In an open letter to Serdar Berdymuhamedov, published in the local press, industry and business representatives denounce an unsustainable climate. “Only close relatives of his family can work freely.” Since 2018, the exchange of the manat is blocked. Taxes to fund state events and festivals are also under scrutiny.
Ashgabat () – In a heartfelt appeal to President Serdar Berdymuhamedov, businessmen in Turkmenistan complain about bureaucracy, corruption and the system of bribes that prevent the normal development of commercial activities. The document was also sent to the editorial office of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan“, with the request that it be given the widest possible diffusion.
The representatives of industry and commerce refer to the unsustainable climate that reigns in the country and that is due in large part to nepotism and relationships of privilege. The presidential family itself is no stranger to this situation, since it has taken over the most profitable businesses in the country. For this reason, the letter claims, above all, the possibility of addressing the highest authority directly without having to go through the thousands of filters that prevent direct relationship between the president and the different expressions of Turkmen society.
The people “are aware that you, as the new president, have the serious task of leading a country that is far from easy, with its great economic problems.” And they do not leave out the pandemic, which although it is denied at the official level , “in any case, it has caused damage to the country due to restrictions around the world. Even before Covid, businessmen observe, “businesses here had already collapsed, due to the super-corruption of public officials,” and during During the period of the pandemic, restrictions of all kinds were imposed.
In this very difficult stage, “only a select few, that is, the close relatives (the so-called plemjanniki or “nephews”) of his father [el ex presidente Gurbanguly] they could work freely, selling almost all export products abroad through fictitious companies”. In fact, nepotism has dispossessed many “honest businessmen”, and the arbitrariness of the caste in power “is impossible to measure” , due to its length.The names of the “grand-nephews” are also mentioned: “Shamirat, Khakymirat and their father Annanazar Rezhepovy feel they are the monarchs of the country and have incredible capital abroad”.
To get hold of the raw materials needed to produce, huge bribes are demanded, or one is forced into the service of the plemjanniki. This is what happens in the Kijanlinsk chemical industrial complex where various types of polymers are produced: it is totally controlled by the caste. The same goes for the Turkmenistan Materials market, where export items are traded, and also for various dimensions of internal trade. However, private companies that use polymers “have a lot of workers to support, not to mention the taxes and public services they have to pay every month.”
They also complain about the pressure from the organs of power and the forces of order (Ministry of the Interior, security services, prosecutors and courts) that “do not miss the opportunity, and use the power that has been granted to them to create new barriers and monopolize bribes and percentages on businesses”. Entrepreneurs, however, recall that “private initiative, as shown by the experience of the most advanced countries, is the true foundation of the economy, while here it seems that everything possible is being done to sink it.”
Another problem pointed out in the open letter is the exchange rate of the manat, the local currency. Regarding the other world currencies, the manat “was completely blocked in 2018, and today everyone makes calculations based on the black market exchange rate.” It is proposed to accept the rules of the market economy, letting the currency fluctuate transparently, both up and down. Banks should also cooperate, granting loans -today prohibited- and allowing the use of cash within appropriate limits. However, today even ATMs are de facto inactive. Due to the inability to exchange money, Turkmen students abroad are unable to pay for their studies, despite all the efforts of their families. In fact, they live as refugees, because even the expiration dates of passports are frozen, unless they manage to “tip” the right person.
In this context, the “chareliers” are particularly odious, the additional taxes that must be paid to support the great state events and festivals, to which all students and civil servants, as well as employees of private companies, are obliged to contribute and participate. , “to please you and your family”, write the signatories of the appeal, “and to avoid unbearable reprisals against our activities”.
Private companies can not have more than two cars (not long ago they were completely prohibited) that women are prohibited from driving. Instead, the cars of the powerful, the only ones authorized to use dark colors and tinted windows, travel the country at all hours. But what has darkened for most of the population is the Internet connection, and businessmen ask the president and “guardian of the homeland” to shed some light.
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