Last week in Perm was noted by several appointments among the top state power executives. Public transportation issues and budget revenues were on the agenda of the regional and city Dumas. An Olympic champion Maksim Dyldin returned home from Beijing. Read more on these and other important events of the last week in the traditional weekly review at UralPolit.Ru.
Last week in Perm was noted by several appointments among the top state power executives. Public transportation issues and budget revenues were on the agenda of the regional and city Dumas. An Olympic champion Maksim Dyldin returned home from Beijing. Read more on these and other important events of the last week in the traditional weekly review at UralPolit.Ru.
Education in focus
Educational system of Prikamie is under vigilant control and investigation of the prosecutor’s office. Investigators were able to find out and collect evidence regarding a well organized and complex scheme of civic peculation and cashing budget money.
Interregional investigation division of the prosecutor’s office of Russia opened a criminal case on August 27 in Kungur regarding theft of budget money by municipal officials. It looks like that the involved officials in 5 different municipal districts made directors of the local schools sign contracts for teachers qualification training, the money for the training was paid from the municipal budget to a service provider and then cashed. No training was provided in reality. Director of the mentioned service provider facility, Aleksey Smirnov, one of the main persons involved into the investigation proceedings, confessed. Mr. Smirnov provided only feeble excuses for this money laundering scheme. He explained that he wanted to collect money for the reconstruction of a kindergarten. UralPolit.Ru was told by a source in the investigation office that the man was cashing the money and allegedly was going to return then back. He did not admit any coordination on the part of the municipal administration officials.
There are criminal cases opened in all 5 districts. “All cases are processed independently at the moment, if we reveal circumstances allowing to unite them, the cases will be made one”, says deputy director of the interregional investigation office Yury Sychev.
Banking
Director of the Bank of Russia Regional Branch in Perm was discharged from office August 25 due to violation of his office duties. This became shocking news in the generally slow end of August life of the banking sector. Sergey Kuznetsov was appointed acting director. Names of the candidates for the director’s chair are not disclosed.
Chemistry
Perm’s chemical company Beraton entered the final stage of the court proceedings regarding possible bankruptcy. Arbitrate court of the region appointed a temporal insolvency officer Dmitry Bostan on August 28. OJSC Beraton produces flotation agents, polymer agents, paints, biocide additives and other chemicals. Beraton is controlled by the financial group Guta.
Buses
Perm’s administration continues to attempt innovations in the public bus transportation system. An auction for the right to provide transportation services will be held in October. One of the world’s leaders in automobile production Kamaz will participate through its subsidiary KamPassengerTrans with 50 new buses ready to start work in the streets of Perm.
The city administration decided to conduct an experiment. Winners of the auction will receive the right to service 3 out of 80 city bus routes for the period of three months to see the efficacy of the project. Local service providers received the decision negatively as they view it as an attempt to restructure the market. Andrey Kovyev, director of the roads and transport department, reckons that coming of a new market player able to invest into development will stimulate local service providers to cooperation with the authorities and meet the required standards.
Perm’s deputies are buying land
Last week plenary meeting of the city Duma was devoted to the choice of a land lot for the construction of the new administration headquarters. The deputies set their minds upon a site on Lenina Street in Perm, which will soon be cleaned for the start of construction. Tatyana Samoilenko, director of the planning and territory development department, said that the parking complex would be the first object to build. “We hope to move to a new building in 2011”, added mayor of Perm Igor Shubin.
City administration recruits employees
Sergey Yuzhakov was appointed the new deputy head of the city in charge of infrastructure development, communal services, technical supervision and real estate management. Following this assignment the city Duma terminated Mr. Yuzhakov’s commission as a city deputy.
On August 26 the region’s governor appointed his envoy in the Perm’s City Duma – Sergey Neganov, director of the department of internal policies of the regional administration. His responsibility will be to ensure coordination of the governor and the city Duma regarding strategic planning and political cooperation.
Budget
Officials of all levels reviewed budget indices for 2008 last week. Corrections were made to the Perm’s budget. The city revenues will make 19.7 billion rubles, while expenses will make 22.06 billion. Budget deficit thus reduced and now totals 2.28 billion rubles. The correction was necessary due to additional 818 million rubles directed to the city budget from the co-financing regional fond.
Regional authorities also reviewed the projected budget for 2009-2011. According to the new program the budget in 2009 will estimate 66.9 billion rubles, which is 7.5 billions more than in 2008.
Elections
Additional elections will be held in the Perm Region to replace a deputy in the regional legislative body. One of the candidates, Aleksandr Repin, owner of the holding Saturn-R, took his name off the list on August 28, leaving only three candidates to compete including a candidate from the liberal democratic party, communist party and a United Russia candidate Sergey Panteleev. “When I submitted documents for the elections, the United Russia leaders had not yet set their minds who to support officially, me or Sergey Panteleev… I decided not to compete with an equal. Sergey Panteleev is just a reflection of myself, why would I stand on his way?” – Aleksandr Repin told UralPolit.Ru.
City-manager of Kudymkar
Kudymkar City Duma elected the new city-manager on August 29. The chair was empty since the resignation of the last city-manager in January this year. Boris Sokolov received 12 votes against 9 of his rival Yury Asatryan.
Echo of Beijing
Perm Region welcomed its Olympic champion back home. Maksim Dyldin, athlete, returned home from China. He won a bronze medal in men’s 4x400m relay. He and his coach will receive special rewards from the regional governor.