Currency with "old" face of Niyazov disappears
Ashgabat (AsiaNews/Agencies) - There is perplexity, but also optimism in Turkmenistan after the revaluation introduced on January 1 for the manat, the national currency. President Kurbanguly Berdymukhammedov announced on national television that this will strengthen the currency and attract more investment, and that there are no fears of inflation, because "our economy is stable and powerful."
The new manat is worth 5,000 old manats, and has permitted withdrawing from circulation the image of the former leader Saparmurat Niyazov, in power for more than 20 years and omnipresent on coins and banknotes. His face remains on higher denominations, from 500 manats (2.5 million old manats) up, while now there are Turkmen poets, philosophers, and monarchs on the others.
In the first days of the switch, there have been long lines at the banks and on the black market to exchange currency, although the old banknotes are valid for all of 2009. January salaries will be paid with the new currency, and stores will accept both.
The country has the world's fourth-largest reserves of gas, but for decades the wealth beneath the soil did not benefit the population, which is among the poorest in the former Soviet area. After decades of isolation enforced by Niyazov, Ashgabat is now seeking to increase relations with the outside world, and the new currency is seen as a move in this direction.
In fact, the official exchange rate, fixed for years at 5,200 old manats per dollar, was always theoretical: citizens can buy foreign currency only on the black market, where a dollar cost about 24,000 old manats. In 2008, the government tried to adjust the exchange rate, and in December a dollar was quoted at 14,000 manats both in the banks and on the black market. Now it is hoped that the new currency will eliminate the black market and help to establish a single exchange market.
Experts are waiting for the new manat to stand the test of time, although they note the initial distrust of much of the population toward such government initiatives, driving many to change the old banknotes immediately. Many note that, so far, retail prices have not risen. There are even some who speak of a desire to dismantle the cult of personality imposed by Niyazov.
But some note that it will now be possible to go shopping with a lighter wallet: a bouquet of flowers in Asghabat costs 1 million old manats, but only 200 new manats.
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