First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will be overseeing the new system for the interaction of business and the government. Now the businessman’s road to the government will be quite short. Russian and foreign businessmen will be able to complain about public officials on special sites. Their messages will be reviewed by a special new department of the Ministry of Economic Development. Major disputes will be handled personally by Igor Shuvalov. He will be assisted by public organizations — Business Russia and OPORA ROSSII. The officials believe this should stir local bureaucrats to action.
Whereas all of the anger at officials creating obstacles for business previously was vented in forums and blogs, now businessmen will have an official procedure for requesting assistance.
«A single network has been established for the processing of complaints by foreign and Russian citizens about the actions of officials in the regions and federal agencies of the executive branch of government with whom the businessmen have had disagreements,» Igor Shuvalov explained.
The complaints will be categorized on the ModernRussia.com site. As Izvestiya already reported, this site was developed by the American Ketchum Public Relations Agency at the Russian Government’s request to improve Russia’s image abroad.
«The site is geared primarily to foreign investors and to Russian businessmen working with foreigners. Because of the language factor, Russian businesses have broader opportunities to communicate with the government, and people in Russia can appeal to the Ministry of Economic Development, the prosecutor’s office, and public organizations for help,» members of the first deputy prime minister’s staff explained to us.
A special department with a staff of 40 was established in the Ministry of Economic Development to process all of the complaints. The first statistics have already been reported. Administrative barriers and customs procedures cause more problems than anything else — they represent virtually half of all the complaints. The next in line are complaints about migration laws, labor laws, and so forth.
«In the last six months we have received complaints from 25 large foreign companies. We usually review each specific complaint and then contact the official against whom the complaint has been lodged,» Svetlana Glikman, adviser to the minister of economic development, explained.
First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will be «the man in charge of complaints.» In accordance with the prime minister’s directive, he will coordinate the actions of all government agencies in response to the messages from businessmen.
«The purpose of the directive signed by the chairman of the government is the improvement of the investment climate in Russia,» members of Igor Shuvalov’s staff explained. «Several laws have been drafted and some have already been passed. But this is not enough. There is a need to respond quickly and efficiently to businessmen’s complaints. The functions of the first deputy prime minister as the coordinator of this activity are not meant to be a substitute for the duties of other government agencies, however. The detection of red tape, corruption, and unprofessional behavior must be primarily the job of the first link of agencies of the executive branch of government in charge of economic development.»
In other words, Igor Shuvalov will handle precedents — settling major disputes. The knowledge that the procrastination of local officials could be reported to the first deputy prime minister should stir these officials to action.
The main thing, however, is that the services of public organizations are being enlisted for the first time to assist the government officials. Business Russia and OPORA ROSSII will be responsible for helping medium and small business, respectively. In essence, the heads of those organizations will have the powe rs of Shuvalov’s deputies.
Businessmen are quite pleased with this prospect.
«This is a step in the right direction. A new dialogue between the government and businessmen is being developed. The government must respond to the needs of businesses. Modernization, after all, will require a favorable climate. At this time, however, a sword of Damocles hangs over each businessman’s head — the possibility of ending up behind bars, so it is difficult to expect initiative,» Chairman Anton Danilov-Danilyan of the Business Russia board of experts, said. «In general, we will have many problems to solve.»
