DUSHANBE, April 28, Asia-Plus — President’s address to a joint session of parliament was a true and impartial statement aimed at calling on the population to roll up their sleeves and to set to work and mobilize unused resources, the head of the Association of Political Scientists of Tajikistan, Mr. Abdughani Mamadazimov, said in an interview with Asia-Plus, commenting on president’s address.
“In his address, the president outlined three topical problems: providing food security; providing energy independence; and reducing Tajikistan’s isolation from world markets,” Mamadazimov said, noting that Tajikistan has to tackle the food security and energy independence problems mainly on its own.
“It turned out that Sangtuda-1 and Sangtuda-2 will not provide energy independence, you know,” said the Association head. “Therefore, it is necessary to complete construction of the Roghun station and develop other energy resources, including thermal and nuclear power engineering.”
According to him, Tajikistan, accounting for more than 10 percent of world’s uranium reserves, has good potentials to develop the nuclear power engineering.
On the country’s isolation from world markets, Mamadazimov holds that in tackling this problem Tajikistan could rely on partners such China, and Tajikistan “should approach the issue of establishment of free economic zone seriously.”
He also hailed the decision to raise pensions and wages of the federally funded organizations as well as introducing a two-year moratorium on inspection of the newly established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In the meantime, MP also leader of the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT), Mr. Muhiddin Kabiri, considers that one may make conclusion from president’s address that no necessary additional measures have been worked out to improve living conditions of the population, and “life in the country still remains uneasy.”
He added that this year’s address resembled the last year’s one “both in structure and content,” which is evidence of weakness of the working group that prepared it.
Like the previous year, the address focused on economic problems, primarily energy sector, “however, no new projects were proposed,” Kabiri said
MP did not agree with opinion of some experts that the president was to have criticized MPs for weak lawmaking activity.
“The parliament of this convocation is probably the most obedient: 90 percent of draft laws have been proposed by the executive power,” said Kabiri. “In other words, our parliament has turned into legislative organ of the government.”
“We give will and all opportunities to initiate laws to the executive power but it cannot use these opportunities.”
