Following the norms of the Basic Law of the Pridnestrovian state and the constitutional law on the Government, the PMR President by his order dated December 20 of this year proposed the candidacy of Alexander Martynov for the post of Chairman of the PMR Government, who resigned after the presidential elections. The issue of giving consent to the appointment is included in the agenda of the 16th meeting of the II session of the PMR Supreme Council of the VII convocation. President Vadim Krasnoselsky took part in today's plenary session.
The parliamentarians were reminded of the biography of Alexander Martynov, who headed the Pridnestrovian Government over the past five years. Then the candidate made a voluminous report on the results of the Government's work, as well as plans and projects for the future.
Alexander Martynov: “Dear Vadim Nikolaevich, Alexander Viktorovich, dear deputies, 5 years ago you placed high confidence in me, my colleagues, by proposing my candidacy for the post of Head of Government. We have managed to make significant progress in solving many state problems of concern to the citizens of our republic over the past years through joint efforts within the framework of the Development Strategy of Pridnestrovie. Through the introduction and application of effective instruments of fiscal, monetary, customs and tariff policy aimed at supporting enterprises, stability and growth of the economy was ensured, which made it possible to increase sources of financing for public expenditures and ensure stable financing and growth of social payments, salaries, pensions, various kinds of benefits as well as financing of programs for the development of our state and support for citizens. The issues of reconstruction and construction of social infrastructure have begun to be resolved on a proper scale for the first time at the state level. We are talking about dozens of renovated schools, hospitals, kindergartens, clinics and other facilities. The state provided the allocation from the budget of the amount of subsidies for the payment of public utilities taking into account the need to support the citizens of our republic despite the financial deficit. We are talking about a mechanism for financing the inter-tariff difference, the work of which made it possible to significantly increase the investment programs of housing and communal services enterprises, to improve the reliability of utilities and equipment. Water supply system and other benefits of civilization appeared in many villages of our republic for the first time.
With regard to the development of land reclamation, funds are allocated from the state budget at the expense of a special source for the first time. This made it possible for several years to significantly increase the area of irrigated land, increase productivity and increase the corresponding revenues of the state budget.
As a result of the practical application of modern corporate management models, key state-owned enterprises have been taken under control, which now annually bring about 40 million rubles to the state treasury. At the enterprises, jobs have been preserved and increased, the wages of employees have been increased, and an effective privatization procedure is being carried out. Effective lending programs for young specialists have been launched in the republic, at the start of the program, hundreds of young families, and these are doctors, teachers, military personnel, acquired their own homes as a result.
As for healthcare sector, a large-scale and effective fight against the coronavirus pandemic is underway, hundreds of human lives are now being saved every year as a result of a new program for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome and replacement of pacemakers, new methods and tools for treating cancer patients are being introduced, and hip replacement surgeries have begun. The fleet of ambulance service cars has been almost completely renewed and technological equipment is being constantly purchased. The so-called restrictive coupons for free visits to a doctor and tests have been canceled. Children with disabilities received free access to the services of narrow-profile specialists of non-state clinics.
As part of road construction and improvement in the republic, construction of leisure zones, sports grounds has begun, sidewalk paths, courtyards of schools and gardens, and medical institutions are being reconstructed. As part of the ongoing administrative reform, thanks to the introduction of the so-called salary pilot projects several years ago, it was possible to optimize the number of officials on the one hand, and on the other to increase motivation and prestige of work in government bodies without significant additional spending from the budget. It was possible to almost completely get rid of paper workflow within and between government bodies as part of the ongoing digitalization. A portal of state services was launched for the first time in the republic, thanks to which dozens of services can now be ordered and received in electronic form without leaving home. A system of electronic submission of reports for legal entities has been introduced. The transition to digital patents and electronic payment of payments for public services is under way.
I consider that for the first time a truly effective dialogue between state authorities and the public that makes it possible to identify problems in a timely manner and promptly influence their solution has been established over the past 5 years. An active dialogue is underway with representatives of state authorities, experts, and social activists from the Russian Federation. We are grateful to Russia for comprehensive support, thanks to which it is possible to solve many state problems and move forward in terms of the development of our state.
Dear Vadim Nikolaevich, dear deputies, there is still a lot to be done in terms of improving the welfare of citizens and strengthening our state despite the progress achieved in resolving a number of issues. If my candidacy for the post of the Government Chairman is approved, the Government formed within the framework of the approved State Development Strategy will continue to use effectively proven instruments of fiscal, monetary and customs and tariff policy aimed at supporting enterprises, ensuring economic growth and creating additional workers places. In addition, a draft tax code that implies among other things the use of an effective system of tax administration, tax advice to taxpayers will be sent to the Supreme Council in the near future in order to improve the efficiency of the tax system. At the same time, the parameters of the tax burden are planned to be kept in the corridor of 28-30 percent of GDP. Based on the analysis of the tax burden on the sectors of the economy, the very structure of direct and indirect taxes, the reserve for additional possible fiscal withdrawals for the purpose of indexing social payments and the development of the state is estimated at about two hundred million rubles annually. I consider that these reserves should be used.
The Government will also present conceptual amendments to the law on the support of investment activities in the near future in order to increase investment attractiveness, significantly simplifying the mechanism for calculating and paying taxes for investors.
In order to support young people, start-up entrepreneurs, create additional jobs, starting next year, the Government plans to launch the "Own Business" program, which provides substantial support for start-ups.
In order to improve the regulation of pricing, the cost of services of state institutions, with the exception of socially significant services, and to increase the motivation of personnel to conduct effective business activities it is planned to present a new edition of the law on prices and pricing.
Subsidizing the cost of irrigation for agricultural producers is further planned to be carried out based on the real and justified needs of the industry, taking into account the financial results of organizations with the redirection of saved funds to the development of the reclamation complex.
It is planned to significantly revise the approaches to assessing the efficiency of land use from the point of view of standard yield for various crops. Law-in-draft on this topic will be submitted to the Supreme Council in the near future. The Government at the beginning of next year will initiate a discussion of a package of legislations aimed at involving land rights in business. I would like to clarify that this is not about the privatization of land, but about a more efficient in the opinion of the Government the redistribution of land rights for the use of lands remaining with the state in order to replenish the budget. I would like to note that this is possible only after the introduction of the state land cadastre, the work on which is to be completed in the medium term.
It is planned in the near future to adopt a complex of organizational, technical, economic decisions aimed at increasing the stability of energy supplies to the republic. Naturally, maximum efforts will be made together with economic agents to ensure and expand export supplies for all types of goods, including energy.
Regarding the policy on remuneration of workers in the public sector, it is planned to carry out a conceptual revision of the system of remuneration for workers in the public sector, taking into account the need to establish an individual system of remuneration for each area by analogy with other countries. Education, healthcare, law enforcement agencies and so on. A new law-in-draft on remuneration of workers in the public sector will be presented for discussion in the Supreme Council. The project is almost ready. In addition, as part of the revision of approaches to remuneration, taking into account the best practices of other countries, including the Russian Federation, it is planned to conceptually revise the organizational and legal form and funding model of some budgetary organizations with their transfer, where possible, to state autonomous institutions, state unitary or municipal enterprises - with a change in the model of estimated financing to the model of financing the services provided within the framework of the state order and the provision of market services to the non-state sector. Law-in-draft on autonomous institutions will be presented to the Supreme Council in the near future.
As for the size of actual earnings and numbers in general, the size of the wage fund must continue to be linked to economic growth and tightly controlled within a certain percentage of the size of the economy, since the current 16-17% of GDP is overestimated, which poses serious threats not only to the stability of financing of current social benefits, but also for the development programs that we are implementing in our republic, which are also very important. Obviously, in this case, an increase in wages is possible, including taking into account the implementation of optimization procedures and the transfer of a number of budgetary institutions to the status of non-budgetary organizations operating in market conditions, where the demand for services is presented as a state, and the non-state sector. Once again, I emphasize that this is not an invention of the Government, this is the experience of modern countries, the experience of the Russian Federation, which has proven itself quite well in terms of the effectiveness of state institutions and increasing wages for public sector workers.
Regarding healthcare sector, it is planned to further develop and implement clinical guidelines for the entire group of nosology. Introduction into the practice of the work of medical institutions of holding extended consultations with the invitation of foreign specialists to make an initial diagnosis and determine the tactics of treating seriously ill patients for a wide group of nosology. Such a practice is planned to be launched for cancer patients in 2022. Implementation of a new system of remuneration of medical personnel. It is necessary in the shortest possible time, to reach certainty on the feasibility of introducing a compulsory health insurance system in Pridnestrovie. A special working group will be created under the PMR Government in January next year for this purpose, which will study this issue. I invite the deputies of the Supreme Council to take part in this work.
It is planned to launch a pilot project to transfer a number of health care facilities and medical clinics to a state autonomous institution or state unitary enterprise, working on public and private orders, while preserving the spectrum of free medical services for the population defined by law and a significant increase in the remuneration of medical personnel. The corresponding calculations for a number of medical institutions have been prepared by the Government and in the near future will also be submitted to the profile committee and deputies of the Supreme Council. I repeat once again: this proposal is for discussion, it is not of any dogmatic nature, but it must be discussed. Expanding the practice of using the mechanism for purchasing medical services for the population from the domestic and foreign markets, for example, it is planned to expand the state order for the services of narrow-profile specialists in the field of pediatric medicine in 2022 as well as the provision of services on the domestic market for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome. The work on opening a private medical clinic of this profile on the territory of the republic is now in full swing. It is planned to significantly expand the opportunities for medical personnel in terms of taking advanced training courses both in Pridnestrovie and beyond, including using effective innovative technologies. It is planned in the near future to create a state company providing services for the preparation of high-quality food for patients and personnel of medical institutions of the republic. We are talking about a state-owned outsourcing company. It is planned in the near future to purchase modern medical equipment. It is also planned to continue increasing the transparency of the movement of finance in the health care system through the application of the law on public procurement, scaling the use of the practice of online cash registers and video surveillance systems, and the introduction of advanced software.
Regarding the education sphere, it is planned to preserve and strengthen educational institutions in both urban and rural areas. At the same time, it is proposed in rural areas to consider the issue of creating multifunctional development centers on the basis of pivotal schools that provide services for basic and additional education, the conduct of educational, sports circles and sections. Such centers can become a point of attraction for children from nearby villages. The government will propose for this to concentrate resources on the creation of proper transport, sports and other infrastructure in this direction within the framework of the Capital Investment Fund. It is proposed to partially solve the problem of lack of subject teachers in rural areas using e-learning, similar to other countries. The Department of Public Education should act as coordinators of these issues.
The development of an effective program of continuing education courses on distance educational technologies and its application is also among the tasks. Naturally, with the preservation of the traditional education system, teaching subjects as usual. Rapid restoration of laboratories on the basis of schools, equipped with additional equipment for the implementation of programs, especially in subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology. Development of a new remuneration system in the education system, providing for a more differentiated approach depending on the degree of the teacher's workload, qualitative and labor contribution to the educational process (by analogy with the Russian Federation).
Regarding social policy, pensions – curbing inflation, continuing to provide benefits to the most needy segments of the population, continuing the program of concessional lending to young families for the purpose of buying housing, scaling this project by including additional categories. According to the instructions of the President, the development and implementation of the "Maternal Capital" social program (by analogy with the Russian Federation). In the absence of external shocks for the economy, the indexation of pensions is more rhythmic than today. Continuation of the practice of regulating prices for socially significant goods and services. Containment of the rise in the cost of utilities. Support for domestic producers with the expectation of increasing the level of food security, import substitution. Together with the Central Bank – creation of preconditions for the stability of the Pridnestrovian ruble exchange rate. It should be noted that further movement forward in terms of increasing pensions and introducing new social programs should largely be linked not only to successes in economic growth, but also to the success of procedures to optimize some ineffective instruments. An approximate package of such optimization measures has been prepared by the Government. Its total volume, according to preliminary estimates, is about 140 million rubles annually, which can really be used to support the most needy segments of the population.
In terms of strengthening the social, communal, road and tourist infrastructure, it is planned to continue the work of the Capital Investment Fund with an emphasis on the reconstruction of kindergartens, schools, hospitals, clinics, correctional institutions. I consider that in the horizon of the next five years the issue of the deterioration of the social infrastructure should be resolved at the level of at least 70% of the total need.
It is planned in order to strengthen control over the quality of work performed on the Capital Investment Fund and their cost to create and launch the Outsourced Capital Construction Department from 2022. It is planned to continue the reconstruction of communal communications, equipment of housing and communal services enterprises with the direction of the inter-tariff difference for the implementation of investment programs in order to reduce accidents and increase the reliability of systems. Repair and construction of roads with an emphasis on secondary roads, courtyard driveways and pedestrian areas will be continued. In order to increase the certainty and quality of work planning from 2023, I consider it possible to consider the issue of allocating the budget of the Road Fund separately from the consolidated budget and its adoption for a period of three years. The plans also include the creation of seven to eight recreational tourist zones annually, which will create the proper conditions for recreation for our citizens and guests of the republic, annual investment in the development of the infrastructure of the reclamation complex with a significant annual increase in the amount of irrigated land.
It is planned in terms of regional policy to initiate questions about revising approaches to charging fees for maintenance of apartment buildings. The question of the state of the road fund is very acute, and it needs to be addressed. Taking into account the solvency of some categories of citizens, of course, it will be with the participation of residents directly. Implementation of the program for the reconstruction of dormitories of the municipal housing stock. Implementation of the program for the renovation of furniture, window blocks, bedding in educational institutions and correctional institutions. Significant increase in funding for cleaning and greening of streets in cities and districts. Implementation of the program for modernization of harvesting and road equipment of specialized enterprises. Implementation of a program to ensure transport accessibility in cities and regions of the republic. Complete renovation of the school bus fleet. Solving the issue of providing educational institutions with cleaning and detergents and eliminating the collection of fees from parents for these purposes. The Government in all these areas has prepared appropriate programs, it is proposed to start their implementation already within the framework of the budget for the upcoming 2022. The leadership of the PMR Government and the heads of state administrations, despite the decisions taken as part of the consideration of the draft budget for 2022, still count on a deeper understanding and analysis of these problems and the early allocation of proper funding for their solution. I consider that the time has come for solving these problems, taking into account the appeals of the citizens of our republic to the state authorities, and already quite a long time ago. These issues need to be addressed urgently.
As regards the management of state-owned enterprises, it is planned to preserve the anti-crisis management mechanism through the services of state management companies, as well as privatize enterprises that are not included in the register of strategic objects with an independent market assessment and the establishment of effective investment encumbrances.
In terms of the digitalization of public services, it is planned to finally introduce an electronic system of intradepartmental and interdepartmental document flow with complete abandonment of paper media; further digitalization of public services and placement of access to them on an electronic portal; completion of the implementation of the electronic reporting system for legal entities; completion of the transfer of the payment process for an individual patent into electronic form.
In terms of dialogue with the public and external contacts, it is planned to continue close cooperation and dialogue with public organizations of the republic, including within the framework of the permanent Coordination Council under the PMR Government to continue working with government bodies, experts, public and business circles of the Russian Federation on the subject of mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, including the issues of attracting investments, creating additional jobs, continuing the implementation of humanitarian projects.
In general, the Government of Pridnestrovie will be open for a broad constructive dialogue with all interested parties for the benefit of the development of our state as before".
At the end of the speaker's speech, the participants of the plenary session - the deputies of the Supreme Council and the PMR Prosecutor addressed Alexander Martynov with questions related to the organization of the work of the future Government. The aspects aimed at making it more effective are noted. The President Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke about the achievements of the executive authorities and what should be focused on in the future, who recommended supporting the candidacy of Alexander Martynov for the post of the Government Chairman.
Vadim Krasnoselsky: “First of all I want to focus on an important principle (I clearly said about this in my inaugural speech): the victory of the President in the elections that took place on December 12 is not my personal merit, it is the merit of the entire management team. These are the deputies of the Supreme Council, and the deputies of city and regional Soviets, and the Government, and all people who work for the development of our state - by virtue of their functional and official duties. This work is determined by both the Constitution and laws. We do our part. Therefore, I say once again that only thanks to joint work we have a result. This is the first thing. This is the foundation.
Alexander Vladimirovich paid more attention in his speech to the issue of how to spend public funds correctly, how to distribute it. This is very important. This is the job of the Government, but I also want to direct the Government to determine how the Government can earn more, and then distribute the earned of course. And save, it is important. It is also a kind of earning to save.
I want to focus on one more important argument. Unfortunately, I did not hear either in the speech of Alexander Vladimirovich, or in the questions of the deputies of the Supreme Council. Do you remember what we talked about in this room six years ago? We talked about the fight against corruption. This is the foundation. Corruption is the kind of corrosion that eats away at any of the most efficient mechanisms. Of course, we must continue to work towards the fight against corruption. I would like to focus on the achievements in this area that have taken place over the past five years. We have had negative experiences. The Supreme Court has already determined the full measure of responsibility for all officials involved in corruption in the state. I consider that it is thanks to the joint work of the entire management team that we have achieved a breakthrough in the fight against corruption. I will name the main five areas. Corruption in these areas also delayed Pridnestrovie from further development. The first direction is Russian gas. There were many complaints against the previous Government, for abuse of Russian gas. Everyone remembers Energocapital and so on. As of today, any manipulations or machinations with Russian gas are completely ruled out. This is the result of the work of the PMR Government, the Supreme Council, and the President, of course. The funds that have not left our economy are directed towards development.
The second area where I consider that we have defeated corruption is the banking sector. If we recall a certain period of time of development, or underdevelopment of our state, then we remember what the banking sector was turned into a personal feeding trough, into a corruption component. Today the banking sector is under tight control, and any manifestations of corruption have been stopped. This is also the non-withdrawal of funds from our economy, it is also a joint success.
The next area is customs. Persons who abused in the customs committee received real terms of imprisonment. Today customs is completely different. This is noted, most importantly, by the entrepreneurs of our state. This is also the success of the entire management team.
The next area is embezzlement, the creation of schemes for state-owned enterprises such as Moldavian Metallurgical Plant, Biochim and a number of others. The fact that the Moldavian Metallurgical Plant was simply shrouded in schemes, we said here, in this hall, when I was the Chairman of the Supreme Council. To date, we have eliminated corruption in these enterprises. We must continue to work, of course.
As for the state management company this system is not ideal maybe, but it is not ideal what it was before. It is necessary to keep it under control with the help of a management model, with the help of some systematization of this process. I propose to bring the mechanism to mind, if there is something to work on, and with the help of certain mechanisms to control. I repeat, today there are no schemes either around Biochim or around the Moldavian Metallurgical Plant. This is also the success of the entire management team.
Another very important sphere where progress has been achieved, but there is still work to be done, is public procurement. By the way, it was precisely through the introduction of the law on public procurement that is imperfect, that we corrected it, we managed to move to auctions, and this already has its own result. Nevertheless, Alexander Vladimirovich, Alexander Viktorovich, there is something to work on and further. We must strive for the ideal.
What I have just outlined is the huge success of the entire management team. By eliminating corruption in these important areas of the state's life, we have managed to save money, and therefore make money. Naturally, it is impossible to develop the economy without attracting investment. We must take into account the position of our state - this is non-recognition, this is risks, this is a blockade, and so on. Therefore many potential investors are afraid to invest in the economy of our state of course. It is nevertheless necessary to use our advantage - this is the absence of a corruption component. Alexander Vladimirovich, I would like to ask you to discipline the leaders who are involved in attracting investments inside Pridnestrovie. We need to work with greater dedication. I will not name the names of those who are involved in this – you all know very well. This is the direction where the state can earn money. Many questions depend on ourselves: there are external factors, there are internal factors. The internal factor is agriculture, this is land. I suggest both the Supreme Council and the Government to approach this issue closely in terms of both savings and earnings. This is the use of new technologies for the cultivation and processing of agricultural products. This is also an increase in the sphere of land that will be under reclamation. This is an increase in profitability. This is what we have. As the practice of the last year shows, everything can go away: both gas and electricity in the volume that is necessary for industrial enterprises, but land is a value, it is gold that must be used for economic development and capitalization.
With regards to the questions of the deputies about the reforms, I suggest that the Government not engage in rabid reform, but rather focus more on innovation. We must live by the principle: "measure seven times, cut once". Alexander Vladimirovich spoke correctly about the cavalry raids. Definitely, the Government is not a cavalry brigade, and nothing can be solved by raids on the problem. The Government is a restrained organ of power and administration, which must develop a restrained version of solving certain problems. Therefore, we will not make decisions without consulting those who work in the fields, on the ground, in schools and hospitals. Everyone knows my management models very well. Until I make sure personally, I do not find out the opinion of those who work, to whom to apply, to whom to execute, I do not make any decisions. I am a conservative by nature, but I do not refuse development either. I will unequivocally agree with everyone when I am convinced of the necessity and importance of the decisions made.
As for certain pilot projects: we will not do total experiments. Even if there are suggestions, we will test it. For example, there is one polyclinic, we experimented, but it didn’t work – we returned it to the previous track, it worked out - we are moving forward. That's all. This is where the success is. First of all, the "exposure" of the decisions made.
As for the increase in pension benefits, social benefits, salaries of public sector employees – this is one of the important strategic directions of the Government. I see it necessary to develop models for raising and retirement benefits and for the salaries of public sector employees of course.
Dear colleagues, dear deputies, you know in the end this five-year plan was not easy, very difficult. We stabilized the situation in 2017 in principle, began to develop since 2018. We are not ashamed, we have something to say. Although we got both the pandemic and the pressure of external forces - everything is in the complex.
I want to express my gratitude to both the PMR Government and the Supreme Council for the work done over the past 5 years. Together we have shown the result – this is important. These or those shortcomings, roughness are everywhere of course. The most important thing is that we see them, correct them and try to correct the legislation and discipline the execution.
I want to thank everyone for the fact that we are developing the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, despite the difficult times. Addressing the deputies, I ask you to support the candidacy of Alexander Vladimirovich Martynov for the post of Chairman of the Government of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic".
The Supreme Council supported the presidential proposal. Alexander Martynov will continue to work as the Chairman of the PMR Government.
