Articles tagged with: Roghun
Is corruption or survival the elephant in the room in Tajikistan? Image by Flickr user David Blackwell (CC-usage).
Editor’s note: neweurasia readers will already be well-acquainted with the ongoing Roghun project and the controversy surrounding it, as well as the news, announced first by our network, of a massive lawsuit by a trio of judges against a trio of independent newspapers. neweurasia’s Averroes sees a potentially serious ethical conflict between the government and press in Tajikistan and wants to know your opinion: whose side is right?
Imagine if you were the government of one of the world’s most economically vulnerable countries. Every winter millions of your citizens go cold as nearly limitless hydro-electrical potential goes untapped. Developing this potential would require an engineering feat.
Photograph of construction at Roghun from Asia-Plus.
Editor’s note: neweurasia’s Dushanbe describes how a possible Ragnarok is building up between the leaderships of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan over the Roghun dam project. Check out neweurasia’s ongoing coverage of the dam here.
Tajikistan has rejected the Uzbek proposal to suspend building the Roghun power plant until independent expertise determines its possible impact on environment and water distribution in the region.
In a reply letter to the Uzbek authorities, the Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov says his country will not change its plan to build the plant. He adds that they believe the new reservoir will help both countries to save and use regional water resources more effectively.
Image by neweurasia's Schwartz (CC-usage).
Are the Roghun project and the lawsuit against three independent newspapers connected? Alpharabius, neweurasia’s blogger covering the lawsuit, believes that the trial is at minimum peripherally connected to the dam controversy, not to mention the upcoming parliamentary elections. His sentiment is apparently echoed by much of the Tajik journalistic and human rights community.
Photograph of Roghun construction by Asia Plus (CC-usage).
Editor’s note: Continuing our coverage of the Roghun dam project, here’s an editorial by neweurasia’s Botur. Check out his earlier post here, as well as Tajik Voice’s posts here and here.
As previously reported, the Tajik Government started selling shares of Roghun hydro power plant in January aiming to raise $1.4 billion from population. They initiated this project in order speed up the construction of the giant plant, but did not care to provide the public with a detailed business plan showing credible proof as to how, who, when and what for specifically collected funds will be spent on. It is remarkably rare in the history of free market economy that such an immense project with so little preparation and much countrywide propaganda is offered for investment of citizens.
Rahmon and Karimov, with Nazarbaev in the center. Photo credit: Radio Azattyq.
Here’s a fun story, perhaps more a rumor, related to the ongoing Roghuan saga. Before his recent announcement, Emomali Rahmon’s four-hour speech in December in front of some fifty Tajik journalists on 8 December had been his boldest, and from Tashkent’s predictable point-of-view, his most audacious, too. Having sympathized with the country’s current energy security situation and general instability, the Tajik president proceeded to “come down” to the people, cited by Vremia novostei columnist Arkadii Dubnov:
Every winter, when the country experiences an energy crisis, I suffer with the people. It hurt me greatly when, as head of state, the energy shortages in 2008 caused the deaths of newborn children.
Following an established tradition, Emomali-aka did not fail to remind those present about the importance of building the Rogunskaia hydroelectric dam, which, the Tajik leader believes, is “a question of life and death for the country.” After denying that he has ordered forcible purchase of stocks (RUS, ENG), he reiterated:
Donations for the Rogun and the purchase of stocks are purely voluntary. We aren’t forcing anyone to do it… you’re not building the dam for me, you’re building it for the state!
Perhaps, he wanted to stare down opposition not only in his country. For his peers among Central Asia’s leadership, it seems, talk is very cheap, because the people are footing the bill: every Tajik is expected to contribute at least 3000 somoni ($690).
Translation of TajikVoice’s post (RUS).
The report begins here.
Real stories from ordinary people:
Rustam, owner of a small vegetable stand:
People from the Hukumat (local administration) came to me and asked whether I had donated money for Rogun (the dam project). I said I hadn’t. They told me I had one week to purchase stocks in the construction project, and if I didn’t show them proof within a week, I wouldn’t be able to do my business here. So I went to buy 200 somoni (approx. $45) worth of socks today. I’m curious, how much the president and his children contribute?
The Roghun power plant construction site. Image from the Flickr profile of ASIA-Plus. Click on it to see more.
Editor’s note: Officials of Tajikistan, Central Asia’s poorest republic, are forcing its 7 million inhabitants to buy stocks in a dam project and donate money for its construction. It’s an innovative statist solution to resolve Tajikistan’s historic electricity problems — but is it at the cost of regional security and personal liberty? This is a translation of TajikVoice’s post (RUS). Also check out this editorial by neweurasia’s Botur.
The Roghun hydroelectric dam was a long-term Soviet industry project, developed in Tashkent in 1976. According to the latest blueprints, the height of the dam will be 335 meters, making it the world’s tallest. Its projected power is 3600 megawatt, with an average annual output of 13.1 billion kilowatt hours. Uzbekistan has objected to the construction, arguing it would give Tajikistan control over the region’s main water supply, thereby threatening the security of lower-lying countries.
It should be noted that, according to intergovernmental agreements, the Russian company RUSAL was supposed to have finished construction on the dam; however, three years ago Tajikistan withdrew from the agreement, accusing the Russian side of not fulfilling its obligations. At the same time, it was announced that the dam belonged to the people, and that Tajikistan would finish construction on its own. “Tajikistan” is an abstract concept. In this case, it meant the people of Tajikistan. Several attempts were made in 2008 and 2009 to start a national fundraising campaign.
It was unclear even then how a poor country with a high level of corruption could handle a $3 bn project. Recent figures cite $1.3 bn – the number needed to activate the first part of the dam (two out of six assembly units). Under the most favorable conditions, this will take at least 4 years. But then Tajikistan’s president, Rahmon, devised a bold solution.
It’s funny: our old Soviet tradition of giving names to new bornes is slowly being revived.
A child was born on January 5, 2010 to a happy Bobokhonovs family (which was a day before Rakhmon’s Rogun hydro electric plant project’s shares selling out plan started). Following good old traditions such as naming children after remarkable events, this Tajik family’s grandpa decided to name his grandson after the Rogun dam. The name given to the boy was Rogunshakh.
Peculiarly, on the same day as Rogunshakh’s birth, Rogun’s dam shares began selling out. His grandpa hopes that when Rofunshokh becomes a big boy he’ll work on becoming a student of the Energetic Institution and later work on the station.
On the wave of happiness grandpa bought shares for 1000 somoni ($230) and still wants to make his contribution and buy more for 2000 somini ($460).
Great beginning for such kind of event as shares’ selling out, huh?
Image by neweurasia's Schwartz (CC-usage).
Editor’s note: The Tajik government has recently instituted fees for information requests from journalists and the general public. In this editorial, neweurasia’s Botur examines how putting a price tag on information will only serve to hurt freedom: “Information is the lifeblood of democracy”.
In today’s world when just about every country is striving to improve its transparency, accountability and public access to information (or at least pretend to), the Tajik government once again decides to swim against the stream.
Last week the government issued a decree that envisions charging fees for reimbursement of costs incurred by providing information to news organizations and the public. The fee has been set at 10 cents per page or $10 per 100 pages. Consider that the average salary in Tajikistan is $70 per month, not to mention that there are barely two dozen functioning newspapers and news agencies, all of whom are strapped for cash.
Yesterday we celebrated our 17th independence day. Probably this is one of the main holidays in Tajikistan which is widely celebrated in our country. But many people ask themselves do we really need this independence? When we were part of Soviet Union we had a better life: no problems with food, education, medicine, electricity, warmth, security, and finally we were confident about our future. What we have now? Almost nothing of the above mentioned.
I agree that there was a Civil War and we had a worse time, but the war ended 11 years ago. The situation doesnt get better. We are stuck in our problems. We can not move forward. We do not have resources to be independent. Today we are dependent on everything and everyone. One example is energy. Gas comes from Uzbekistan, oil from Kazakhstan and Russia. Electricity during the winter times comes from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
We have only water to generate electricity. Scientists assure us that we have an abundance of water to generate electricity, but this summer showed that we do not have it. We can not even fill with water one reservoir Nurek water reservoir. And, how we are going to fill some more which are going to be built: Sangtuda 1 and 2, Rogun? If we do not have enough water, what else do we have? The answer is again almost nothing.
Then, how come that we are independent, if we depend on everything? I think, no one cares about the political independence, if there is no economic independence.
RSS Feeds
Podcasts
Recent Comments