RBC: eight development institutions will be liquidated

RBC writes about this, referring to two sources close to the government, as well as to an interlocutor in one of the development institutions.

We are talking about the Foundation for the Development of Single-Industry Towns, A/O (JSC) "Osobye ekonomicheskiye zoni" ("Special Economic Zones"), the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT), Rosinfocominvest and the Agency for Technological Development.

In addition, it was decided to liquidate the Agency for the Development of Human Capital in the Far East and the Arctic, the Far East and Arctic Development Fund, as well as the Far East Agency for attracting investments and supporting exports.

Part of the functions of these structures will be transferred to VEB.RF, and those functions that relate to attracting labor resources and investments, attracting and distributing subsidies and grants, as well as administering special investment projects will be transferred to the relevant government agencies.

One of the interlocutors of the publication pointed out that the purpose of the reform is "to create unified mechanisms for managing institutions, to eliminate the intersection of their functions by government bodies and commercial companies".

According to the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, Alexey Chekunov, "all the functionality" of the institutions to support the advanced development of the Far East and the Arctic will be preserved.

“Perhaps there will be a merger of several legal entities into one, stronger one, with the optimization of overlapping costs”, - said the head of the department.

He pointed out that VEB.RF will become the main financial institution for the development of the macroregion, and its resources "significantly exceed" those that were on the balance sheet of specialized development institutions.

Let us recall that earlier the effectiveness of the structures, which it has now decided to liquidate, was criticized by the Accounting Chamber. For example, analysts of the joint venture pointed to the high administrative costs of the Monotown Development Fund: the costs of employee benefits in 2018 were comparable to the execution of the revenue side of the Pikalevo budget, and the costs for the monetary benefits of the general director of the structure were higher than the budgets of some settlements.

It is noted that the Russian Information Technology Development Fund claims that the fund will not be abolished, and for 2021 the structure has already approved a budget. In addition, the Fund said that a new subsidy for small businesses has been agreed.

We will remind that earlier by the decree of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin Rossvyaz and Rospechat were liquidated. Both federal agencies were transferred to the Ministry of Taxes. The changes took place within the framework of the plan to optimize the public administration system. The reform envisages a reduction of 5% and 10% of positions in ministries and territorial departments. According to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, "the reform can no longer be postponed, it is important to quickly and efficiently adjust the system of public administration, as the president ordered".