Head of State: Ensuring the welfare of the people is a key goal of my work as President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered the third Message to the people of Kazakhstan.
The unity of the people and systemic reforms are the solid foundation for the country's prosperity
The most important thing for us is that every citizen feels the heritage of Independence. The main indicators are: safe life, stability and tranquility in society, — the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said, delivering his third Message to the people of Kazakhstan at a joint session of the Chambers of Parliament.
The Head of State announced the priority goals of socio-economic development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the coming period.
The third Message identifies the following issues:
I. Economic development in the post-pandemic period.
II. Improving the efficiency of the healthcare system.
III. High-quality education.
IV. Improving regional policy.
V. Formation of effective ecosystem in the labor market.
VI. Political modernization and human rights protection.
VII. Consolidation as the key factor of further progress.
"Ensuring the welfare of the people is the key goal of my work as President," the President stressed and announced a number of initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of Kazakhstanis:
1. Revision of the minimum wage level — an increase in GDP by 1.5 %.
2. Benefits will be provided for employers who increase the salaries of employees within the framework of regulated procurements, as well as preferential access to state support.
3. Introduce a single payment from the wages fund with a reduction in the total burden up to 25%
4. From 2022 to 2025, the state will annually increase the salaries of public sector employees by an average of 20%.
5. Development of a comprehensive housing program. Otbasy Bank will be its administrator; It will be transformed into the National Development Institute. The bank is faced with the task of ensuring the accounting and distribution of housing among citizens on the one stop principle. It will be allowed to transfer part of pension savings above the sufficiency threshold to the account in Otbasy Bank for subsequent purchase of housing.
I. Economic development in the post-pandemic period
- Validity period of Economy of Simple Things and Business Roadmap Programs will extend for 2022. The total amount of funds allocated to fund them will be at least one trillion tenge.
- Accelerate the implementation of the budget rule for restoration of the National Fund's assets. All relevant legislative amendments should be adopted by the end of this year.
- The Government and the National Bank were instructed to prepare the Concept of Public Finance Management (Set of Rules for Public Finance Management: Public Debt, Budget Policy, National Fund) until the end of the year.
- The medium-term goal is the 1.5-fold increase in manufacturing exports up to $ 24 bln. by 2025, and labor productivity by 30%.
"The price of raw materials for the domestic industry should be affordable; and the volume should be sufficient. By the end of the year, the Government should find the best solution to this important task."
- Create an effective National Geological Service and open digital database of geological information to expand investors' access to high-quality geological information.
The main task of the National Bank and the Government is to put inflation to the 4-6% corridor back.
- Develop a draft law regulating the procedure for recovery of frozen assets to economic circulation exclusively on a market basis.
- Provide unified control over prices along the supply chain from the manufacturer to the consumer.
"It is necessary to delineate the responsibilities, define one body as the main one, prescribe clear regulations for interaction of other departments. The government should make a resolution on this issue within a month."
- Further stabilization of the situation with forage supply requires expansion of the areas of forage crops cultivation and strengthening control over observance of crop rotation, greater use of the capabilities of space monitoring and remote sensing of land. Develop a Law "On Private Subsidiary Farming."
- By the end of the year, the Government should take specific measures to reform the veterinary medicine system.
- Review and stabilize the grant scheme in the agricultural sector.
- At least 100 thousand highly qualified IT specialists should be trained within the framework of the National Digitalization Project. Export of services and goods of the digital industry should reach at least $ 500 million by 2025.
- Create a platform for interaction of national companies with the IT community. The digital needs and requests of the quasi-public sector should be provided as much as possible by domestic companies. Create modern data processing centers that can serve neighboring countries.
"Kazakhstan should become a central digital hub on a large portion of the Eurasian region."
- Restart the Military Industrial Complex and Military Doctrine: military buildup, increased responsiveness to threats.
II. Improving the efficiency of the healthcare system.
- Prepare the entire healthcare system for transition to regular vaccination. Purchase booster vaccines, accelerate the purchase of vaccines registered by the World Health Organization.
- Establish the National Biosafety Forecasting System in the country.
- Provide for equipping at least 12 laboratories with high-tech equipment.
"This will increase the level of compliance of our laboratories with international standards to 90%."
- Establish the Center for Laboratory and Engineering Testing of medical products, accredited according to all international standards.
- Intensify cooperation with global pharmaceutical corporations.
- The share of medicines and medical products of domestic production should be increased from existing 17% up to 50% already in 2025.
- Create all conditions for mass and children's sports. Akims of the regions were instructed to ensure the multistage construction of sports infrastructure.
III. Quality Education
- Proceed with the policy of supporting teachers.
"The salary of teaching staff has increased by 25% since January cy. Over the next three years, we will additionally allocate KZT 1.2 trillion for these purposes."
- Improve the quality of information systems for remote learning modes.
- Ensure support for talented children.
"We will provide them with grants for admission to universities on a non-competitive basis and pay one-time cash bonuses. Teachers who have brought up such children should also be encouraged morally and financially."
- Support for children from socially vulnerable families within the framework of "universal education". Measures of material support should be supplemented with "Digital Teacher" Educational Project.
- Retraining of teachers should be carried out every three years, not every five years,
"It is impossible to allow cases when teachers take courses at their own expense."
- Build a thousand schools by the end of 2025.
- Start a phased transition to per capita financing of full-fledged rural schools as well.
- Provide conditions for early career guidance for children.
- Provide one hundred percent coverage with free TVET in popular specialties.
- Explore the issue of mastering the working specialties necessary in the real sector of the economy by conscript soldiers.
- Introduce direct funding of research institutes engaged in fundamental science.
- Consider the increase in terms of grant funding for science up to five years.
- Introduce the Institution of Appeal.
"Kazakhstan's education and science face a large-scale, urgent task - not just to keep up with new trends, but to be one step ahead, and generate trends."
III. Improving regional policy.
- Improve the mechanism for evaluating the activities of Akims at all levels.
- Implement independent opinion polls.
- Update Regional Development Plans in accordance with the approved nationwide tasks (25 tasks of the National Development Plan).
- Prioritization of budget expenditures. Use of per capita financing mechanism; introduction of objective methodology for setting budget limits.
- Implement a modular budget with increased responsibility of budget programs administrators.
- Review the current regulatory framework and practice of drawing up the estimated cost of projects.
- Increase in financial independence of the regions.
"Since 2020, the corporate income tax from SMEs has been transferred to local budgets. During this period, despite the decline in economic activity, revenues to local budgets have become 25% more than the planned ones."
- Formation of the Law on development of agglomerations and new standards for integrated urban development.
- Compliance with "people to infrastructure" principle.
"The focus should be on the development of promising villages. The main goal is to ensure their compliance with the System of Regional Standards. These approaches should be fixed in the Spacial Development Plan."
- Increase the share of "people's participation" in the budget for landscaping and housing and utilities sector by 10 times.
- Launch the Infrastructure Development Programs for each region.
- Modernization of infrastructure. Construction of a combined-cycle gas plant at the site of Almaty CHPP-2, modernization of CHPP-3 and expansion of CHPP-1. Commissioning of 1,000 MW of new generating capacities in the southern region. Reconstruction of cable networks in Almaty and Almaty region.
"The total volume of investments in these projects will amount to more than one trillion tenge. We will put into operation about 2,400 MW of renewable energy capacity in various regions of the country jointly with strategic investors."
- The 10 most polluted cities should be gasified and converted to alternative energy sources.
"To improve the situation with gas supply to the western regions, three projects worth a total of KZT 700 bln. will be implemented this year. These are the construction of a gas processing plant at Kashagan, construction of a looping of the Makat-North Caucasus main gas pipeline, and the modernization of Beineu-Zhanaozen main gas pipeline."
- Increase water conservation with the help of the latest technologies and digitalization.
"We will start the reconstruction of 120 channels to preserve the ecosystems of water bodies and careful use of resources. Nine new reservoirs will be built in Akmola, Almaty, West Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda, and Turkestan regions."
- Within the framework of the National Regional Development Project, 100% of cities and villages should be provided with clean drinking water within five years.
- Achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
- Examine the possibility of developing safe and environmentally friendly nuclear energy in Kazakhstan and prepare proposals for production of "green" hydrogen, hydrogen energy.
In conclusion, the Head of State said:
The unity of the nation is the main factor of success of our country. When we are united – we are invincible.
It is not for nothing that people say: "Harmony goes along with happiness."
Our strength is in unity! Together we will work for the good of our country!
Read the full text of the President's Address to the people of Kazakhstan here
