President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Bitarov, you have led the republic for a year, including as elected head since last September. What is your assessment of the situation?
Head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania Vyacheslav Bitarov: Mr President, I would like to thank you for your trust in me a year ago, when you appointed me acting head of the republic. In September, the parliament elected me head of the republic. I can now report on our achievements over the past year.
We started by reviewing our resources, which has helped us increase our revenues by 25 percent.
Vladimir Putin: Very good.
Vyacheslav Bitarov: This also allowed us to stabilise the republic’s budget.
We have fully legalised the production and marketing of alcoholic beverages, as the head of the Federal Taxation Service reported to you. We have also increased the tax collection rate, including profit and property taxes. Taken together, this allowed us to finance the completion of the unfinished projects under targeted federal programmes, which have accumulated in the republic since 2008. We have invested over 3 billion rubles. These facilities started operating in 2016.
Also, this allowed us to provide timely funding of the delayed wages and social benefits for the people.
In addition, we are working under the 2017 targeted federal programmes and preparing a socioeconomic development programme for the republic jointly with the St Petersburg Leontief Centre for Social and Economic Research. We are working actively and have prepared an in-depth review of the republican economy and industries. We plan to complete this project by September 1 to have a comprehensive development programme for the republic for the immediate future, which is the next five years. We have decided which industries we will give priority attention to for the purposes of the republic’s social development.
In addition, we are working to implement the May 2012 executive orders, most of which we have fulfilled. Of course, there are some unresolved issues, including regarding the multifunctional centres for public and municipal services (MFC), on which we still need to work some more. We continue the project to allocate land plots to all mothers with three or more children. We have subdivided the land and now we are working to provide the infrastructure there.
We have accomplished all of this over the past year. A great deal has been done, but there are many issues which I would like to discuss with you, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: All right, let us discuss them in more detail.
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