, April 2, Asia-Plus -- A March 30 government session presided over by President Emomali Rahmon adopted president’s decree of March 16 on raising wage rates of the staff of institutions and organizations, which are funded from the budget, and social pension rates.  

According presidential press service, 100 million somonis will have been provided for these purposes this year.   Of this amount, 48 million somonis will go to raising wages for employees of the education sector, 10 million somonis to raise wages for medical workers and 4.5 million for raising social pension rates.   

Abdufattoh Sharipov, a spokesman for the president, said that the meeting had endorsed Tajikistan ’s National Development Strategy for the period till 2015 and the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2007-2009 and had sent them for consideration to parliament.   

According to him, under the country’s National Development Strategy, Tajikistan is expected to attract more than $13 billion, primarily in grants.   

The spokesman said that the government session had also endorsed a new bill on electronic signature and amendments to the laws on licensing certain types of activities, operational-search activities, energy, cinema, advertisement, etc.     All these bills were submitted for consideration to the Majlisi Namoyandagon ( Tajikistan ’s lower chamber of parliament).    

The session also approved a program of tripartite cooperation among the government, employers and trade unions projected for 2007-2009.   

Besides, the government adopted resolutions on the 10th anniversary of a Day of Unity and National Accord and improvement of a mechanism of paying communal services’ subsidies to poor families.  

Emomali Rahmon noted that the government will reimburse 55 percent of expenses of poor families on electrical power and 45 percent of their expenses on natural gas.

  The head of state said that he will hold meeting with representatives of intelligentsia, clerics and local authorities on May 24 to discuss issues related to regulating traditional rituals and festivities.