Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Tajikistan needs $2b to fix water supply

JULY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan needs to invest about $2b into its infrastructure if it wants to provide clean drinking water for its entire population, Alimurod Islomzoda, head of the Tajik state public utilities company, said.

This is a rare public omission in Tajikistan but Mr Islomzoda didn’t stop there. He also said that updating the system would take 80 years.

“To date, only some 57 percent of the country’s population has access to safe drinking water,” the Asia-Plus news agency quoted Mr Islomzoda as saying. “About $2b is needed and the full rehabilitation of the water supply systems will take 80-85 years.”

Tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in the world and with vital remittances from Russia dropping by around 40% this year because of a downturn in the Russian economy, the outlook is looking worse.

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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)

Tajikistan’s Central Bank cuts jobs

JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s Central Bank is cutting nearly 200 jobs as it restructures and streamlines its operations, media reported. It’s unclear exactly what the restructuring entails but media said that most jobs would be lost at the Central Bank’s offices in Dushanbe.

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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)

Remittances to Tajikistan fall sharply

JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – DUSHANBE – Remittances from Tajik workers in Russia to Tajikistan have dropped by 44% this year, the Russian Central Bank said.

This is inline with World Bank projections and highlights the economic problems facing Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia. Russia’s economy has dipped into recession because of a combination of falling oil prices and economic sanctions imposed by the West in retaliation for the Kremlin’s alleged support for rebels in east Ukraine.

And this recession has hit Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia hard. Remittances account for roughly half of Tajikistan’s economy.

In Dushanbe, the mood on the streets was glum.

Amirbek Saidbekov, a Dushanbe resident, said life had gotten harder.

“The money they send home has declined by about a half,” he said. “The money my uncle sends is not enough to provide for his family. The life quality of his family has worsened now.”

Shuhrat Murodilloev, a Dushanbe-based political scientist, said the drop in remittance was having a knock-on effect.

“Market employment is falling because of the decreased sales and the unstable Tajik currency,” he said. “Many people have lost their jobs in the market because there is no money coming from Russia.”

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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)

Tajik electricity prices may rise

JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s economy ministry said that electricity prices may have to rise by 12% this year, media reported. Electricity prices have become an issue in the region because a proposed rise in Armenia has sparked street demonstrations.

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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)

Worker migration from Tajikistan to Russia falls

JUNE 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The number of migrant workers travelling from Tajikistan to Russia fell by 15% during the first half of the year, according to data from the ministry of labour.

The statistics, which run from January to mid-June 2015, showed that about 315,000 workers travelled from Tajikistan to Russia to find work, 52,000 less than in 2014.

Most have been put off by the drop in Russian economic output, which has knocked job opportunities.

Tajik labour migration to Kazakhstan, though, has increased by 33%, although the absolute numbers are small in comparison with Russia. The data showed that 4,800 workers from Tajikistan had travelled to Kazakhstan to find work, up from 1,200 in 2014.

Remittances from migrant workers are key to Tajikistan’s economy. A World Bank report forecast a 40% drop in remittances to Tajikistan this year because of the poor state of the Russian economy and the collapse of the Tajik somoni.

The new ministry of labour data adds credence to this worsening economic picture.

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(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)

Iran to develop trade with Tajikistan

JUNE 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iran plans to export more refined gas products to Tajikistan and Armenia, Iranian media quoted a senior official at the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company as saying.

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(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)

Tajik electricity exports rise

JUNE 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan increased exports of electricity to Afghanistan by a third in May compared to the same month in 2014, media reported quoting official statistics. This is important because international backers view Tajiksitan’s hydro-generated electricity as a decent export.

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(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)

Taliban releases Tajik soldiers

JUNE 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Taliban released four Tajik soldiers it had captured in December in a deal brokered by Qatar.

Tajikistan’s National Security Committee confirmed the release of the soldiers but neither it nor the Qatari mediation team gave any details on what sort of deal had been struck.

According to Taliban sources, quoted by various media, the release of the border guards was achieved because of “good neighbour relations”.

The Taliban, however, remain a chief national security problem for Tajikistan. General Rajabali Rakhmonali told a press briefing that 1,500 Islamic militants were massing near the border of Afghanistan. Tajikistan has warned previously of a Taliban attack.

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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Russia testing drone in Tajikistan

JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s military has been testing using drones at night in Tajikistan’s Pamir mountains, Russian media reported quoting a military press release. Russia is worried about the threat from the Taliban to Central Asia.

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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Turkmenistan extends military draft

JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has extended its military draft, websites reported, perhaps to bolster units along the increasingly tense border with Afghanistan.

“According to incoming reports, the majority of young men, who have been recently drafted in Lebap and Balkan velayats, will be sent to the military units based in Kushka, i.e. near the Turkmen-Afghan border,” the website reported.

Senior military officials have previously said that they need to boost the number of soldiers in the army to counter perceived threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Last year reports from the border said that Turkmen army units clashed with Taliban units in a number of skirmishes. This year, though, reports from the border of military activity have been much reduced.

Even so, the Chronicles of Turkmenistan website reported that the Turkmen military has extended the draft for con- scripts to July 25 from the end of June.

The countries that border Afghanistan — Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan — have been warning that the Taliban is preparing to move to Central Asia.

Russia has supported this assessment and sent various military advisers to the region as well as offering to boost its military presence along the border.

But many Western analysts have scorned this viewpoint and said instead that the narrative has been designed to bolster strict military and authoritarian rule in the region.

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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)