Zardugal

[Flip]

August 1st 5731

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ZAKARIO SURFUNGO ELECTED DIRECTOR

A successor not only in name?

During the Director's inaugaration ceremony before the Supreme Council


A name familiar among the people and promises to rekindle a lost feeling of national spirit seemed to guarantee him success when Zakario Surfungo announced his ambitions to become Director a few weeks ago. Today he gave his first speech outlining plans for the future of Zardugal.

A key foreign policy priority is a new, proactive socialist foreign policy. The focus will be on cooperation with “natural allies” across Terra.

On the domestic front, Surfungo outlined the goal of further expanding the core competencies of the zardic economy, such as the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, while simultaneously steering the primary sector toward complete self-sufficiency in the food sector.

Finally, the director announced a constitutional reform under which the responsibilities of several other commissariats would be transferred to the Commissariat for the Economy in the future. According to Surfungo, the reform is necessary to simplify the implementation of future development plans and bring a new economic upswing to Zardugal.

In addition, some departments are to be merged, and in the future, certain Commissars would be appointed directly by the director rather than, as has been the case, through a vote by the Supreme Council

[Flip]

December 17th 5731

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NEW LEGISLATION

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The following changes have been made to legislation by the Supreme Council,

effective January 1st 5732:

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2nd Constitutional Amendment: Appointment of the Members and Composition of the Executive Committee

Passed with 88% of Councillors voting "yes"

Summary of changes: The minimum number of members of the Executive Committee required by the Constitution is reduced to 9. Only three offices will still be elected separately and directly by a simple majority in the Supreme Council. The Director, the Commissar of Economy and the Commissar of Foreign Affairs.

All other Commissars will now be appointed by the Director. The assignment of departments is at the discretion of the Director, but should be done in consultation with the other two elected Commissars and should be guided by the nation’s current needs.

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Officilization of the more commonly used name "Faro" rather than "Fajroturo"

Passed with 98% of Councillors voting "yes"

Summary of changes: The official name of Zardugal's capital will be changed to "Faro" as the current official name "Fajroturo" has been out of use among citizens for decades. This is done to better acknowledge the life reality of people living in the city.

[Flip]

March 16th 5732

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NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE COMMENCES WORK

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After the ambitious announcements from Director Surfungo, the first Executive Committee assembled under the new constitutional procedure now takes action.

Additional funds allocated to FARMAKON-Z
Although the pharmaceuticals-conglomerate already holds a reputation for specialized cutting-edge medication such as Fandigrason, a lot of potential is still unused in the field of everyday and essential pharmaceuticals. The domestic demand is met, however the Supreme Council wishes to generate contingents available for other socialist countries.

Further Deforestation to meet demands for fruit and vegetables
The plantations at Kasteleto will be expanded. Production of bananas and citrus fruits is expected to double after the projected is finished. The decentralized system of greenhouse farming operations will also be expanded to increase production of crops like tomato, cucumber, pepper etc.

State visits
New Commissar of Foreign Affairs Vilhelmina Pipo announced visits to Xsampa, Utaristan and Tukarali. The Supreme Council therefore sets a clear focus for Zardugal's preferred economic and political partners.

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@Mesagisto

[Flip]

September 10th 5733

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SUCESSFUL DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO UTARISTAN

Commissar Pipo during her visit

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Despite the strained relations between Utaristan and Xsampa—Zardugal’s long-standing ally—the election of Vilhelmina Pipo, an avowed internationalist, has given a clear mandate to steer Zardugal’s foreign policy toward socialist integration with additional states.
Even in the run-up to the trip, the Commissar referred to the Revolutionary People’s Republic as an “ideological partner” and the people of Utaristan as “comrades.” This unusually explicit vocabulary regarding foreign policy strategy has been welcomed by the majority of Zards, who are weary of isolation.
In Utaristan, too, the Commissioner’s words—spoken while still at home—seemed to have fallen on receptive ears. She was given an extremely warm welcome by President Ibraev.
The common ground in implementing economic transformation was emphasized. Both nations had been very successful in transferring the means of production used for “secondary” consumer goods into the hands of workers’ cooperatives.

With a view toward stronger economic cooperation between Zardugal and Utaristan, it was emphasized that this would always take place on an equal footing. A clear distinction was drawn from the creation of imperialist economic dependencies and the calculations of capitalist trade policy. The statement is most likely also intended as a jab at the ventures initiated by FARMAKON-Z in capitalist foreign countries, some of which seemed grotesque.
Zardugal’s self-interested need is the acquisition of raw materials for the production of semiconductors: an agreement has now been reached to purchase quotas of the required rare earth elements over a ten-year period. The deliveries will be paid for at a fixed price paid in Spesmilo. This provides Utaristan with foreign currency to participate in the cooperatively organized segment of the Zardic market. The mechanism is intended solely as short-term assistance in meeting the material needs of the people of Utaristan and represents a purely market-logical process.
Since this alone would only mean the promotion and preservation of economic monocultures, a technology exchange in the form of the transfer of machinery and expertise was also agreed upon as a long-term strategy for creating prosperity for the inhabitants of both countries.
Work will begin as early as November 1 with an evaluation of the health and safety of miners by a Zardic delegation, followed by the provision of equipment and tools in accordance with commonly acknowledged safety standards. This work is to be completed before the first ore shipment is scheduled for delivery in the spring of 5734.
Assistance with the modernization of other sectors is expected to follow. In the medium term, Zardugal also plans to invest in the expansion and staffing of universities. An initiative by scientists called “Politeknika Instituto de Faro” has already expressed its willingness to support academic departments in Utaristan and to engage in an exchange of knowledge.

[Flip]

October 22nd 5734

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HOARDING, TRADING, SPECULATING

Mustarmakulo Announces Tougher Measures Against Illegal Participation in Foreign Capital Markets

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Given the prevalence of global capitalism, critical and prudent participation in the global market is essential for Zardugal and will remain so for the foreseeable future. However, it is well known that this economic practice has also provided opportunities for personal enrichment. Increasingly, foreign currency flows were siphoned off, and the diverted funds were used to speculate on international capital markets.
The Supreme Council is now debating stricter laws to control foreign exchange flows. In the future, stricter requirements will apply to cooperatives that hold foreign trade privileges. New applications for such privileges will also be subject to more thorough scrutiny. The decision is justified on the grounds that the described acts of self-enrichment constitute “the theft of wealth generated by the working community.” The reform also provides for restrictions on the activities of internationally operating online banks in Zardugal. These providers were frequently used to convert the appropriated foreign currency into capital elsewhere. For reasons that remain unclear, some trading providers were also willing to exchange Spesmilo (at exorbitant rates) for other currencies.
Such services will no longer be available in Zardugal in the future. Together, the announced measures are intended to help prevent the re-emergence of a bourgeois class.

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@Mesagisto

[Flip]

March 12th 5735

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A SPECIAL REQUEST

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With obvious amusement, the KNaCK petition calling for the establishment of trade relations with Kalopia was discussed in the Foreign Trade Committee, chaired by Commissar Mustarmakulo, and rubber-stamped without much debate. It appears that a widely shared interest in typical regional products such as olive oil, fish, cheese and, in particular, aromatic aniseed liqueur had emerged during a needs assessment meeting. Due to the unusually swift agreement, the matter was promptly forwarded to the Supreme Council.
The foreign trade quota has been approved. As the matter was described as an “unanticipated collective obsession, which in this form could probably only be satisfied by branded products”, no concerns were raised regarding competition that might be economically harmful to market offerings from Zardian businesses.
The trade deficit that will initially result is to be offset in future, following the conclusion of a diplomatic agreement, through the export of FARMAKON-Z products.

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@Mesagisto

[Flip]

June 25th 5735

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CLEARER REGULATIONS FOR FOREIGN TRADE

A rigorous overhaul of a previously chaotic system

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Throughout history, the Republic’s foreign trade policy has been a patchwork of special regulations, state-controlled trade, privileged conglomerates and, regrettably, a black market of no small significance. Better legislation is now needed to specify who is permitted to trade with foreign countries, and under what conditions.

What applies generally, and in particular to socialist systems surrounded by a capitalist environment: Trade is a matter of national sovereignty.
The new law, which is currently being debated in the Supreme Council, is also intended to make this point unmistakably clear through its first article.

“The monopoly on foreign trade lies with the state”

All other possible ways in which foreign trade may take place are therefore to be regarded merely as a mandate granted by the state and thus by the population.


The law makes a large distinction between imports and exports in terms of the extent of state regulation. In almost all cases, imports are to be handled directly by the state. Sufficient mechanisms are already in place for submitting applications, either via the KNaCK or, in the case of industry associations, by making a direct enquiry to the Office for Foreign Trade. In the case of KNaCK enquiries, the SK generally assumes the request is plausible and focuses instead on advising on the precise implementation of meeting demand through imports. This includes assessing which trading partners are most suitable from the perspectives of global strategy, diplomacy and ideology. Ethical issues regarding working conditions in the relevant country are also discussed.
In the case of enquiries coming directly from an industry association, the plausibility of the demand is checked in advance. For this, the association must submit its own calculations, and it must also be made sure that the demand cannot, under any circumstances, be met by the Zardic market. This point is most evident in the case of mineral resources, which are also the reason for most enquiries. These procedures have already been standard practice and are merely to be institutionalised by the forthcoming law.


Exports to capitalist foreign countries 
Here the law is intended to provide significantly less restrictive options for how the state can issue a mandate.

The standard case, the formation of conglomerates: Following the example of FARMAKON-Z, companies within an industry that wish to export their goods will either join an existing conglomerate or establish one specific to that industry. Naturally, only one such conglomerate is permitted per sector. Companies that compete within Zardugal are to present themselves externally as a monopoly. The conglomerate’s board of directors is to consist, on the one hand, of delegates from all participating companies and, on the other, of delegates from the Foreign Trade Office. This model is already in practice at FARMAKON-Z. Other conglomerates must follow suit once the law has been passed.
Both the formation of internal monopolies and the extension of domestic competition into the sphere of foreign trade are to be strictly prohibited within the framework of conglomerate operations and shall result in the exclusion of the participants concerned or the dissolution of the conglomerate. The presence of foreign trade officials on the board serves primarily to monitor compliance with these requirements and not to steer the decisions of the conglomerate as such.

In exceptional cases: Even non-conglomerate businesses will be able to obtain an export licence. The conditions are an impeccable track record with regard to LDRE violations over the last 10 years, as well as being ‘sector-neutral’ and having achieved ‘domestic saturation’. This means that the company has no real competitors within Zardugal for the goods (or services) it offers, but that demand in Zardugal alone is not large enough to enable further growth. The company is therefore essentially an ‘unproblematic’ monopoly. This regulation is intended to support small, newly established cooperatives – which are usually based on an interesting idea (also known as ‘start-ups’ in capitalist countries) – and to reward innovation and inventiveness.
Should these companies, either due to a change in external circumstances or by expanding into other sectors, nevertheless come to exhibit the characteristics of a ‘problematic' monopoly, the Office for Competition in the Public Interest (OKSPI)
reserves the right, of course, to break them up.

The law is expected to be passed this year. Further simplifications to trade with socialist countries such as Xsampa and Utaristan are also reportedly under discussion. According to SK sources, the Foreign Affairs Commissariat will issue a statement on this matter.

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@Mesagisto

[Flip]

October 8th 5736

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A FRAMEWORK FOR TRADE BASED ON SOLIDARITY

Director Surfungo and People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Jinpa 

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Now that trade relations with other countries have been regulated on a general basis, the conclusion of a new agreement will further simplify trade relations with our already closest economic partner, Xsampa.
The agreement aims to gradually remove trade barriers between the countries. Strong growth is expected in sectors particularly dependent on exports, thanks to the expanded market. As the structure of the Xsampian economy closely resembles the Zardic model, no economic shock is anticipated as a result of far-reaching deregulation of trade in goods. Nevertheless, the intention is to proceed sector by sector over the next few years in order to analyse economic consequences that may not yet have been considered and, where necessary, to implement counter-regulatory measures. However, it remains unclear how to deal with the basic foodstuffs production sector, as this is largely organised on a planned-economy basis.

It was also agreed to jointly establish the ‘Trade Organisation of Worker-Owned Economies’, which will monitor the flow of goods. Furthermore, companies that benefit particularly from exports are to contribute a portion of their additional profits to the organisation, which will use these to set up a reinvestment fund. Money from this fund is to be used to offset negative effects of market liberalisation, such as the emergence of a trade deficit, by targeted investments. While this might not yet be too relevant for Zardugal and Xsampa, it could be for countries possibly joining in the future, such as Utaristan, which has already expressed interest.
In addition, the TOWOE is also to act as an intermediary for the exchange of goods in the context of individual imports and exports with socialist states which, due to their planned-economy orientation, do not wish to become members of the trade zone themselves. 

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@Mesagisto

[Flip]

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@Reklamo

[Flip]

January 16th 5737

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TWO SMŜ-31 CLASS VESSELS COMMISSIONED

"Krakeno" and "Ŝarko" on their maiden voyage

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Six years after construction began, the first two vessels of the new SMŜ-31 class are now being launched. These state-of-the-art submarines are replacing the long-obsolete Orko class. A further five vessels are due to enter service over the next ten years. Unlike its predecessor, the SMŜ-31 is armed not only with torpedoes but also with anti-ship missiles. The development of a submarine fleet forms part of an overarching strategic concept to build a sea-denial navy. Zardugal’s economy is heavily dependent on maritime trade, as its closest trading partners are located on other continents. Consequently, the aim is to develop greater capabilities in the future to free its own coasts from potential blockades and to defend its trade routes.

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@Mesagisto