Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Temrezov, we are meeting in connection with the session of the Commission on the Socio-Economic Development of the North Caucasus Federal District. Let’s first talk about the development of the republic. We have just seen a very large agricultural enterprise that opened in the late 1970s and has been doing well.
New technology is being used there, and it feeds almost half of Moscow. Your climate makes it possible. You have a lot of sun. Of course, it is very important to have more than a few of these enterprises. You should build new ones because this is the way to develop the investment potential of the republic and the rest of the region. The social component is very important here because you have a good birth rate and the general demographic trend is not bad. We are opening new kindergartens in the entire country. How are you faring on this front? Please, go ahead.
Rashid Temrezov: As for preschool institutions, as of the beginning of this year we have built or substantially upgraded 11 kindergartens, including eight using private sources, such as sponsors and businesses. We have the same plans for this year because our waiting list is long – about 8,000 children. We are now reviewing a scheme for per capita funding and compiling an electronic waiting list. The Border Service has already given us a building that once housed a kindergarten, so we plan to speed up. We will reduce the waiting list by almost 1,400 seats. We won’t reduce the rate of progress, because this is the goal. I think that we will eliminate the waiting list by 2015 – a year ahead of time.
Dmitry Medvedev: Yes, this is your challenge.
Rashid Temrezov: Yes, but considering that the birth rate is growing… I have quoted an example – 30 children went to school in one village and 90 were born this year (this is just one village).
Dmitry Medvedev: So, you will still have to increase the number of kindergartens. You will have to build new ones. You must deal with all that.
What about teachers’ salaries? Do they meet existing standards?
Rashid Temrezov: Yes, in some places they are even higher than the average for the republic’s economy. Our average is about 15,500 roubles and we brought this figure to 16,000, and this year our goal is not to reduce it.
Dmitry Medvedev: Of course, you must not reduce it.
Rashid Temrezov: Yes, all the more so since our forecast for the economic average will grow to reach about 17,000 roubles.
Dmitry Medvedev: You must also invest in the agricultural sector, because in general the North Caucasus is an agricultural territory. Here it’s either leisure and tourism or agriculture – about 60% of the population work in agriculture. Therefore, you should think about more enterprises of this kind.
Rashid Temrezov: I’d like to note the role of the Government. The support of the Ministry of Agriculture has allowed us to launch about 20,000 private farm holdings. We are supporting them by subsidising…
Dmitry Medvedev: Yes, you are making active use of small commodity forms.
Rashid Temrezov: Absolutely. The beef and small cattle numbers are growing – we are moving forward. Apart from tourism and agriculture we also have industrial production and we’re building new plants to produce construction materials. We are dealing with all these issues.
Dmitry Medvedev: You should increase the cattle population, particularly small cattle, and at least reach the Soviet level for sheep. Then think what to do next.
Rashid Temrezov: Indeed, we haven’t matched the Soviet level yet. If we increase the number of heads by 300,000 we’ll get there.
Dmitry Medvedev: You have always raised valuable sheep, so definitely go ahead with this.
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