So much for change...

Apparently Berdymukhammedov suffers from the same delusion that gripped his predecessor, the idea that it is possible to turn a desert into a forest:

IWPR: President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov is on a mission to make Turkmenistan greener through a new tree-planting scheme, but NBCentralAsia experts say the plants will die in the arid climate and salinated soil unless an efficient irrigation system is put in place.

During a cabinet meeting on July 14, Berdymuhammedov announced that everyone in Turkmenistan must take part in a massive scheme to “make the entire country greener”.

Mandatory volunteerism and wasteful spending is alive and well in Turkmenistan!