das liest sich alles sehr, sehr solide. schade dass "wir" nicht erwähnt wurden. Natural resources of Kyrgyzstan. Esenamanov sweeps in a new way? 22/11-2011 13:27, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency , by Julia MAZYKINA The Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Natural Resources promises to begin work in the mining industry in a new way even before the end of 2011. First of all, this means the transparency of licensing, compliance with the interests of investor and the state. Benefits of a narrow circle of persons who allowed to speculate in the country’s natural resources as well as making a profit out of uncontrolled development of mineral resources and mining were behind such beautiful promises for many years. The Minister of Natural Resources Zamirbek Esenamanov states that now an end to poor practice is put, although not completely. The official told 24.kg news agency, why he was not afraid of criticism and considered himself a reformer in spite of everything. - The most sensitive issue in your industry, as you know, is uncontrolled licensing. Have you managed to change things for the better? - According to the law, the Ministry issued 998 licenses to both domestic, and foreign investors for the last 5 years. Now our goal is to keep them and make sure that they are confident in investing their funds. Also, 260 licenses were revoked upon expiration of 10 months of 2011. Over 50 of these are licenses to develop small-scale gold deposits, called placers. These permits were revoked, because each investor developed its own development program for a year, and the Ministry claimed it. Depending on the program the company is developing its expenditure part, amount of work and so on. If the investor himself offers to perform work and does not do it, then we are forced to cancel his permit. We have companies delaying the start of work for 11 years, but it is unprofitable to the state. We would have run the mines, build factories for 15 years, but only Kumtor works, not taking into consideration three companies of Kyrgyzaltyn JSC. If Kyrgyzstan launched 47 deposits at one time, the country would have jobs, and the budget would receive taxes. There is another aspect: internal and external migration could not be, as workers of mining industry get highest wages. It would reanimate the society itself, and people would have a different standard of living. Now after all ambiguity is among local population. - The Ministry of Natural Resources conducted the audit of licenses issued. What are its results and is there a clear understanding of industry? First it was a solid porridge… - Yes, the public did not possess the information. We restore order ourselves. For example, when we looked at a report on the results of 2010, we have ensured transparency: the considering of results was attended by MPs, the Public Prosecutor’s Office staff, journalists and the State National Security Committee (GKNB). An open debate on licensing agreements was held, all was recorded by a digital camera. When meetings were held and there were violations in my absence, the Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal case on the basis of these records. We have covered 30 percent of deposits for the last 10 years of checking. The developers felt that the state existed. A number of licenses will be revoked as a result of 2011. There are companies that hold licenses for two fields. One of them is being developed, and the other is idle for three years, since the investor does not have the money to begin work. It turns out that the company took it for the future, but this is unfair. Under the old law we could revoke the license only in two cases. The rules were liberal, which then were challenged in court. Our agency has been the place of purchase and sale of licenses for a long time. People took deposit for a song through the Ministry, and then resold for millions. Unfortunately, this is happening to this day through the assignment of shares in companies, and the state does not receive anything. - Can the state control mentioned problems with the resale of shares in enterprises-developers to avoid a banal speculation? - The requirements of international legislation on business can do it. Our Civil Code also gives permission to do so. For example, we created the LLC by three of us, then I give you a share, and you join a company, and I go out. In this process the state should have its own interest. So it means those who lost share, and those who joined the company should bring the matter of the development before the end. - Are the state’s interests detailed in the agreements? - Now they are not. I have no right to violate the Civil Code, and it would be necessary. Exactly these processes and the liberalization of laws hindered the process of mining. - When does the licensing process under the new rules start? -Competition and auction are provided by the law for deposits of strategic importance. Everything else is passed directly to the decision of the Ministry. We have canceled such a practice, and the new rules of auction have been adopted. Also, we have worked out regulations on competition, which prescribe the conditions for an investor to make a real job. On October 5, the First Deputy Prime Minister established an independent from our Ministry expert team, which analyzes the legislation (including the regulations of the competition), and the results will be presented to the management next week. The issuance of licenses on a competitive basis will begin before a new year. - Obviously, the same employees who participated in the “mischief” are still working in the Ministry of Natural Resources after the April events. Are they willing to work in a new way? -Yes, many people are real participants, when licenses were acquired not honestly. They say it was the will of the leadership and “the Minister did not want to do so”. We can not throw them on the street at once, because the specialists need time to learn how to live in a new way. Now the Minister of Personnel, unfortunately, is not engaged. Now, new employees initially write an application addressed to the Secretary of State, the paper goes to personnel services, and everything is solved there. I only sign an order of appointing, and then the Minister is responsible for everything. On the one hand, it is right, but on the other - wrong. Maybe I cling to the old, but there are those who do not meet the post. Because of them, we often overlook the time. - Does the Ministry have a real program of industry development, or you are relying on the tasks of Government? -We have created a three-year development program. It assumes to introduce deposits into action as soon as deposits are available. This is a stepwise process: exploration, feasibility studies and so on. The program includes all such deposits, and we also indicated when and where the factory would be built. - - What exactly is the industry waiting for in 2012? - We wanted to run the Ishtamberdy Gold Mine by the end of 2011. It started to work, but due to lack of electricity the activity of processing plant was suspended until the spring. But the ore production keeps going, a push will be at the mine in January. Some things in the draft are corrected at another field - the Kara-Kazyk in Chon-Alai district. Its launch is planned within 2-3 months. There are a number of such deposits. The plant in Batken province is listed for 2013. There is a large deposit of aluminum there. There is also a number of projects for oil and gas, construction of oil refineries. In 2014, a lot of large deposits of tin and tungsten will also be run in Karakol city. Thus, 43 facilities important for production will be constructed and 25 thousand jobs will be created in the next 5-7 years. In 2012, the industry will bring tax payments up to 12 billion soms to the budget. In 2014, we will launch the Taldy Bulak Levoberezhnyi. The construction of factories under our control will begin from March. - So, the income from these deposits will be not just numbers on paper, which migrate from one budget to another? - We could run the Zheruy together with the Kumtor, because they were issued licenses on one day. But the Zheruy, unfortunately, passed from one person to another. Six or seven companies developed a feasibility study. The Zheruy is ready for development, and the state is interested in running it in the next 1-2 years. The infrastructure has been prepared there, and the stock is estimated at 100 tonnes. The project involves costs to the amount of $ 50-60 million, but there are issues related to the previous owners of the license. Today they are considered by the court. As soon as legal proceedings are over, a competition will be announced. Among the major fields, which we plan to launch in 2012, are the Togolok in Issyk-Kul district with gold reserves of 40 tons. Now the World Bank is developing terms of the auction for the license for its development. In the South there are the Terekkan, Perevalnoe where the final cycle should be. 5-6 gold deposits with a margin of 40-70 tons are there. And it ends at the second stage, that is, getting of concentrate out of the ore. Companies in the country can not recycle it, and according to the 31st article of the Law “On Subsoil”, have the right to export it abroad. We can not deny. They should be provided with an alternative to process the ore here. - Are there any statistics on the amount of concentrate exported from Kyrgyzstan? -This year, according to customs data, about 3 thousand tons of ore were exported. We did not think about building a factory in the country. Now this question is under development. - Your employees announced the figures that the state should receive from the proceeds of the precious metals selling - about 20 percent. -Yes. Now we get only 9 percent of the proceeds from small deposits of gold. We will get 33 percent taking into account these 20 percent plus taxes. This rule will apply to the companies that will once again be licensed. In Mongolia, they receive 35 percent from the companies and plan to raise the bar to 50 percent. Our investors should get used to the new rules in order not to attack our ministry again. - Parliament has recently approved 2-percentage contributions from the income of companies to the local budgets. The reaction of some investors was mixed. - Today, the law generally does not have any contributions. Hence there is the very same ambiguity with companies among local population. People do not see their own interest; there are no conditions for work in rural areas. These social problems cause people to go to the resistance. Our challenge is to let investor and local community work together. In general, 2 percent are a minimum. In Kazakhstan, such payments constitute 5.5 percent, in Russia - 7 percent. This is a worldwide practice that we must implement. Some moments were applied one-sidedly before my speech at the last parliamentary hearing. They said investors needed to work and first they needed some conditions. But the process has already taken place, they already have a license. Here the whole question is, whether investor wants to invest or find reasons not to do so. - The Ministry is often criticized for the fact that it kept itself aloof in recent conflicts between investors and local people. - I calmly refer to such criticism, since it is not true. I as the Minister personally went to all conflicting points. There were three - in Jalal-Abad, Naryn and Talas. I visited two by myself. For example, the Ishtamberdy in Jalal-Abad, which was ready to start, was seized. 300 people gathered in organized groups. I had to go there, I talked with them for 3-4 hours, and everything fell into place. There are social issues, and they were decided in 2-3 days. - Why are these questions can not be solved before? Why the Minister should go and explain all to the people? - Then there were organized election campaigns. The same people went on the fields and excited the people. At the last parliamentary hearings I told one young man that he was one of the ringleaders, who walked and played off people. He sat in the hall as if nothing had happened. The hall was attended by the deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. I asked him if he knew this guy, and he said that he knew. Conflicts were temporary, there were political battles, the President is chosen, and after his inauguration everything will fall into place. Our work will continue. During the hearings, for example, some said that manufacturing industry is not growing. - The head of parliamentary Committee on Economic Strategy, Investment Policy and Tourism Zamir Bekboyev brought up the issue about your adequacy for the job... -And why he ran away from the hearings? He was there to the end. I gave figures for the industry an hour before the start of sitting. I showed the facts. For example, data on GDP show growth. In 2010 we had 45 billion soms. - It is improperly to make comparison with 2010, when the country’s economy has plummeted due to well-known events. -So, in 2009 the figures were even less. Then revenues from the mining industry were 3.5 billion, in 2010 - 5.3 billion, and 2011- we end up with figures of 8 billion soms, although we promised 6.2 billion. In 2009, GDP amounted to 41 billion industry soms in 2010 - 69, and this year - already 97 billion. We hold 40 percent in the share of general GDP. Everyone is used to look at Kumtor, which has 86 percent of the total mining industry in 2009. In 2010 its share was estimated at 82 percent and in 2011 - 74 percent. Taking into account the three-year development program, the Kumtor’s share will be at the same level, and growth will occur in other areas - the construction of brick, cement, oil refineries, coal mining. Currently, the share of other industries is only 27 percent, but the task is to reach 55-60 percent, that is on a par with the Kumtor. In 2014, we expect the industry gross product will be 160 billion soms. I officially call these numbers, since we have created all preconditions, and it’s not just words. |
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