Alexander Korshunov: the task of all government bodies is to keep young people in Pridnestrovie

The Speaker of the Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Alexander Korshunov became a guest of the “Question of the Day” program on the First Pridnestrovian TV Channel. The Chairman of the Supreme Council spoke with the journalists about the results of work for 5 years and about the further development of Pridnestrovie.

The results of the work of the Government for 5 years

The presenters of the TV programs began the conversation with the inauguration of the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky that was held on the 17th of December (the TV program went on the air that day), and with summing up the results of the work of the Government over the previous 5 years. Alexander Korshunov noted that it was necessary to evaluate not only the work of the Government, but also the entire team of the PMR President.

“This is the Supreme Council, the Government, the heads of state administrations, and local Councils, and the PMR President of course. This is a team of like-minded people. Vadim Nikolayevich spoke at the inauguration 5 years ago about the consolidation of the branches of power, about the consolidation of energy efforts. In my opinion, the main result of the work is the consolidation of all efforts aimed at improving the well-being of our citizens, at the development of the republic. This is probably the most important and main result", - noted the PMR Supreme Council Chairman.

According to the speaker, the parliament expects joint productive work from the new composition of the Government.

“We are looking forward to working together, the work of a single team. So that both the members of the Government hear the deputies and the deputies react to the comments and questions that the government raises in its work. We understand very well that a strategic document was adopted for our state in 2018: by a presidential decree, the PMR Development Strategy was approved. We have been working for the last four years, and I am sure that in the coming years we will work to develop this document”, the head of the legislature emphasized.

Work to improve the welfare of citizens

Answering the questions of the journalists of the First Pridnestrovian TV channel about what was done to improve the welfare of the citizens of the republic, Alexander Korshunov recalled the situation in the economy, which was developing at the time of the election of Vadim Krasnoselsky for the first presidential term.

“You have to understand that we entered a rather difficult period of development of the state in 2017. We did not have enough sources to cover the budget for socially protected items, we had difficulty in paying and financing the social obligations of the state. We have leveled the situation through the efforts of both the Central Bank of the PMR and all government bodies over the past 3-4 years. The budget for the last two years and the draft budget for 2022 are balanced according to socially protected items, which gives us the opportunity to guarantee our citizens that all social obligations next year will be fulfilled in full and on time", said the PMR Supreme Council Chairman.

Alexander Korshunov recalled the steps taken by the state to improve the welfare of Pridnestrovians and noted that, when making decisions on increasing wages, pensions and benefits, the current team understands that these obligations must be fulfilled both in 2021 and in 2022, and in subsequent years. Accordingly, social obligations must be funded.

“We were moving in several directions, starting from point-to-point moments and ending with rather serious decisions to increase the level of pensions and wages of public sector employees in total. Point decisions are also associated with ambulance workers, with some government structures, including "covid bonuses" in connection with the pandemic. Over the past three years, we have managed to consolidate budget resources and increase by a certain percentage both the level of pension provision for our citizens, and the level of wages of public sector employees. I am sure that joint work will allow us to continue to carry out this work and we will be able to increase the level of wages and pensions in the medium term”, the speaker emphasized.

Capital investment fund - source of development budget

One of the questions concerned the need to continue the operation of the Capital Investment Fund in the republic. The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke about this at the inauguration on December 17.

“Work in this direction will continue. Why? Because we see the Capital Investment Fund as the source of the development budget. We see how many transformations have taken place in the republic, we see the response of our citizens to these transformations. We understand that this must be done, and, naturally, we will pay quite serious attention to this area. In addition, this is the development of our construction industry, it is also support for the real sector of the economy. I am sure that there are other areas that also need to be supported and developed”, said Alexander Korshunov.

Development of the healthcare sector

The conversation touched upon the development of medicine and health programs. The state finances the purchase of medical equipment, treatment abroad, new departments are opening. The Chairman of the Supreme Council emphasized that the development of the health care system will continue.

“We are supporters of planned development, we are supporters of financing state target programs. We are in favor of the fact that if decisions are made, then their implementation should continue in the medium and long term. We understand very well that there are a number of areas that the healthcare system does not cover today. This is not because we do not want to, but because there is no financial opportunity. The finances that we are looking for, and the opportunities that the state has, we are using to create new state targeted programs, for example, for the purchase of medical equipment, medicines, ambulances, in some areas - oncology, tuberculosis. Literally on Wednesday (12/15/2021 - editor's note) we adopted a new state program for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and the first amounts have already been included in the draft budget for 2022”, said Alexander Korshunov.

Voter Mandate Fund

The PMR Supreme Council Chairman, answering the question about the action of the Fund of Orders of Voters, recalled that the law on Voter Mandate Fund was adopted in 2008, but its implementation began only with the support of the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky. The first small financial investments began in 2018.

“Then for the first time the deputies could implement certain orders of our citizens. The Voter Mandate Fund is traditional; it is also included in the draft budget for 2022. The amount is still small. We understand very well that the possibilities of the budget today are still small. Certain amount has been allocated for each deputy, with the help of which he will be able to close those "pain points" that have been accumulating for years and have not been resolved for 3, 5, 10 years. We consider that this mechanism is very effective, the responses from voters are very positive”, said the speaker of the Pridnestrovian parliament.

Road Fund

Speaking about the construction of roads and financing of the Road Fund (190 million rubles for 2022), Alexander Korshunov emphasized that in order for the roads in Pridnestrovie to be like in Europe, rather serious financial investments are needed.

“So far, the amount of funding for the Road Fund is insufficient. Deputies of local councils and heads of state administrations are talking about this. Both the deputies of the Supreme Council and the government understand this. The state consists not only of roads on the other hand, and there are many directions to be financed. This is where the Voter Mandates Fund helps. At least in my constituency, I direct almost all financial resources to the repair of inner-yard passages and territories”, said the Head of the PMR supreme representative authority.

Alexander Korshunov emphasized that the deputies of the Supreme Council, together with the Government and the PMR President, will look for sources to increase the Road Fund in order to resolve the most pressing issues.

Ensuring food security of the PMR

Will Pridnestrovie be able to fully provide itself with food in 5 years? In the context of the discussion of the topic of food security, they talked about the reclamation and restoration of the reclamation complex, the financing of which began actively with the support of Vadim Krasnoselsky.

“The drought of 2020 has shown that this direction is strategically important for the state and for food security that is for the country as a whole. The deputies of the Supreme Council have long been concerned about this topic and are constantly raising the issue of restoring the land reclamation complex that exists in the republic. By the way, thanks to the decision of the PMR President, our flagship plant "Electromash" began to produce engines for the reclamation complex. As a result of the support of the reclamation complex: in just two or three years, the irrigated area has tripled. For the next year, quite serious attention was paid to this area, funding limits of about 30 million rubles were set. I am sure that we will first of all develop the land reclamation complex and the agro-industrial complex in general”, emphasized the Chairman of the PMR Supreme Council.

Inter-parliamentary cooperation

The journalists focused on the fact that one of the points of the PMR Development Strategy is strengthening ties with the Russian Federation. They asked about the interaction of the Supreme Council with colleagues from Russia.

“We traditionally have quite close relations with the deputies of the State Duma and senators of the Federation Council. We take part in events organized by the Federation Council and the State Duma. We have interpersonal contacts, we have contacts at the level of the Committees of the State Duma and the Supreme Council. A very good result is the Resolution of the State Duma on Pridnestrovie adopted in June this year. This is a rather serious document. It was adopted by the State Duma and will be implemented with the participation of the Government of the Russian Federation to support the PMR”, said the Speaker of the Pridnestrovian Parliament.

Question of the day

At the end of the program, the journalists of the First Pridnestrovian TV Channel asked the question of the day: “Pridnestrovie should become a country in which one would like to live and work. This is one of the main goals of the Development Strategy. The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky has spoken about this more than once. Alexander Viktorovich, what do you think? "

“Our task is to make young people want to live in Pridnestrovie and pay attention to young people, create conditions for young people to want to stay in our republic, want to work here, want to have children here and develop our republic. All government bodies are closely involved in this task. State programs are being created to support young families, programs for the allocation of apartments, we are fighting for the provision of Russian mother capital in our territory. All these decisions, including the improvement of territories and parks, are aimed at keeping young people here, because Pridnestrovie without youth like any other state has no future”, emphasized the speaker of the Pridnestrovian parliament Alexander Korshunov.