The leader of the YABLOKO party and its faction in the State Duma Grigory Yavlinsky noted that RAO UES "bears most of the responsibility for the crisis in the housing and communal services sector."

"There is a direct connection and responsibility of RAO UES for the present crisis in the housing and communal services sector," stated Yavlinsky at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, January 15, 2003.

He also noted that he shared the position of the leadership of Gosstroi (Ed. State Committee on Construction and Communal Services), who openly stated that 90% of all the accidents at heat piping this winter occurred due to poor work by RAO UES. "This is really the case," thinks Yavlinsky.

According to Yavlinsky, reform of RAOUES is clearly needed and is directly linked to reform in the housing and communal services sector.

"However, incorrect reform of RAO UES will lead to final and utter elimination of all prospects for the development of the housing and communal services sector in our country," noted Yavlinsky.

Yavlinsky also stressed that he shared the views of the Assistant to the President for Economic Issues Andrei Illarionov who thinks that the content of the reforms is more important than rating issues.

"Such a position from the Kremlin represents the official position and we share such a point of view," said Yavlinsky.

Yavlinsky also spoke in favour of the adoption by the State Duma of the law "On the Property of RAO UES" which would differentiae between core assets and non-core assets and would clearly define the procedure governing privatisation auctions and contests.

A package of laws on RAO UES reform was adopted in the first reading by the State Duma in October 2002. "We know that new amendments have been developed," noted Yavlinsky, before stressing: "However these amendments do not change anything." Yavlinsky said that this was the reason why the position of the party and its deputies in the State Duma remained unchanged.

The reform cannot be conducted in the form that was proposed.

Yavlinsky also noted that YABLOKO had developed its own amendments, which considerably altered the structure of the package, and would propose them in the second reading."

Yavlinsky also thinks that the reforms should be conducted in a comprehensive package, and that if this implied really serious changes, one should speak about simultaneous reforms in RAO UES, housing and communal services sector and Gazprom. "At least all these reforms should not contradict each other," stressed Yavlinsky.

Based on Interfax reports.

See also:
Housing and Communal Reform