Putin Pledges to Remove Governors Over Utility Prices
25 Jan 2012 - 09:48 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
MOSCOW, Russia (OOSKAnews Corre...) — As part of his campaign to be re-elected president of Russia, Vladimir Putin has said that should he win he will remove from their posts regional governors who have allowed water utility prices to increase far above the rate of inflation.
Utility prices in Russia have traditionally increased in January, although in 2011 it happened in July.
However, in recent years many regions have seen large price increases that appear to bear little or no relation to the quality of services provided or the rate at which general prices are increasing in the economy.
Water utility companies in Russia are widely thought of as corrupt and inefficient.
In many regions, especially more remote and rural areas, they are used by politicians as tools by which to enrich themselves at the expense of the local population.
Large increases in the prices of fresh and wastewater services to fund the extravagant lifestyles of corrupt politicians is one of many factors that have led to increased resentment of Putin and his United Russia party.
This led to the largest popular protests since the fall of the Soviet Union in the wake of parliamentary elections at the end of last year that many Russians believed to be rigged.
As part of an effort to ensure his smooth return to the Kremlin and avoid further such protests, Putin has made his statement about restricting the increases in prices for water services.
During his first term in office, Putin changed the Russian constitution so that regional governors, who had previously been directly elected by the voters of the region they served, were appointed directly by presidential order.
Within days of making his comments to a national newspaper, Putin had become entangled in a spat with the governor of the Kirov region, which has just increased the price for communal hot water services by 40 percent.
The governor suggested Putin had been misinformed about the reasons for many increases.
Analysts writing in the Moscow press have sided with the Kirov governor and been scratching their heads about the move by Putin.
He is seen to have done the right thing at exactly the wrong time.
For the last 15 years, most of the increases were as a result of corruption, but recently and for the foreseeable future price increases will be used to pay for the flagship Clean Water program.
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