Khorshid Bakhshayesh
tajikistanweb.com
Dushanbe

Although it is obvious that President Rahmon’s annual cabinet re-shuffles cannot surprise the government’s critics with its ludicrous cosmetic changes anymore, the head of the state didn’t fail in his creativity to do so once again.

While the government session preceding the reshuffle was a long sitting of rebuking the energy sector officials for their incompatibility to supply the basic needs to the people in the most severe winter of the past 25 years, the dismissals announced straight away after the session did not include a single official from the energy sector.

President Rahmon’s session of severe reproach of those who were supposedly in charge of securing the people’s fundamental rights was broadcast on the state TV. This thrashing consumed almost the whole time dedicated to the annual session and the move was characterized by experts as a political stunt to win apolitical people’s hearts and minds by sympathizing with their anger towards the energy officials.

However, the experts say the dismissals and appointments had more of a symbolic rather than practical characteristics and no significant resonance should be expected from government’s weak opposition both within and outside the country. No need to mention that public opinion pressure is almost non-existent as such in Tajikistan, reasoning at least from the fact that mothers here chose to keep quite even if their newborn children die in maternity houses because of irresponsible management of the health sector and the power-cuts.

The officials from the state strategic research center defend the government’s decision not to involve the energy sector within the reshuffle by referring to the complexity of the hierarchy in energy sector. Saifullah Safarov, the deputy head of the state strategic research center’s commentary in this regard was simple: "The government reshuffle does not mean to necessarily change the officials in every sector. I believe that in energy sector - as complex and important as it is in our country - we cannot go about changing its management every year, as it takes time to get into the right realm. I think that Mr. Rahmon did the right thing by giving the energy officials six months time to find solutions for the problems."

The logic of the nature will allow us to predict that the energy officials will pass their "test" in six months, which is in the middle of the hot summer that fills in their reservoirs with plentiful of water.

Thus, among this discussions we have the reshuffle announced which has to do very little with the energy sector and sounds like an act from a completely different opera, however few notes still are worthy to be underlined.

This round of cabinet reshuffle sacked and re-appointed over 20 senior and medium officials as it happened before, involving only a few key positions.

The reshuffle among others include dismissal of Muradali Alimardan from the chairmanship of the National Bank of Tajikistan, and appointing Sharifjan Rahimzada, on this post, by removing the later from his position of the head of the State Committee for investments and state property management.

But the symbolism of the reshuffle was again expressed with vivid regionalist colors as Shakirjaan Hakimov, the independent expert and the constant critic puts it. He says:

"The list of the recent appointments was made out of their clan, regional and party affiliations, therefore they are mostly incompetent for the posts and will do no good for the betterment of the country".

Pausing over the famous regionalist or clan-ic approach of president Rahmon’s cadre policy, it should be noted - with the removal of Mr. Alimardan, which had no regional affiliation to the President the cabinet now is left almost with no representative of the northern part of the country on key posts, except, of course, Akil Akilov, the Prime Minister, who is expected to retire soon anyway.

Thus, Muradali Alimardanov, appointed as a deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan is kept comparatively far aside from the financial decision-making by the government, say the experts. They voice the concern over Sharifjan Rahimzada’s, appointment as chief of The National Bank, who by the way happens to have a very close regional affiliation to Rahman (Danghara).

Another appointment worthy to be mentioned is that of a pretty "well-known" political character Kasim Kasimov. He was dismissed in December 2006 from his post of the head of Soghd region - after over a decade of occupying it - with severe criticism for his "inefficient" activities. Kasimov was again embraced by the new cabinet as the Minister of Agriculture.

Taking all the mentioned above into consideration, some experts comment that there is no opposition to the government as such to resist the political corruption. But another group believe, the silence of the opponent groups is rather a deliberate act as they hope for the masses to finally raise their voices after being fed up with the open regionalist and corruptive approach of the government and its harsh consequences painfully felt in their lives.