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Medvedev angered by officials’ demagogy
Published: 29 July, 2010, 18:13
Edited: 15 August, 2010, 19:38
TAGS: Children, Health, Military, Medvedev, Russia, SciTech, Politics, Law, Modernization
Following a meeting on national priority projects, President Dmitry Medvedev has criticized officials via Twitter for too much talking and not enough action or practical proposals on solving problems.
“Too many words were said. But there were neither actions nor solutions proposed on solving problems. Great pity. That is not work,” Medvedev wrote in his microblog after a meeting of Council on National Projects on Thursday.
“If anyone managed to watch the televised meeting till the end (was patient enough), they should make their own conclusions. The problems are crucial, but listening [to officials’ speeches] is impossible,” the president said.
On Thursday, the country's top officials met to discuss Russia’s four national priority projects – modern healthcare, affordable housing, quality education and agricultural development. The president’s opening speech was followed by reports presented by ministers and other top officials who were monotonously listing achievements and talking about future plans. At some point Medvedev lost his temper and asked the participants of the Council to speak more briefly and focus on their topics. He added that future plans can be talked about on TV, while the Council is a place to discuss problems.
As for the main point of the meeting – the national projects – the president underlined they should be adapted to the modernization process.
“We have decided not only to continue working on national projects, but also to adapt them as much as possible to the processes of modernization that are currently underway in the country,” the Russian head of state said.
Providing housing for young scientists is one of practical steps that should be made as soon as possible. Medvedev urged Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Zhukov and Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin to sort out this issue actively “for the sake of the country’s future”. He iterated his earlier order – given to the Russian Academy of Science and Ministry of Regional Development – to provide 5,000 scientists with proper living conditions. However, both bodies have failed to report on fulfillment of the task.
“If we want a good future for our country and do not want everyone to leave, we should work on that now,” he wrote later in his microblog. “I want to reiterate that the government should urgently sort the issue of housing for scientists.”
Speaking at the meeting, Medvedev said that in the last four years, significant changes have been achieved in all the four priority projects. However, a lot more should be done in coming years.
A decrease of energy consumption is one of the priorities. The law on energy conservation should become "a new style of conduct" for budget-funded organizations, not an "abstract theme,” he said, as cited by Itar-Tass. Medvedev recalled that the energy conservation legislation commits the companies on the state payroll to annually decrease the consumption of energy resources by three per cent, and purchase energy conservation equipment.
"It is necessary for every budget-funded organization to understand why they have to do it,” he said.
"Everybody must learn to save money," Medvedev underlined. "What is energy effectiveness in school? Certainly not just tick marks in accounting. We must realize that a decrease in energy consumption at a school, say by 30 per cent, means additional money that can be used to resolve other tasks, such as procurement of textbooks or equipment,” he maintained.
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4 comments
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I never understood why the government doesn't compete in the marketplace for business. If the government produced potato chips with labor from people on government assistance they could undercut the market and generate money for excellent social programs because people on assistance are already getting subsidised housing, food and transport so they don't need to take home a big paycheck. Their should be all kinds of factories and businesses and everybody should be producing something. Government factories could be the safety net. Either you work in private industry or your working for the government. Why does the government freely give out money and not ask for anything in return? That makes no sense because people need a purpose for their lives. Most everyone can do something. Getting people busy, working, making a little money will keep the country humming and social services and education will only improve.
It's an Enormous place with Enormous potential... you've a caring Leadership who aren't half as hamstrung by vested interests as their U.S.counterparts... most essentially, a healthy dose of affection (from the top) should be enough, that and the trust they've worked for, to get this thing 'up + running' ...W O R D :)
I never understood why the government doesn't compete in the marketplace for business. If the government produced potato chips with labor from people on government assistance they could undercut the market and generate money for excellent social programs because people on assistance are already getting subsidised housing, food and transport so they don't need to take home a big paycheck. Their should be all kinds of factories and businesses and everybody should be producing something. Government factories could be the safety net. Either you work in private industry or your working for the government. Why does the government freely give out money and not ask for anything in return? That makes no sense because people need a purpose for their lives. Most everyone can do something. Getting people busy, working, making a little money will keep the country humming and social services and education will only improve.