The OSCE Center in Dushanbe will provide several Tajik newspapers with special funds to support their self-development. Since the early 1990-s, newspapers in Tajikistan are published only once a week; most of them print not more than 3-5 thousand copies a week.

“This measure is designed to increase printouts and expand circulation of Tajik newspapers, — says Michael Unland, representative of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe. — We cannot compare Tajikistan with Western countries in terms of the number of newspapers per capita and the quality of printing. However, the Kyrgyz daily “Vecherny Bishkek” releases 120 thousand copies a week, whereas the total number of Tajik newspapers is hardly a half of this amount”. It is logical that advertisers are not interested in small newspapers with limited circulation.

According to the recent OSCE study conducted in Tajikistan, about 30 percent of all expenditures related to printing are costs of polygraphic materials and paper. The average price of paper for printing in Tajikistan is $1,000 per ton. Saimiddin Dustov, chairman of the NGO “Informatics for Democracy and National Progress” considers that Tajik publishers should use the OSCE grant funds at their own discretion, i.e. those who are close to the “threshold of sustainability and profitability” could use the money to increase salaries of their staff.

Those applying for grants to OSCE must develop and present clear and comprehensive business plans reflecting forthcoming changes in the quality of their outlets. The editing board must show the way towards financial sustainability, the stable increase in the number of copies, the expansion of circulation, and the decrease in production costs.

Nuriddin Karshibayev, chairman of the Tajik National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT) considers that editors should pay special attention to the contents of newspapers, i.e. publications must be topical; authors should touch upon the most relevant social, economic and political issues. “One-time grant infusions from international donors would hardly change the situation in the media, — says Karshibayev. — Editors and publishers should think of their commercial sustainability, which largely depends on their own efforts”.

Independent journalist Rajabi Mirzo thinks that the media needs support from the government. However, the authorities somehow are not interested in the development of the media market in the country. The energy crisis last winter has revealed reluctance of the government to help the printing media. The State-owned printing house Sharki Ozod is the facility for most of the Tajik newspapers. During the crisis, this printing house was supplied with electricity only 5 hours a day.

“Regrettably, the energy crisis will continue in Tajikistan, — says Rajabi Mirzo. — Most of the population cannot watch TV programs, and newspapers remain the main source of information. The Tajik State television receives both electricity and funds from the national budget, whereas the main printing facility – also fully controlled by the government – is lacking electricity…” – says Rajabi Mirzo.

Based on a piece by Nigora Bukharizade, Deutsche W

Источник: http://www.ariana.su/

IMF Executive Board Reviews Noncomplying Disbursements to Republic of Tajikistan and Breach of Obligations Under Article VIII, Section 5

Press Release No. 08/43
March 5, 2008

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met today to review a report from the Managing Director on noncomplying disbursements to the Republic of Tajikistan and a breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5 of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement.
The Executive Board reviewed matters related to five noncomplying disbursements to the Republic of Tajikistan, each in an amount equivalent to SDR 9.8 million (about US$15.8 million), that were made in January 2004, August 2004, March 2005, July 2005, and February 2006 following the completion by the Executive Board of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth review under the three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement. The PRGF arrangement was approved by the Executive Board on December 11, 2002 (see Press Release No. 02/54).
Based on new information provided by the authorities to IMF staff in December 2007 and January 2008, the Executive Board concurs that these disbursements were made on the basis of inaccurate information provided by the Tajik authorities relating to the performance criteria on the net international reserves of the Republic of Tajikistan, the net domestic assets of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), and against the NBT issuing directed credits. The Board agreed that the Republic of Tajikistan shall be expected to repay the Fund the three noncomplying disbursements (related to the fourth, fifth, and sixth review) that were not discharged under Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) relief, which amount to a total of SDR29.4 million (about US$47.4 million), together with any interest accrued, in six equal monthly installments starting with the first installment no later than September 5, 2008, and concluding with the sixth and final installment no later than February 5, 2009. The Board expressed its regret on the nature and extent of misreporting, and emphasized the seriousness it attaches to the fact that MDRI resources extended to Tajikistan cannot be made subject to repayment.
In taking its decision, the Executive Board carefully weighed the Republic of Tajikistan’s very difficult economic circumstances , in particular its balance of payments position as well as the severe humanitarian crisis prevailing in the country, against serious instances of misreporting by the Tajik authorities. Accordingly, the Executive Board decided to make use of its discretion to extend the repayment period beyond the normal 30-day repayment expectation period called for under the misreporting framework.
Moreover, the Executive Board reviewed matters related to misreporting under Article VIII, Section 5, of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement by the Republic of Tajikistan. It found that the Republic of Tajikistan had breached its obligations under Article VIII, Section 5, of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, which obliges member countries to furnish such information as the Fund deems necessary for its activities.
The Tajik authorities have agreed to undertake a special audit of the NBT, to be carried out by a recognized international firm. The audit will aim to establish a reliable foundation for the future provision of monetary data and data on external debt, and to define steps to ensure transparency of all financial operations of the NBT. The Executive Board urged the authorities to publish the results of the audit when it has been completed.
In view of the corrective actions taken and the ongoing efforts of the authorities to improve the governance structure of the NBT, and implement measures to improve and strengthen the monitoring and reporting of data provided to the Fund, the Executive Board decided not to require any further remedial action in connection with the breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5 of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. At the same time, the Board agreed to monitor closely the reporting of data to the Fund going forward.

IMF

Источник: IMF

By 2015, Tajikistan will change over to digital broadcasting. This statement was made at a meeting of the Regional Cooperation Commission on the Regulations of International Broadcasting. The meeting took place in Minsk, capital of Belarus.

It is expected that by 2015, the digital broadcasting will completely supersede the currently applied analogue broadcasting. This innovation will allow to broadcast more programs within the same frequency domains; the quality of such broadcasting is significantly better, and the energy expenditures are much lower. However, TV viewers would need to change their antiquated TV-receivers or to buy special accessories transferring analogue signals into digital ones.

“The whole world is changing over to digital broadcasting”, — said Obidjon Karimov, official of the Tajik Ministry of Transport and Communication, and a participant of the forum in Minsk. Karimov noted that Tajikistan pays due attention to the development and adoption of the latest technologies, access to the Internet and mobile communications. He stressed that the telecommunication domain in the country economy requires long-term decisions in order to be prepared to the rapidly changing technologies around the globe. “It is very appropriate that communication experts on the post-Soviet space are coordinating their approaches for the period up to 2011,” – said Karimov.

http://www.khovar.tj/