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bne April 2018 Eurasia I 51
months prior to the authorities wholly suspending the Visa card operations altogether.
Prior to that measure, Turkmen officials announced a squeezed limit on cash withdrawals that Turkmen citizens are allowed to make from ATMs abroad in November. The State Bank of Foreign Economic Activity (TDDYIB) said clients travelling or residing abroad would not be able to withdraw more than $50 or its equivalent on any given day from ATMs in other countries. At the time, it marked the third time in 2017 that the authorities had adopted the measure in an attempt at keeping money in circula- tion within the Central Asian country. In March, the TDDYIB set the daily limit at $250, down from $1,000. It then cut the limit to $100 per day in October.
The now complete suspension of Visa cards demonstrates how desperate the Turkmen government has grown amid its ongoing economic crisis.
Given the financial squeeze, the govern- ment has ended the era of discounted gas, water and electricity prices for
Despite his country’s economic mess, the Turkmen leader unveiled Turkmeni- stan's first golf course, a designer 18-hole
“The government has ended the era of discounted gas, water and electricity prices for citizens in
Turkmenistan”
citizens in Turkmenistan; made contri- butions to Turkmenistan’s Pension Fund by business owners mandatory from 1 January; and even imposed more fines on car owners and Turkmen fortune tell- ers, whose occult services are popular
in Turkmenistan.
Despite addressing some difficulties, Turkmen authorities appear to be driving the country further into economic difficulties as seen by the dubious spending habits of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
attraction in a country where golf is virtu- ally unheard of. The country also spent $10bn on hosting the Asian Games last year, which turned out to be another van- ity project – the preparations for the Asian Games also included a $2.3bn airport.
All of this is happening amid the country’s commitments to fund 85% of the construction costs for the $10bn Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline, the construction of which has just entered its Afghan phase.
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