DUSHANBE, June 29, Asia-Plus — The government considered some 60 issues at a June 28 session presided by President Emomali Rahmon, presidential press service said.  

The government endorsed a plan of actions for the second half-year of 2007.  

Tursunzoda Mayor Barakatullo Ahmadov reported on the present socioeconomic situation in the city and creation of new jobs. 

The total population of the city and the district of Tursunzoda is 218,903 people; of them 112,735 or 50.5 percent are economically active people.   

Form 2003 to 2006, 2,573 new jobs were created in the city of Tursunzoda, reducing the number of jobless from 2,118 to 1,600.  

Since the beginning of the year alone, 310 new jobs have been created in Tursunzoda, and 16 million somonis have been provided in small loans to support small and medium enterprises in the district.  

The head of state called providing small loans one of the key tasks and gave specific orders on this subject.   

President Rahmon also set task to revive gardening, stock-raising, production of meat and dairy products and take measures to increase production of aluminum cables and home appliances for offering on domestic market in Afghanistan.  

The government endorsed a list of priorities of scientific researches for 2007-2009, as well as approved a number of bills and sent them for consideration to the Majlisi Namoyandagon.   

            The session also approved government-to-government agreements on cultural and scientific cooperation with Egypt and on cooperation in the field of youth policy with Ukraine.  

            The government also endorsed a series of documents on education, publishing, and customs payments.  

            The session also heard a report by the anticorruption agency director Sherkhon Salimov on the results of work carried out by the agency over the past five months.

            Sherkhon Salimov noted that inspections conducted by the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption over the report period had revealed cases of untargeted use of budgetary funds.  In total, 16.6 million somonis of state funds have been embezzled over the same five-month period, according to the anticorruption agency director.   

Salimov noted that such violations had been revealed in former ministries of communications and emergency situations, former border protection committee, as well as in the cit of Isfara and the districts of Hissor, Varzob, Murgab, Farkhor, Yovon, Rudaki, and Jomi.

            72 cases for a total amount of 10.5 million somonis have been sent for investigation to the law enforcement agencies, Salimov said.  

Telling the session, President Rahmon urged more transparency and publicity in work of the anticorruption agency.