ALEXANDER DERYUGIN: “RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONS DO NOT QUITE CORRELATE WITH THE ACCOUNTS CHAMBER’S FUNCTIONS”

“I do not know whether sustainable development guidelines are needed at all amid the mobilization. In my view, to achieve the goals of the special operation it is necessary to adjust the economy so that it would work in a mobilized way. It is necessary to close those gaps which became evident in the current situation. These tasks are more relevant than sustainable development objectives. Further, how can we develop sustainably if we do not know what happens tomorrow?

Can one give advice how to solve some or other issue? Probably, yes. However, I would refrain from calling such recommendations the guidelines for sustainable development. It is probably anti-crisis management. The more so, the current situation is not about sustainable development; another approach is needed here. I would also add that the guidelines for sustainable development of the regions do not quite correlate with the Accounts Chamber’s functions.

The Accounts Chamber is primarily a control and audit body. Probably, it could issue recommendations, but, in my view, they should at least be compatible with the RF Ministry of Economic Development, the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade and, probably, the Ministry of Finance.   How can they give advice on issues which belong to the profile of other government agencies without coordinating anything with them? This would be strange. The more so that it is not the RF Accounts Chamber’ profile to analyze economic interrelations.

This work requires more networking between the wide range of agencies. The RF Accounts Chamber has its own functions and authorities which nobody has deprived it of. It has got its own niche. But it seems the Agency is going beyond. Before Alexei Kudrin led it, the Accounts Chamber dealt mainly with verification of compliance of budget spendings with the legislation. At present, they are trying to gain a niche of assessing the efficiency of budget spendings and, consequently, of relevant decisions. This is the line which the Accounts Chamber is currently trying to master, however, the international experience of such activities by audit bodies is very limited.”