Rustem Khamitov: “Poverty is the zone of direct responsibility for the Government”

“Poverty is the zone of direct responsibility for the Government” – the President RB Rustem Khamitov said at the last governmental meeting “The measures on lowering the differentiation of incomes and poverty of population RB” – “Unfortunately we have to admit that the number of instruments for solution of this problem is few. Nonetheless we have to solve this problem”.

The President RB has underscored that poverty remains one of the most serious problems in our society. According to the results of the last year the number of poor people in the Republic goes on growing.

“Today about 12% of population, i.e. about half a million people, have the incomes lower than the subsistence wage” – Rustem Khamitov said.

Every sixth family in the Republic faces serious difficulties buying clothes and paying for housing and communal services. Every second family can’t afford itself to buy a new TV or vacuum-cleaner. Great number of people works just to feed their families. This problem has destructive after-effects for the whole society because its system of values crashes down and that can’t but affect the society in a whole.

“What the teachers, which earn small salaries, can teach our children to? And how the doctors, whose salaries are also miserable, can treat their patients?” – the President RB asked.

The plan of actions on raising the level of wages for the period till 2015 is worked up in the Republic. “We have to approve this document and in this case we’ll have the annual growth of wages at least 15%” – the President RB stated.

Rustem Khamitov has outlined already realized measures on raising the level of people’s way of life. Thus, the minimal monthly wage in the Republic is raised up to 5,5 thousand rubles. Beginning from September 1 the wages of pedagogues will be raised according to the instructions of the Chairman of Russian Government. Bashkortostan will receive about 750 million rubles from the federal exchequer for these purposes. The Republican injections will be about 350 million rubles. The wages of medics will be increased by 30% by 2013 in accordance with the health protection modernization program.

“We are moving in the right way” – Rustem Khamitov said – “But we need more energetic methods to find the way out of this very dangerous and troublesome situation”.