Address by Oksana Kozlovskaya at the 17th Session
of the Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast (February 28, 2013)
The Speaker started her address with greeting the deputies, journalists and representatives of public organizations attending the session.
Then she proceeded to the subject of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. Not mentioning the unique nature of the phenomenon, she focused on the lack of preparedness of the global monitoring systems and failure to ensure adequate protection of people. Oksana Kozlovskaya believes that such problems can be resolved if all nations unite regardless of their social and political regimes and financial well-being.
Russia’s business agenda was set on January 31 in the document “Key focus areas of the Russian Government for 2018” which defines key goals and priorities of the country’s new economic development model.
It was the first strategic document to undergo a nation-wide discussion which took place at the 10th Economic Forum in Krasnoyarsk. Tomsk Oblast was represented by a delegation headed by the Governor.
At the Forum agreements worth hundreds of billions of rubles were signed, including an agreement between Sberbank and the Siberian Agrarian Group on the construction of a 4 billion rubles livestock breeding complex in Krasnoyarsk Krai.
The general tone of discussions at the Forum was not very optimistic as the Russian economy has almost come to a halt. Forecasts say the growth in 2013 will not exceed 3.6% with concerns that even this rate might not be achieved. At the same time, normal development requires 5-7% a year. What should be done to get there?
The Prime Minister named five priority items to ensure sustainable economic growth of the country.
- Increase national competitiveness and labor productivity
- Improve the quality and accessibility of social services
- Provide affordable and comfortable housing and public utility services for the people
- Improve the effectiveness of public administration
- Ensure balanced regional development
He also emphasized that Russia’s development potential hides inside the country. In the light of that concept, the worn-out phrase “Russia’s power will grow with Siberia” has acquired new meaning. It is necessary to add to it, though, that not only Siberia but also Far East will contribute to the country’s growth.
According to the Speaker of the Tomsk Oblast Duma, there are three key priorities to reach the desired trajectory:
– Better labor productivity
– Entrepreneurial initiative and create a favorable investment climate
– Infrastructure
President Putin requested that the Government justify the growth in public utility bills for various categories of citizens in a week. The growth in bills cannot exceed 6% on average across the country and over the year. The State Duma and Federation Council approached the Government with similar requests.
Oksana Kozlovskaya suggested that “during the Governor’s Hour at a future session of the Tomsk Oblast Duma the Tomsk Oblast Administration report on its actions to implement the President’s request and we together discuss a path forward”.
About the agenda
1. Amend the recently adopted law on the Oblast budget. The federal budget has been approved, federal funds have been distributed among regions. The revenues of the Oblast budget will grow through receipts from the federal budget by almost 500 million rubles and through an increase in region’s own revenues by only 4.1 million rubles.
2. Performance report of the Chamber of Audit and Accounts. In 2012, the Chamber conducted 24 audit checks including a number of expert reviews and recovered 11.2 million rubles to the Oblast budget.
3. Amendments to several legislative acts regarding municipal service. They will become a basis for the next step – a law on pensions for municipal officers.
4. Discussion of emergency prevention actions in view of the forthcoming flood season during the Governor’s Hour.
