MOSCOW, April 10 (AFP) - The following are key points from the
30-minute policy speech Friday by Russian prime minister-designate
Sergei Kiriyenko to the lower house, the State Duma:
THE RUBLE
Kiriyenko ruled out a ruble devaluation, despite the
difficulties faced by Russian exporters.
"A devaluation of the ruble is unacceptable, the ruble is
Russia's image in the world."
RUSSIA'S DEBT
Kiriyenko said the growth of Russia's external debt had become
"intolerable," and if nothing was done to rectify the situation "by
2003 some 70 percent of the federal budget will be devoted to the
debt."
"When the Soviet Union collapsed the external debt stood at 109
billion dollars. Today it has reached 120 billion."
RUSSIA'S ECONOMIC LOSSES
Kiriyenko said the global oil slump which has hit Russian oil
companies hard could cost Russia 30-40 billion rubles (five to six
billion dollars), including 10 billion rubles (1.5 billion dollars)
of federal budget losses.
The global financial crisis would also cost Russia about 18-29
billion rubles (three to five billion dollars), Kiriyenko warned.
TACKLING POVERTY
Kiriyenko said real incomes were declining, "and now more than
32 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, have incomes
below the minimum subsistence level."
"The essential question we must all address is that in the past
six months the government has constantly talked about economic
growth but not a single person in Russia has felt its effects... We
must not lie to people... Any audit would show alarming figures for
losses in the industrial sector...
"Russia's future is a humane and democratic society, with a
market economy, so in that sense the direction of Russia's
development will not be changed."
PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
Kiriyenko said reform of the federal administration must start
at the top.
"It has to be admitted, the personnel issue is one of the
state's major weaknesses," he told deputies.
"We must not only improve training, but also have political
will. Ministers, like other civil servants, must be selected
according to their pragmatism and professionalism, not according to
political allegiance.
"We must establish personal responsibility in the leadership,
otherwise it's an open door to corruption...
"A good state is a modest state. The federal government must
start by reforming itself. If administrative costs are to be
reduced, we must start with the government." |
