Yeltsin vows to punish those responsible for non-payment of

wages Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Friday criticized regional leaders who had failed to pay outstanding wages out of money released by the government for that purpose and promised that those responsible would be punished.

"The government has to find out how this could happen and to punish those responsible," Yeltsin said in his regular radio address to the Russian people.

The address was carried on Radio Russia, Mayak radio and Moscow Echo radio.

Yeltsin, who discussed the issue with senior ministers earlier this week, said the Finance Ministry had sent money to cover the unpaid wages by 25th December, but still there were six regions - Irkutsk, Sverdlovsk, Maritime Territory and the Evenki and Koryak Autonomous Areas - where the debt had not been paid.

He also mentioned Volgograd and Tyumen regions as being guilty of not using the money it had received on wages.

"When federal aid arrived, conscientious leaders did not leave work even on New Year's eve so the money could be sent without delay to specified addresses," Yeltsin said.

"Others, not thinking for long, spent the money on other things and the third group did even worse - they decided that people would wait ... Such individuals cared little that thousands of people, trusting Moscow, waited for their earned wage and made different plans - settle debts, buy what is necessary and give presents to their families," he said.

He said he had issued orders for reports to be delivered to him within a week on how the money for wages was used and "who sabotaged the president's decree".

"Such people should expect a lot more to come their way - they will be brought to account and pay penalties," Yeltsin warned.

"Federal officials and local authorities should learn from last year's experience even today and should always remember that payment of wages is not a propaganda campaign, not a one-off event, but an important commitment to the people ... The country needs a normal working system in which people receive what they are due twice a month like clockwork.

Not presents, not handouts but honestly earned money." He said regional leaders had to understand that with greater independence came responsibility.

"No-one much cares who is to blame for their misfortune and where they were cheated but for the authorities themselves there is nothing worse than losing the people's trust.

"We will, therefore, settle last year's debts in the next few days and we will certainly take to account all those who were responsible for tackling these pressing issues on time," the president said.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.