Russian Prime Minsiter Vladimir Putin and Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin are using regional budgeting mechanisms to aid South Ossetia.
Photo: Sergey Mikheev
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S. Ossetia Receives Budget Recognition
// Some of the aid it receives from Russia will come as part of Russian Ossetia
The unrecognized republic of South Ossetia has been de facto included in the budget system of the Russian Federation as part of North Ossetia. Yesterday at a meeting of the government of Russia, the decision was made that part of the 6.5 billion rubles allocated for the restoration of Tskhinvali should come as a transfer from federal funds cofinancing expenses through the budget of North Ossetia. The North Ossetian development program has been prepared by the Russian Ministry of Regional Development, while the Minister of Emergencies called for aid to the government of Eduard Kokoity for local energy and health needs until the prime minister gently stopped him.
The session of the government presidium to discuss restoration of South Ossetia began late yesterday, at 7:30 in the evening instead of 12:30. At the meeting, Russia recognized South Ossetia as part of North Ossetia for budgeting purposes. At Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s suggestion, the government has already allocated 540 million rubles from the government emergency reserve fund to aid those suffering from the conflict. At the previous session of the government, on August 11, it offered South Ossetia 500 million rubles in aid. Direct urgent financial aid to South Ossetia in that week has already exceeded 1 billion rubles. Now the prime minister has decided to allot another 280 million rubles from the Emergencies Ministry reserve fund. The Emergencies Ministry, the Federal Agency for State Reserves (Rosrezerv) and Ministry of Health will receive the money as compensation for their expenses in South Ossetia.
As part of the concentrated aid, it has been decided to provide South Ossetia funds for the restoration of Tskhinvali. Minister of Regional development Dmitry Kozak stated yesterday at the meeting that a basic restoration plan has already been prepared. Under it, 6.5 billion rubles allocated by the Russian government will be needed for the restoration of 93 objects in the production and social infrastructure. Kozak proposed sending 1.5 billion rubles immediately. Kozak is to prepare a plan for the socio-economic development of South Ossetia by August 25 so that “the level of public employment was comparable with average indicators in the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation.”
The Ministry of Regional Development has proposed creating a special fund in its budget for South Ossetia. But the presidium made a different decision yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Kudrin stated that the 6.5 billion rubles will go not through the reserve fund of the Emergencies Ministry, but through the federal fund for cofinancing expenses foreseen by the Budget Code. Like part of the funds allocated earlier, they will be transferred to the budget of Russian North Ossetia. South Ossetia has its own budget system formally independent of Russia.
At the government session, Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu suggested going even further by providing personnel assistance to the South Ossetian Ministries of Energy and Health and a number of other local agencies. Putin agreed with the suggestion in principle, but set the condition that the president of the unrecognized republic, who is now forming a new government, request such aid first.
Petr Netreba
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 19, 2008
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