Gulbanu Abenova
Almaty, January 16
(The Globe)
�A number of foreign companies and first of all HAGLER BAILLY company together with the
Russian-American Council submit a
proposal to the President, the Parliament and the Government of the republic to
re-organise the Anti-monopolistic committee�,
Nikolay Radostovets said on January 16 in Almaty.
The chairman of the National committee for Natural Monopolies Control stated that they
rose a question on committee�s re-
organisation into two agencies: the one to regulate natural monopolies and another � to
control small businesses and protect
competition.
He considers that separate price regulation as practised before 1994 proved to be
inefficient. While monopolists� actual experience
and stable tariffs and prices demonstrate that the committee disposes of a �powerful
lever�.
In his opinion, monopolists are striving for enfeebling the committee exactly through its
division. �HAGLER BAILLY� insists on
that the agency should consist of several commissions, unifying people from companies,
involved in the local market, such as for
example APC and AES. This means that they will be able to regulate tariffs and prices.
They have been carrying this ideology for
several years, he said.
Only in the second half of 1998 the anti-monopolistic committee �moderated appetite�
of those companies for 17 billion, that is why
they are strongly interested in weakening the committee. He informed that last year they
managed to withdraw and return about T1
billion to the local budgets through lower tariffs for violation of the price legislation.
They made 1228 prescriptions, suspended 52
normative acts of local executive bodies, examined 184 cases, called to account 151
persons, submitted 44 materials to prosecutor
bodies, brought 48 suits on facts of anti-monopolistic and price legislation
infringements.
No country practices that private natural monopolies were controlled by leaders of these
very companies as a part of the
governmental regulation, Nikolay Radostovets stated. �When we ask them to name at least
one such country, they tactfully evade
answering�.
He thinks that foreign companies would like to benefit from our lack of knowledge, looking
back to western specialists etc.
We have already established price regulation, Mr. Radostovets said. His organisation may
answer for prices in Kazakstan. He said
that wide foreign experience of separate regulation demonstrated that they may not give
any indulgences to anybody. He reminded
that during last year the committee saw double re-organisation. Under the presidential
decree it was taken out both of the Ministry
of Power and of the Government.
All attempts to weaken anti-monopolistic regulation, whichever good they seemed to be on
the face of it, must be repulsed in a
determined way, the minister thinks.
In his opinion �any indulgences under the influence of foreign experts� to separate
the committee and to give the sack to employers
may impact the future practices and tasks of the committee.
Speaking on rumours, published by one of Kazakstan�s newspapers that Zhannat Yertelesova
was allegedly appointed committee�s
chairwoman, he said that there were certain circles in the country, which were interested
in spreading instability in committee�s
activities. �I spoke to Mrs. Yertelesova, she is a specialist in a tax sphere and the
doctor of economic science. I remain puzzled who
exaggerates the issue and why mass media publishes such materials�, he said.
P.S. The leadership of HAGLER BAILLY company promised THE GLOBE to comment in near future
on the abovementioned issue
as well as on the company�s proposals submitted to the Government of Kazakhstan.
Translation provided by INSEL Company A. B.
Sergey MATYUSHENKO
ALMATY, January 15
(THE GLOBE)
�I totally agree with OSCE regarding the fact that passed elections were not really
free�, - stated Paul Wirek, president of Free
Congress Foundation, which is American Non-commercial Congressmen Association, January 14
in Almaty.
In Mr. Wirek�s opinion, current political situation in Kazakstan reminds him of the
times when the USSR had collapsed, when KGB
had been persecuted many foreign observers, at that it was happening the same this time.
�We were shocked by the level of persecution of common people and independent observers
in process of elections of the RK
President and I am intending to inform my friends from the Congress about it�, - he
said. Paul Wirek is also concerned about the
fact that the Republican Narodnaya party � one of a few, which follows principles of
democracy, is unable to get registered in the
Ministry of Justice.
�We thought that for a period of its independence Kazakstan would be able to pass the
longer distance on the way towards the
democracy, but to my regret, this did not happen in reality�, - said Paul Ogle,
political analyst, who is closely co-operating with Free
Congress Foundation. In Mr. Ogle�s opinion, there is particular system of restraining
society democratization in Kazakstan at this
moment - it is imperfect legislation and arbitrariness of the executive authority, about
which many foreigners are also concerned.
Translation is provided by INSEL Company S. V.
Kazakstan industry, formed in soviet times, was representing a part of a huge All-Union
complex. For Kazakstan itself significant
part of it is natural monopolies, such as transmitting electric power systems, oil
pipelines and telecommunications. Even on the
regional level many enterprises fall under this definition: the most striking example is
Almaty Power Consolidated company (APC),
which is transmitting and producing major part of electric power in Almaty and Almaty
Oblast.
For remaining part of country�s economy monopolist companies are price-determining. This
factor relates to the entire industries,
enterprises and ordinary citizens as well.
Regulating relationships between natural monopolies and other subjects of the economy
considered to be the most important aspect
of the country development. It is RK Committee on natural monopolies regulation and
protection of ordinary citizens� rights
(Antimonopoly Committee in common language, chairman � Nikolay Radostovets) particularly
doomed to resolve current tasks.
Ideology crisis regarding the methods of resolving the contradictions around natural
monopolies has recently become obvious.
Antimonopoly Committee officials� appeal that protecting the rights of ordinary citizens
belongs exclusively to them? From our
point of view reflects narrow departmental interest of Committee itself. Last Saturday
press conference of the Committee�s
leadership using obviously populist slogans of care for ordinary people clearly shows idea
crisis and evident tendency towards
bureaucratic methods of conflicts resolution.
Special regulating commission � the idea and fulfillment
We would like to remind the reader that last year August by the initiative of THE GLOBE
there was a conference on problems of
electric power market formation held in Almaty. The offer on Special Regulating Commission
creation became one of the main
ideas suggested by the conference to its participants. Its objective was elaboration of
decisions, which would be compulsory for all
participants of the market, such as defining the tariffs on electric power transmission,
providing equal conditions for all participants
of the market, in particular, for electric power circuit transmission from all power
producers and so on. By opinion of the
participants of the conference, Commission should consist of particular private
individuals, authoritative and respected at the highest
level:
(i) circuits owners, i.e. owners of electric power circuits of various
levels from Trans-republican (KEGOK) to local (REKs and
RESs);
(ii) producers of power � heat and hydro electric power facilities and
etc.;
(iii) large consumers of electric power;
(iv) representatives of other consumers of electric power, such as Union
of flat owners co-operatives (if it does exist) and similar
structures, which represents aggregate interests of ordinary citizens;
(v) representatives of Antimonopoly Committee.
Commission takes the decision, which is compulsory for fulfilling by all participants of
the market, provided 100% consent of the
Commission members, as it was cerebrated by the participants of August conference. Within
the frameworks of the idea particularly
participants of the market possessing the entire aggregate information on situation on the
market are forming the prices, tariffs,
agreeing or not agreeing with estimate of expenditures on the production and transmission
of electric power and also, which is
important as well, forming their opinion about the efforts of new monopolies creation,
such as REKs privatization, which was
discussed on the conference in details.
Being the editor of the newspaper and organizer of the conference exactly this way I have
realized the idea of creating Special Power
Regulating Commission. As far as I understood, exactly this way the problem is treated in
other countries. Ms. Elena Popandopulo,
Antimonopoly Committee representative on that conference, was obviously also agree with
the final decisions of the conference. And
now�
�The country needs strong Antimonopoly Committee. Efforts to weaken�must meet decisive
repulse�, - states Nikolay Rodostovets
on Saturday.
Such words, as �we managed to cut the appetites of monopolists�, �they (monopolists
� N. A.) did not pick consumers �pocket� and
other, such as: �people do not believe in anything� or �take over our experience,
wondering at phenomenon of Kazakstan� � are
clearly showing the tone and methodize of Antimonopoly Committee officials in representing
the materials.
In our opinion, it is the effort to represent the narrow departmental interest as the
interests of the country. In no sense I would like to
act as apologist of those monstrous � monopolists. But many of them were created with
direct connivancy of the same monopolists.
Who else apart from them represented monopoly rights to Altel on cellular telephones,
formed APC and gave it monopoly right on
access to the circuits of electric power transmission in Almaty, sold a number of electric
power facilities to AES monopoly
ownership, gave monopoly access to the local telephone circuits to Kazakhtelecom and etc.?
But as far as they do exits - those
monsters, it becomes necessary to co-operate with them. Main thesis of this statement is
the idea that not only Antimonopoly
Committee to co-operate with natural monopolies, and not to that extent. I am for
independent regulating commissions.
Translation provided by INSEL Company S. V.