Privatisation Enters Last Lap

As the privatisation of major assets enters its final phase in Kyrgyzstan, NBCentralAsia commentators say the business sector and the public generally will only regain trust in the process if it is made more transparent.



In a December 4 speech to parliament, President Kurmanbek Bakiev warned that ministers would be held directly accountable for every enterprise that was privatised, so that the public could have confidence in the process.



Privatisation was first launched after Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991, and by the end of the Nineties had encompassed over 70 per cent of state-owned enterprises. A denationalisation programme which the Kyrgyz parliament passed in June 2006 represents the last stage in the process and covers key enterprises in the power industry, mining and air transport.



Sapar Orozbekov, director of the Bishkek Centre for Economic Analysis, says this final phase needs to be accompanied by transparent practices to create the right kind of business climate.



“The goal of privatisation is to sell businesses to those who can not only manage them but also resuscitate them from a moribund state,” said Orozbekov. “What is needed is a whole system of oversight, not just that exercised by the president. Since there is no such system in place, corruption is likely to flourish.”



Valentin Bogatyrev, vice-president of the Vostok think-tank, says the public perception of privatisation is negative. “The problem is the process itself, which does not provide sustainability,” Bogatyrev told NBCentralAsia. “No matter how privatisation proceeds, people will continue to believe everything is being stolen and sold off to insiders at rock-bottom prices. There is nothing that will alter that view.”



Tursun Turdumambetov, the head of the government’s Committee for State Property Management, insists that past privatisations have been a success and continue to earn the government substantial revenues. This last phase will also work well, he said, because a special commission has been set up for each asset that is being privatised, and this must help reduce the risk of corruption.



“With 15 years of experience behind us and competent staff in place, we will be able to avoid many mistakes,” he said.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)