Global Voices Online

Perhaps the main discussion on the Tajik blogosphere this week was caused by the reports that the head of the new State Financial and Corruption Control Agency, Sherhon Salimov, only earns $300 USD a month, and that the salaries of others who work in this agency are even lower. This sounds so absurd, because low salaries for state officials are one of the main reasons for the Tajikistan's high level of corruption, which often leads to non-transparency of the state-level decisions.

In this sense, lack of public expertise may sometimes result in serious consequences in various areas, including environmental one. Economy of Tajikistan reports on the visit of the head of RAO Unified Energy System of Russia Anatoly Jubais who proposed to built a hydroelectric power station on the natural dam in Sarez lake. The author of the post is concerned that this initiative may lead to catastrophe in the whole region.

I heard about the ideas of building a hydroelectric power station in Sarez lake, but none of them were reasonable. This time the same thing happened. The Tajik Academy of Sciences represented by its head Ilolov said the proposal will be taken for consideration but no more than that.