President of the Republic of Abkhazia

 

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07.06.2017


Good afternoon, dear journalists!

The time that passed since our last meeting was difficult for state institutions. However, there were not only difficulties, but also certain achievements in various spheres.

Systemic actions aimed to increase the state’s income remain our main goal. Future state assistance to agricultural producers will contribute to that, as well as state support for the export of local products to foreign markets, the financing of big businesses through the Investment program, and measures to reform the tax system.

Projects in the amount of 1.2 billion rubles are being implemented as part of the program to credit medium and large businesses. As you know, two weeks ago we have visited two of them in the Ochamchira District, including a greenhouse complex for growing vegetables in the village of Kyndyg, which is finishing installation works, and a jam factory. The producers already have agreements to sell their products in the leading Russian retail chains, such as “Magnit”, “Azbuka vkusa” and “Perekryostok”. In the near future, these products will appear in local shops.

Besides, in order to improve the quality of forecasting, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Taxes and Duties carried out an inspection of the annual balance sheets of all active businesses and legal entities on the territory of the Republic of Abkhazia for the year of 2016. The data was refined, on the basis of which the Annual indicative plan of the socio-economic development of the Republic of Abkhazia is being created.

In the course of comparative testing, it was discovered that the indicators of the volume of production, profit, the number of employees and the wage fund were presented in a distorted form, which led to a distortion of budgetary and fiscal forecasting. The inspection which was carried out allowed us to discover real indicators of economic activity in the state.

Work on the results of the inspection of state enterprises, which was carried out by the Control Chamber, is being continued. Many state enterprises were recognised as ineffective, some of them do not function at all, and their profit comes from leasing territories and buildings. Today, these enterprises are being reorganised, some of them will be liquidated. However, the efficiency of working enterprises increases, and for the first time, a part of their profit is being paid into the state’s budget since last year. 

As part of this work, I am certain that soon the Sukhum milk factory will start working. The product range will be expanded, and I do not doubt that there will be around 30 work places.

Work is also being done to implement a state program to assist businessmen. Among them, a special place is held by a program called “Investments in human capital”. It aims to support businessmen, who want to open, develop, expand or reorient their businesses, and also state employees working in the sphere of the economy. The active phase of the program is planned for September-October of this year.

The preparatory phase of the state program “Support for export to the Republic of Abkhazia in the years 2017-2019” is being completed. The main goal of this program is to increase the total exports of finished goods in foreign trade turnover. An enterprise “Abkhazprodexport” will be created as part of this program, and it will deal with exporting our products abroad. The register of exporters has been created, the analysis and revision of international treaties and agreements has been conducted with a view to the availability of opportunities to promote our goods to foreign markets. Requests for the provision of credit resources to exporting organisations for the creation of an information base were sent to the banks of the Republic of Abkhazia. The first installation meeting was held, which outlined the main features of the future exporting council under the Ministry of Economy.

Speaking about agriculture, it is important to note that preparations were carried out for spring field work. The Ministry of Agriculture was tasked with conducting the first plowing at the expense of budgetary funds. By the end of May, a territory of 2525 ha was ploughed, however there were some difficulties related to arable land which was unaccounted for.

Many farmers who did not plough their lands for 10-20 years began asking for help, and we did not take this factor into account, which led to certain difficulties. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Cabinet of Ministers will have to take these things into account next year. To solve this issue, 35 thousand liters of fuel was bought and given freely to the farmers so that they would plough their lands on their own. Yet, this was not enough. There are figures that show that before there were hundreds of lands that were ploughed in the Ochamchira District, but now there are more than a thousand. Unfortunately, there are certain omissions. As I remarked earlier, it is necessary to study this question carefully and to include these lands in the list of arable lands.

Funds to develop medium and large businesses and to support local production were allocated by the Ministry of Agriculture. Thus, the construction and start-up of a plant for cleaning and packaging of honey in the village of Kyndyg is at the final stage.

Measures have been taken to develop the tea industry. 5 million rubles were allocated to prune, clean and resuscitate tea plantations with an area of 100 ha and to increase the production of tea in the village of Kutol. A similar situation is in the village of Lykhny, to which 1.5 million were allocated.

If in previous years not more than 600 tons were collected, it is planned to collect up to 1000 tons of tea this year with support from the state and timely preparation.

The situation in the energy sector is difficult. The winter period was not easy. However, the energy sector withstood the difficulties, thanks to the works that were done at the start of winter, which began early last year. The funds allocated through the Investment program have given us an opportunity to put our energy industry in order. To date, the load on the network has decreased, but there are loads in local regions associated with the preparation for the tourist season. "Chernomorenergo" carried out works in problematic regions, first of all in the Gagra District.

A lot of work in the energy sector was done to prepare for the tourist season, which solves some of the issues. The difficulties remain, but their main reasons are illegal connections to the network, and also non-payment by individuals and legal entities. 

Speaking about the work of law enforcement agencies, 204 crimes have been committed in four months, 150 out of them have been solved.

There are evident results in the fight against drug trafficking. Out of 49 cases of illegal drug trafficking, 43 were solved, and some people who plant drugs on others were arrested.

Unfortunately, a lot remains to be done to deal with those who bring drugs to our state and organise this process. Yet, the Russian Federation already works on this, and I am sure that this work will bring positive results.

The situation with road accidents is also alarming. The main reasons include driving in a state of alcohol or another type of intoxication, driving into the oncoming traffic, speeding. It is difficult to approach each case individually. However, as far as the problems of drugs and road accidents are concerned, it is probably necessary to create tighter measures, though there are already good initiatives to solve this problem, which will bring results. With regards to drugs, there is an idea to make appropriate amendments to the sanctions, such as increased punishment. Death penalty is impossible, a moratorium is in force, but life imprisonment could be introduced.

Of course, the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs could be improved. This is our common concern.

All our actions aim to increase the profits of the state. There are already certain results. A lot of work remains to be done. We are not saying that we have done enough. When we say that the budget is growing, some respond that this is due to inflation. This could be true. However, not long ago, the inflation rate was different and the funds received by Abkhazia through the Investment program were significant. There had to be increased profits then. Instead, almost until 2014, the targets that had to be reached as per the adopted indicative plans were not reached even once.

We are ready to say that there are some processes that unfold in a way that does not please us. However, there are objective reasons for this, and they cannot be ignored, such as the situation in the world and in Russia. We cannot say that everything is ideal in our country. Yet, there are results. We could say that all this is the fault of the inflation and we could say that we failed to meet the targets of the budget, but we succeeded. Unfortunately, it is not always perceived positively.

Now, I am ready to answer your questions and discuss in greater detail the problems that concern our society.

We are ready to have a dialogue and to respond to all questions.



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© 2015 Administration of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia, Sukhum, Naberezhnaya Makhadjirov, 32, phone.: +7 840 226 46 31, fax: +7 840 226 46 31
mail: info@presidentofabkhazia.org