15:04 2001-08-11
SERGEI BORISOV:
Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov has fined central bank chief Seiidbai Kandymov, who is also a deputy prime minister, a month's wages for nepotism. "There are some leaders among us who are concerned first and foremost with the interests of themselves and their nearest and dearest, and not the state," Mr. Niyazov was reported by Reuters as saying on Tuesday. The docked wages will go to the state budget.
Mr. Nijazov’s press spokesman, Kakamurad Ballyev, was recently fined a month's wages when Turkmenbashi caught him smoking - a habit the leader was forced to quit after suffering heart problems. Earlier this year Mr. Niyazov packed off a senior official, Annaguly Dzhumagylydzhov, to become an ordinary foreman in a workshop for three months before allowing him to head the state energy company.
Mr. Niyazov, widely known as Turkmenbashi or leader of the Turkmen, was offered the presidency for life in December 1999. He enjoys unlimited powers and frequently keeps his staff on their toes.
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