The remnants of Turkmenistan’s three-decades-old free and discounted gas, electricity and water programme for its population are to be eliminated following the signing of an austerity decree by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
The remote and tightly controlled Central Asian nation—which according to some reports has slipped further into an economic crisis this year, with the introduction of passport-based bread rationing one indication of its severe difficulties—has been slowly winding down the programme, decreasing the amount of subsidised utilities available per household. The decree appears to put a complete stop to the subsidies.
The move is the latest radical measure introduced by the Turkmen government to rescue the country’s budget. For several years it has been hit by over-reliance on dwindling natural gas exports—Russia stopped buying gas from Turkmenistan in 2016, leaving China as the only major customer—and Berdymukhammedov’s dubious spending habits. The Turkmen economy is undoubtedly crisis-ridden and hard-currency-strapped.
Measures undertaken by the government include completely suspending Visa cards; making contributions to Turkmenistan’s pension fund by business owners mandatory from 1 January; and even imposing more fines on car owners and Turkmen fortune tellers, whose occult services are popular in Turkmenistan.
The official reason for the latest decision was cited as the “further development of free market relations in Turkmenistan’s economy”.
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