Octopus

UB POST

July 30, 2010

In Thailand

Last Sunday at least nine people were injured by a bomb explosion at a bus stop in the capital city of Thailand. Recently, thousand of members of Thailand’s United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, known as the Red Shirts, occupied the downtown of Bangkok for over two months to press for the dissolution of the Government causing serious loss to its economy, which finally led to loss of many lives the imprisonment of hundreds of protestors. This was not just a political fight, but also the expression of anger and desperation accumulated in the society for many years caused by visible difference in incomes of population.

This is how the law of transition from quantity to quality operates. A decade ago Thailand passed the law on self-declaration of income, which has just passed in Mongolia and I read an article in the Bangkok Post newspaper saying that the Thai Cabinet became the one with the richest wives in the world, after the cabinet ministers of this country publicly announced their incomes. A wife of “poorest” minister had two Mercedes Benz, three houses and private account with the balance of US$4.0 million. This was the time when almost all people in Thailand except government ministers and officials, were the poor with less than US$2 per day income.

In Thailand, political parties have never charged their authorities with responsibility and have never discussed how a person who worked for public service for all his life managed to make such a huge income, instead they concealed and defended them behind the name of political party. Soon the principle “Share and Rule” by winning the elections in a manipulated way at any price promising whatever to electors, rules this country. From elections to elections, people in power have swindled the country’s properties, lands and resources machinating with political parties. As result, rapid economic growth has been beneficial to few people only and the most of population remained poor for many years. The difference in income has increased, leading the current social differentiation to highest point peak, which is ready to blow at any time.

IN MONGOLIA

We are following exactly Thai track and income difference is almost higher than in Thailand. Today, the most of Mongolians have the lower income less than two dollars a day. We now have parliament members, cabinet members, and many bosses, who are very wealthy and rich. Deals for corruption, position, income is becoming more organized and the income government authorities are growing year by year while the people’s income is shrinking year by year. Citizens and lawmakers are fighting furiously to become a customs or tax inspectors or to be employed by a state-owned enterprises, which are believed to be jobs producing sizeable profits.

The government is getting more bulky and cumbersome and their method to machinate and swindle the budget money in the name of tenders and bids is getting more organized. Political parties already ceased to exist in its classical point as replaced by fractions of conspirators. They have created institutions for machination instead of public management and have been squeezing public properties for the sake of their power behind the throne. They function ate better than any terrorist and swindle public properties wherever in city or provinces.

Though each political party is aware inside of who and how swindled the public properties, none of them never think about eliminating or cleaning it, instead their mindset focuses on how to copy swindling methods of other parties. None of the two ruling parties of coalition has never obeyed to rules of justice and has never punished their corrupted political workers. Instead, the two parties closed mouth of those who attempted to speak out by offering higher position. It clearly shows that these political parties already ceased to exist in terms of political institution and only few ordinary members, who are confusingly thinking that their political party still exists.

UNDER ONE ROOF

A party so-called “Mongolian Democratic Revolutionary Party” has been already formed and it has been unifying their money through a certain cooperative and is planning how to buy next elections. Politicians last week marked the 20th anniversary of democratic elections in Mongolia and overjoyed saying that this was also the celebration of multi-party system. It is true that they started the democratic elections; however, it is also true that they destroyed it.

Heads of any of these two political parties as well the Parliament and the Cabinet formed by them marked this anniversary without a single word about the last fraud elections, declaration of emergency, which caused the life of five innocent people. Nowadays, government employees are chosen according to intimacy with boss or to their ability to ingratiate and machinate. For this reason, public institutions over the past period work for self-defense and self-advocating in order to enrich their boss and themselves too, instead performing their basic functions and duties.

The most concentrated expression of such confrontation is the ongoing game played by the two leading political parties, regarding the change of chairman and deputy of the Independent Authority Against Corruption. Because this is a big knot of deals related to position and corruption, there is no way out except the mutual exchange of spies. This is the fight that never ends and the soap opera that will continue till the next elections. These two big parties have always took each other into hostage by means of not only big political positions but also top positions in big state-owned companies, the special licenses of land, minerals, tobacco, vodka and petroleum and by investigating and judging crimes linked with each other. The two parties like two big octopus have tangled with each other with each legs and is now at the current point of break. This case first will decompose the gap within the Parliament, then dismantle the Cabinet and will continue till next elections, leading to intensive fight between fractions of people with own individual interests. They might play a drama to punish a person as a sacrifice of their game, but because this is a crisis in political system, the solution is to change this system completely. The question is we are not ready for this.

Translated by P.Shinebayar

Development Policy

UB Post

July 23, 2010

Economic development policies of the countries is considered as the inward policy if their encouragement supporting the investment, production and foreign trade is oriented towards domestic market rather than exports and if it is intended to limit or prohibit imports or the outward policy if there almost no difference between dedicating the production for domestic market, or exporting, purchasing domestic, imported goods, making investment to abroad and domestically.

Almost most of the countries with high economic development and higher living standards than their neighbors despite their relatively small domestic market and their location surrounded by big states have succeeded based on outward economic policy and strategy. Clear examples are Switzerland, Belgium, Singapore, the Holland, Luxembourg and Israel etc.

Like Mongolia, they are all located surrounded by big states and are all politically neutral nations and they never poke their nose in. Because their neighbors are totally confident that they are true neutrals, they are in deep belief and confidence that business and citizens of such small country would never pose any threat to them. It is a sagacious and well-disciplined political philosophy to guarantee the outward economic policy by a political policy.

These small but high-rated countries have managed to turn their neighbors’ big markets into their great advantage. Citizens of such small countries speak fluently not only in languages of their big neighbors but also in internationally recognized English language and it is thoroughly estimated in all educational levels what should be a priority. The children have deep understanding and consciousness that they must learn from history and culture of their big neighbors, compare with own ones and have advantage by education and knowledge. They use dexterity and intelligence rather than strength and emotion in social relations.

Business in small country sees the difference between big states first and is able to react quickly. They introduce all achievements in technology quicker than others and are able to keep leadership for a long period.

Because they can get into business, first they yield benefits first and by the time when big states overtake them, small countries would already have started a next business. Because they have outward economic policy, banking and financial services in small countries is relatively more developed than in big countries.

Because they have service employees who can speak in all languages of their big neighbors, it is quicker and reliable for big neighbors to pass their trades through these small countries. Besides, with respect to transit trades, outstanding payment is paid out as soon as the products pass the other border. Because the money in such countries is convertible, they have relatively stable economies and low inflation.

As their economies are well circulated and are politically stable, big international banks and financial institutions, regional international organizations and transcontinental corporations race with each other to establish their offices in such small countries. Because infrastructure is developed rapidly linking standards of neighboring countries, such small countries turn into an economic hub for all fields followed by increased visitors and long and short term residents leading to the expansion of tourism, air and autoroad network, hotel, culinary services and citizens from big countries come in the morning to work for these services, and goes back in the evening or after a week.

As the country becomes wealthy, social care for population gets well and quality and because it gets more expensive for temporary visitors from abroad, foreigners have to spend a lot to live in such small countries for a long period. I believe we should develop our country in this way.

What obstacles do we have? We are the obstacles. We should spend the money earned from exploration of unrecoverable mineral resources, based on outward economic policy.

It is time for Mongolia to invest to our two neighbors, establish factories by acquiring their capital assets and lands and act on their big markets by means of their own capital.

Because Mongolia’s domestic market is small and there are less long-term economic benefits for Mongolia, it is time for us to play on neighbors’ markets and further on world market. Why we cannot be like the Jewish people.

Brussels-Ulaanbaatar

Translated by P.Shinebayar

Mongolia’s Alcoholism

UB Post

July 09, 2010

MONGOLIA produces oceanic amount of alcohols, and it is causing the nation to sink it. Every adult Mongolian is reported to be drinking three liters of ethanol spirits per year (total amount of locally produced and imported vodkas, beers, and wines converted into pure spirits).

Alcoholic beverage production, and selling has grown by huge amount. And, the country’s treasury fund is being enriched by excise tax collections implied on vodkas and beers. Birthday, reception for state award recipients, party for new home, graduation day, endless Naadam festivals, as well as world events and Olympic games, especially these days of football matches are not spent without drinking of vodkas and beers. Vodka and beer producers are making their best too.

There is no any place that didn’t build more capacity outdoor beer garden outside of its restaurant. In addition, the government’s Child Money social transaction is making money for vodkas for many low in-come families. Thank to alcoholism in Mongolia, children with genetic disorders are being born lately.

A friend of mine, who has recently traveled to famous Shargaljuut resort and spa, told me that he saw hundred of wheel-chaired children that have spinal anomalies are being taken to the resort place. Last year, same place received three times higher children. Generally speaking, mongoloid type of people or yellow skinned races have no or little ferment to process vodka compared to white skinned people. That’s why we get easily drunk, and get poisoned more.

Russia’s northern indigenous yellow skinned races, minorities of koryaks, chukchi, nenets, and native American Indians have had negative impact of alcoholism. Is there any social reason for alcoholism abuse? it is time we need to make it social debate. In Mongolia’s society, a number of people, who have no goals for their life, have been growing a lot. Life goal, for most people, is too much lower than their real opportunity. We have almost no model person that the whole society can learn lesson from. People do not know about any Mongolian who has succeeded by setting up big goal for life.

Media organizations are not even covering this success stories. You can’t find anyone, who has truly succeeded by using his or her own talents and knowledge, that never used high public position or never ever seek favor from someone influential. There is no hope for life for most of the people. Labor pay is too low, almost half of which goes to the State as tax dues.

Mongolians need to raise our children in alcohol free environment. It is time to make a choice for people other than alcohol. Human Development Fund may fund physical and sporting activities. More public access to gyms and sporting facilities need to built and healthy style of life should be created for all.

Business Threshold

UB Post

July 2, 2010

A key factor, that affects building of competitiveness in service and industry, is a market threshold for new business starters. The market threshold defines initial cost of investment, unavoidable costs, and price competitiveness of those sectoral businesses.

New entrants to the market bring new capital and new skills in order to get a slice of the market. Threshold amount however may trigger higher competitiveness in the service and industry sectors, but it is more than requirement for new business starters to ensue safety of product and service users, and higher hygiene standards.

But in Mongolia, we found there is no minimum threshold requirements in almost of all business sectors.

Human rights, and business freedom, no one knows their difference. You can do whatever you want if you have your own person works for state authority or public owned company. Quality of products and services turn down into a question of no matter.

Safety and comfortableness of users do not even matter.

It is no sense to talk about any competitiveness in any economic sector where anyone does whatever they want.

You just bribe public officials in all levels, and get license or permission. It’s done deal. Clear example is public transport sector. Almost all private cars in Mongolia are taxis. Almost all private minibuses are public transport buses. Or road construction companies, they usually have not more than one tractor, and they managed to get a sub-contactor agreement for a road construction project. Activities of almost all of Mongolia’s economic sectors run like skating on thin ice. But end users will bear all mistakes, costs and damages after all.

In a level of legal accountability, the company can disappear to nowhere. Public officials, who are responsible for ensuring safety of users, and regulate all these, tend to have interests to make this disorder even worse. They earn excessive amount of profit from taxpayers’ money by misarranging procurement process, and tender bids, most of winners are their own people.

State Professional Inspection Authority was built especially for this purpose of taking control over these irregularities. Unfortunately, it not that much clear where they work and what do they. They remain silent in most of the cases. Some, who speaks out, is kept silent by promoting to a higher rank.

In the history of developed countries, business threshold is clearly defined in all economic sectors, and there is certain initial requirements, and they kept strict in acceptable norm. That’s why they have higher competitive capacity because in all level of activities is measured with certain standardized thresholds and requirements.

All products and services are measured with safety, environmental impact, noise, air pollution emission, energy consumption, or working condition.

For instance: in Germany, they have Deutsche Industrie Norm (DIN). Japan has Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). Both are national organizations for standardization covering nearly every field of economic sector. There is also a clear rule of law that ensures fair competition for new players in the market.

All of those requirements, and standards, every business should follow in order to improve quality of their products and services. It also pressures businesses to have higher safety, and better technology. Final products and services deserve to have “Made in Germany” for export. It is highly valuable and reputed label.

The higher threshold we have in every economic sector, the higher competitive capacity we will build that every players have benefits, and furthermore, that economic sector will prosper more. The Government of Mongolia should clearly set up this threshold, and first of all, it should start from their own agencies and institutions, and have other private business companies followed afterwards. There is no any other choice.

Translated by Ch.Sumiyabazar