Tag Archives: government

Kazakh government reshuffled

AUG. 29 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev named Yerbolat Dosayev, formerly head of the state investment agency Baiterek, and Askar Zhumagaliyev, formerly head of the nuclear agency Kazatomprom, as deputy PMs. There are now four deputy PMs. Askar Mamin is first deputy Prime Minister in charge of the economy and Askar Myrzakhmetov is deputy PM and the minister for agriculture. Mr Nazarbayev is renowned for reshuffling his government ministers on a fairly regular basis, partly to prevent any from building up their power base too much.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Kyrgyzstan appoints new PM

Leave a Reply

AUG. 25 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament confirmed Sapar Isakov, previously President Almazbek Atambayev’s chief of staff, as the new PM (Aug. 25). His predecessor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, resigned to run for president in an election set for Oct. 15. Mr Atambayev is barred by the Kyrgyz constitution from running for a second term in office. He has backed Mr Jeenbekov.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 341, published on Aug. 27 2017)

24-hour news channel starts in Uzbekistan

Leave a Reply

JULY 24 2017 (The Bulletin) — A new state-run 24-hour news channel started broadcasting reports in Uzbek, Russian and English in Uzbekistan. Supporters of the new station have heralded it as yet another move by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to open up the country but his detractors have said that through the 24-hour news channel he is trying to set and control the agenda.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Tajik President daughter heads bank

Leave a Reply

JULY 18 2017 (The Bulletin) — One of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon’s daughters, 23-year-old Zarina Rakhmona, was appointed deputy head of Orienbank, a commercial bank, in January, media reported. News of the appointment has only just emerged as it was not announced at the time. The head of the bank is the President Rakhmon’s brother-in- law, Hasan Asadullozoda. Mr Rakhmon has steadily appointed his close family members into increasingly important positions. His son is the mayor of Dushanbe and his eldest daughter is his chief- of-staff.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Turkmen President sacks finance minister

Leave a Reply

JULY 11 2017 (The Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked Mukhametguly Muhammadov as finance minister in yet another public dressing down for a senior government official. Mr Berdymukhamedov has sacked almost his entire government over the past year in what analysts have said is an attempt to deflect blame for Turkmenistan’s stuttering economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

Mirziyoyev sets up his own youth movement for Uzbekistan

Leave a Reply

TASHKENT, JUNE 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — In a speech to hundreds of youth activists, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that he was renaming their organisation as the Uzbekistan Youth Union, a deliberate break from the Kamolot brand it had used under former President Islam Karimov.

Kamolot had been one of Karimov’s most successful propaganda tools, sweeping up thousands of people aged between 14 and 30. Kamolot, which means perfection in Uzbek, was set up in 2001 as a successor to the Soviet-era Komsomol. Its detractors said it was used by Karimov to create thousands of pliant Uzbeks who would spread his ideology. It was not compulsory to join Kamolot but those that did often found their path smoothed to good government jobs.

During his speech, Mr Mirzioyev, who appears to be relishing his role as the arch-reformer since taking the over the presidency in September 2016 a few days after Karimov died, said that Kamolot had been a narrow project aimed at promoting a few people above everybody else.

“The activity of the movement has been limited to a narrow circle, and was aimed only at its members. The youth who did not join the movement remained out of sight,” he said, also announcing a doubling of the youth movement budget to $51m.

Still, he appeared to contradict himself shortly afterwards with the appointment of 23-year-old Alisher Sadullayev, a former Kamolot member, as his education minister.

And people commentating online after the announcement were sceptical, suggesting that Mr Mirzioyev was aiming to ape Mr Karimov’s Kamolot rather than build a new all-inclusive youth movement.

“I don’t think that there will be a lot of difference between Kamolot and UYU (Uzbekistan Youth Union). The only difference I’m sure about is how UYU members will call them- selves the children of Mirziyoyev’,” one commentator said.

Another was more whimsical. He wrote on Facebook: “Kamolot is dead, long live UYU!”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Armenian Prime Minister wants to stay on

Leave a Reply

JUNE 21 2017 (The Bulletin) — Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan has hinted that he wants to continue in his job after 2018, the panarmenia.net website reported, when constitutional changes shift power to the PM from the President. Controversy has surrounded the changes as their opponents have alleged that President Serzh Sargsyan, in power since 2008, wants to become PM when his second and final term in office ends in order to secure power. If Mr Karapetyan wants to remain PM it may, potentially, set up a fight for power.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Uzbek President sacks power company head

Leave a Reply

JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev sacked Fazliddin Salomov as the head of Uzenergo, the state-owned electricity producer, for failing to generate more revenue from power sales. Electricity is a thorny issue in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Countries need to increase prices but risk upsetting ordinary people. In Armenia, street protests in 2015 reversed a drive to scarp power subsidies. Mr Salomov had only been in the job since Sept. 2016. He was replaced by Ulugbek Mustafaev, formerly the deputy head of the Jizzakh region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Uzbek President sacks head of power company

Leave a Reply

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kazakhstan’s KMG readies for IPO

Leave a Reply

JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaigas is in advanced stages of its preparations for an IPO next year, the FT quoted its CFO Dauren Karabayev as saying. The Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna owns 90% of the company and the Central Bank owns the other 10%. Kazmunaigas will list alongside Air Astana and Kazatomprom next year on the new Astana Stock Exchange. There is also likely to be a secondary foreign listing but it is currently unclear where this will be, although analysts have said that London is a favoured option.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)