricity hub.

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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)

Tajik President appoints son as mayor

JAN. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon appointed his eldest son, Rustam Emomali, to be the mayor of Dushanbe, attracting accusations of nepotism. Mr Emomali, 29, previously headed the government’s anti-corruption unit and is head of the Tajik football federation. Analysts have said that Mr Rakhmon is grooming his son to take over from him.

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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)

A new mayor of Tajik Capital

JAN. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> I read on page 6 that Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon has made his son the mayor of Dushanbe. Why has he done this?

>> Essentially it looks as if this is a continuation of a process that has been happening for some time. Rakhmon, who has been in power since the mid 1990s, is thinking about succession and this means handing over power to his son, Rustam Emomali. Last year, Pres. Rakhmon forced through changes to Tajikistan’s constitution that should make it easier for his son to take over. A pliant parliament voted to approve changes which mean that both Rakhmon and his son will be eligible to run in a 2020 election.

>> How is the rule on presidential candidates being over 35-years-old important?

>> Put simply, it looks as if Rakhmon is hedging his bets with these constitutional changes. Rakhmon will be 68-years-old when the next presidential election comes along in Tajikistan, probably in November 2020. He may not be in the best health then and may want to give up governing. If he does, dropping the 35- year-old minimum age rule allows his son, Rustam, to stand. Rustam will be 32-years-old in Nov. 2020.

>> And the mayoral position in Dushanbe?

>> This is an important position in Tajikistan. All the country’s wealth is situated in Dushanbe. Apartment prices on Rudaki, the main avenue running through Dushanbe, are among the most expensive in the region. Rustam Emomali will also be given a sizeable budget to manage, with all its challenges and pitfalls. This is like- for-like training for the top job.

>> What has Rustam Emomali done before this?

>> He’s had a few serious jobs in Tajikistan. He has previously been the head of the country’s customs service and its main anti-corruption agency, the Agency for State Financial Control. Rustam Emomali also has an international profile as he is head of Tajikistan’s football federation. A keen footballer, he used to play centre forward for one of Tajikistan’ s top football clubs.

>> How have international organisations reacted to the promotion of Rustam Emomali as mayor of Dushanbe?

>> Predictably, many of the Western groups are frustrated. They have said for a while that Pres. Rakhmon is acting in an increasingly autocratic manner. Promoting his son to such an important position, to them, confirms this. It also builds on the feeling that Rakhmon is acting as a control freak. Tajikistan’s opposition have been hounded and imprisoned, news websites and social media are often shut down for spurious reasons. This said, security-conscious regional governments are far less likely to be bothered about the grooming of Rakhmon’s son to take over from him.

>> So, what next?

>> Keep a close eye on Rakhmon’s health and also how Rustam Emomali is perceived to perform as mayor of Dushanbe. It’s a position where, if he slips up, he can make enemies. And, the nearer the 2020 election get, the more attention you need to pay to just how Pres. Rakhmon and his son, Rustam, are positioning themselves. The opposition has been hollowed out so whatever they decide between themselves will fly.

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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)

Rakhmon invites Uzbek president Dushanbe

DEC. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon has invited his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Dushanbe, media reported, another major step towards normalising ties between the two neighbours after more than two decades of frosty relations. Since Mr Mirziyoyev took over as Uzbekistan’s leader in September, Uzbekistan has looked to improve relations with its neighbours.

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(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Russia wants airbase in Tajikistan

DEC. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kremlin has started talks with the Tajik leadership on taking over the Anyi airbase in Tajikistan, media quoted the Russian ambassador in Dushanbe as saying. Russia already operates a military base in Tajikistan as well as an airbase in Kyrgyzstan. Taking over the airbase would still represent a rise in Russia’s military presence in the region.

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(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Tajikistan prepares $490m rescue plan for failing banks

DEC. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s government said it would spend $490m, around a fifth of its total budget, on rescuing its banking sector from collapse.

It will pump the cash mainly into Tajikistan’s two biggest lenders, Agroinvestbank and Tojiksodirot- bank, to boost their liquidity and protect them from bankruptcy.

Both banks have neared collapse this year, only being saved by previous government bailouts. Earlier this month, Tojiksodirotbank was taken out of administration. It had been run by Central Bank officials since May.

Two smaller banks, Tajprombank and Fononbank, will also receive funds.

Abdusalom Kurbanov, the Tajik finance minister, said the government had no choice but to intervene heavily to save the banks.

“This decision is aimed at the sustainable development of the banking system, the preservation of public confidence in the banks and the return of deposits,” media quoted him as saying.

Tajikistan is the most remittance- dependent country in the world and a recession in Russia has sucked its economy dry. Its somoni currency has also fallen apart over the past couple of years as the US dollar strengthens and low commodity prices continue to undermine confidence in Emerging Markets.

Earlier this year, a run on the banks in Tajikistan betrayed just how nervous people had become over the stability of the banks. Many ATMs ran out of cash.

Tajikistan has asked for advice from both the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the IMF, although it has yet to take any financial aid. This is probably because, despite a handful of missions to Dushanbe, the IMF and Tajikistan couldn’t agree on a set of conditions to guarantee the loan.

On a visit to Central Asia in October, Juha Kahkonen, IMF deputy director for the Middle East and Central Asia, said that it had moved closer to agreeing conditions for a loan. It also described the state of the Tajik banking sector as dire.

“Discussions will continue in the coming weeks and we hope the programme can be agreed in the coming months,” he told Reuters on a trip to Almaty.

But he also said: “Their [Tajik banks] lending practices have not been very sound. Non-performing loans are about half of total loans.”

Central Bank data showed that the share of non-performing loans had risen to 58.7% of the banks’ loan portfolios from 37.8% in September.

Banking systems across the region are creaking. A Handful of smaller banks in Azerbaijan have gone bankrupt and several are under pressure in Kazakhstan. The region’s financial system has been fragile for years. After the 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis, Kazakh banks were left with one of the world’s biggest bad debt ratios, forcing the government to pump billions of dollars into the system.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Uzbekistan develops ties with Pakistan

DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a trip to Pakistan, Uzbekistan’s deputy PM Ulugbek Rozukulov agreed with Pakistani business minister Khurram Dastgir Khan to set up a joint business council to improve ties between the two countries. Since former president Islam Karimov died in September, Uzbekistan has worked to improve relations with its neighbours. Pakistan has also invested more time into developing ties in the Central Asia region. It is part of both the CASA-1000 project to import electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and also part of the TAPI gas pipeline project to import gas from Turkmenistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Tajikistan’s TSB bank re-starts normal activities after state rescue

DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s Central Bank said that Tojiksodirotbank (TSB), the country’s troubled second-largest lender, has completed its temporary administration period and will now resume banking activities.

The Central Bank intervened in TSB in May, saving the bank from bankruptcy. It cut staff numbers and injected 2b somoni ($254m) into the bank, becoming an 80% shareholder. Sources cited by the Avesta news agency also said the government had injected 1.2b somoni ($152m) into Agroinvestbank and hundreds of millions of somoni into Fononbank and Tochprombank to save them from going bankrupt too.

These banks had suffered a liquidity shortage triggered by a fall in the value of the somoni and a steep rise in bad loans. Savers and government employees, who received salaries through banks were unable to access their funds.

Now, TSB said it will soon resume regular banking activity.

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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f

Tajikistan sells fertiliser producer to China

DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Tajik parliament ratified an earlier agreement on the sale of Tajik Azot, a fertiliser producer, to China’s Henan Zhong Holding. The Chinese side, which will hold a 51% stake, pledged a $360m investment to modernise the plant. The Tajik government will retain 30% of the profits. In 2014, the government seized Tajik Azot, previously owned by Ukrainian businessman Dmitro Firtash, after Firtash was arrested in Vienna. China has extended its influence over Tajik business this year.

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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f

China completes power plant refit in Tajikistan

DEC. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China completed the $350m refit of a power plant outside Dushanbe that is considered vital to generating electricity for Tajikistan’s capital city. The refit of the power station highlights just how powerful China’s has become in Tajikistan. It has replaced Russia as the mainstay of the economy. Electricity is important in Tajikistan because its cities suffer from blackouts throughout the year.

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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)