“They are strangling from all sides”: entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan appealed to the head of state

High hopes are pinned on Serdar

Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan wrote a letter to the head of the country Serdar Berdimuhamedov. In the message, businessmen drew attention to the country’s pressing problems, such as nepotism, corruption in government and bureaucracy. Also, businessmen complained about the numerous relatives of the president, who took over the most profitable business in Turkmenistan and did not allow them to work normally. In total, the letter turned out to be thirteen points, each of which is about sore points.

Entrepreneurs never addressed Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with such letters, realizing, probably, the futility of such undertakings. But Serdar, as they say. “first started”: it was he who, in the very first month of his reign, rather scandalously fired his aunt Gulnabat Dovletova from the Red Crescent Society. She was not just dismissed, but also demanded to return about 60 million manats ($17.1 million at the state rate) to the treasury. Otherwise, they threatened to initiate a case – for corruption and the use of state funds allocated to the Red Crescent Society for personal purposes. When Serdar came to power, his cousin Shamurad Rejepov also had to snuggle up, through whose shopping centers smuggled goods were sold. His accounts were frozen. He himself left the country. All this gave businessmen hope for possible changes in the country. That is why this letter appeared.

To begin with, the entrepreneurs asked to create a “transparent” mail for communication with the head of the country, because a serious bureaucratic filter does not make it possible to convey the real problems of the people to the president.

According to businessmen, corruption has permeated all structures of the state. “They began to choke us from all sides,” businessmen literally “shout” in their appeal. According to them, the closest, “chosen” relatives of the president’s father took advantage of the situation and became rich by selling almost all export goods abroad through front companies. “Their lawlessness cannot be measured,” is how Shamurad, Khazhymyrat and their father, Annanazar Redzhepov, characterize the letter. According to some media reports, he died of coronavirus back in 2020. According to the letter, they (representatives of the family) took away the business from hundreds of decent businessmen, thereby amassing vast capital, a significant share of which is not held in Turkmenistan: “They have incredible fortunes for border”. At the same time, ordinary entrepreneurs in Turkmenistan face huge bribes, kickbacks, and the inability to buy raw materials for enterprises.

The second problem that was raised in the letter was the conversion of the Turkmen currency, which was completely stopped back in 2018: “Currently, everyone proceeds from the black exchange rate.” The letter proposes to switch to a market economy, to have a floating exchange rate in order to have a “transparent” system and, again, to avoid kickbacks and bribes. Due to the impossibility of currency conversion, Turkmen students who study abroad do not have the opportunity to pay for their studies there. Many of them were forced to quit their studies and “wander” in foreign countries, sometimes in the status of refugees.

In their own country, as the letter says, for admission to local educational institutions, the leadership of the institutes doubled the bribes. “Why is everything bought and sold in our country?” the authors are indignant, emphasizing that Turkmenistan is in the top ten countries in terms of corruption. Dissatisfaction is also caused by “chareler” – mass events of a celebratory nature with the participation of students, state employees, and employees of state institutions. According to the authors, such events are regularly held by local authorities out of a desire to please the president, and the costs should be covered, again, by business – in case of refusal, unbearable conditions are created for it to exist.

Restrictions on cars have also become a problem for business. For example, private companies are allowed to own no more than two cars. The letter also mentions problems with land lease (just a goldmine for corruption), lawlessness and inaction of law enforcement agencies. Finally, businessmen complained that residents of the regions cannot get to the capital in cars that are forced to be left outside the city. It is also impossible for visitors to live and work in the capital – again they demand bribes. “We really hope that you will take into account and take measures,” the merchants conclude their message to the head of state with such a wish. In the near future it will become clear whether the president listened to the complaints, or whether he will continue his father’s hard line.