To monitor the quarterly implementation of the national projects and keep inflation at bay. These are the instructions given by Vladimir Putin to the ministers at his first meeting with the members of the government in 2019. The meeting began with a discussion of acute issues, first of all, the tragedies in Magnitogorsk and Shakhty where two explosions caused by gas leaks occurred.
Dmitry Petrov with the details on the decisions made today in the Kremlin.
The President holds his first 2019 meeting with the ministers in the Kremlin. It's dedicated to the priority issues of social and economic development. But first and foremost, Putin recalls the tragic events that occurred in Magnitogorsk and Shakhty. He addresses the Minister of Emergency Situations, Eugeny Zinichev.
Vladimir Putin: Is there anything else that needs to be done to help these people?
Eugeny Zinichev: Not at this point.
- Is everything working?
- Yes, the people have been accommodated.
- Everything should be carried through. Make sure that the people get all the money and support they are eligible for. I also spoke to Governor Golubev. He keeps this under his control and is regularly on the site. But I ask the government to also keep track and render assistance if needed.
Magnitogorsk is still recovering where a cooking gas explosion destroyed the whole section of an apartment building. The Government Commission is currently providing comprehensive and targeted assistance to those who actually need it. The entire country supports the residents of Magnitogorsk. The reserve government fund allocated 65 million rubles ($977,000) to the Chelyabinsk Oblast to pay compensations to the injured and the families of the dead and another 147 million rubles ($2.2 million) to provide housing for those who lost their homes.
Vladimir Putin: "The city residents sent me a request asking to resettle the entire building. Even though the engineering evaluation shows that it is fit for habitation, this was a big tragedy with 39 deaths, and I understand the people who live there. It's clear that it will cost some money I think over a billion, 1.3 billion ($19.5 million), according to preliminary estimates. We have to meet the people’s wish and resettle the entire building. Provide housing for everyone. We will do this using three sources. I will ask you to support this. I will also request funds from the federal budget. I will also speak with the management of the Magnitka. I know that they are always responsive to such matters. Do it in the shortest possible time. The building must be resettled".
Boris Dubrovsky: The order is clear, we will follow up on it.
- All right, agreed.
Boris Dubrovsky, Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast: "We'll build new housing in compliance with the task issued by the President and begin the resettlement. The whole process will take about a year".
The government got new strategic objectives of a global scale to become the fifth largest economy in the world, ensure that our economic growth is faster than the world average, and create a highly efficient export-focused sector of the economy.
Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance: "I'm talking about the new terminals and runways in the airports of Novosibirsk, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, and other regions, 27 in all where the construction of new terminals will begin".
In the social field, the main focus is the increase of the population and life expectancy.
Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister: "We've adjusted the pensions increasing them by 7.05% as promised. It's higher than the inflation. The average increase depending on employment record and income amounts to 1000 rubles ($15). Some got more, some got less. We're almost done adjusting the pensions. The increased pensions are paid since January 1".
Starting February 1, all federal monthly payments will be adjusted to the actual inflation level of 2018. More than 15,000,000 Russians will receive the benefits.
Vladimir Putin: "I'll remind you of a simple truth. Our key priority is to increase the quality of life of our people the citizens of the Russian Federation. We must ensure the high rates of economic growth while simultaneously changing its structure. I'd like to draw your attention to the inflation tendencies in early 2019. It wasn't something unexpected but we must still monitor those issues, monitor them and respond swiftly and appropriately.
Let's agree to carefully monitor everything that's going on in those key fields together. The results mustn't only exist on paper. There must be real actions that bring about changes recognized by the people".
Putin suggests taking stock each quarter.
Dmitry Petrov, Ilya Bayev, Yulia Shchedrova, Alexey Karpukhin, and Andrey Sorokin, Vesti, the Kremlin.
