KULOB, September 8, Asia-Plus — Over the first eight months of this year, labor migrants working outside Tajikistan, primarily in the Russian Federation, have remitted 5,263,042 U.S. dollars and 60,224,000 Russian rubles (RR) to banks in southern Muminobod district, which is twice as much as the district budget for this period, according to the Muminobod district administration.
“Labor migrants are a critical component in the district’s economy as Muminobod heavily depends on subsidies from the center,” an official source at the Muminobod district administration told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, the district has received 13,449,596 somoni in subsidies from the center in January-August this year while the revenue part of its budget for the same eight-month period has stood at only 4,454,551 somoni.
Remittances reportedly promote enhancement of self-sufficiency of the district economy. “A number of small and medium-sized enterprises have been launched in Muminobood over the past two years due to labor migrants’ remittances that has allowed lowering the district dependence on subsidies by nearly three percent,” the source added.
According to the statistical data from the Muminobood district administration, 2,543 residents of Muminobod, including 34 women, are currently abroad, primarily in the Russian Federation seeking better employment opportunities.
