In this issue:
Government To Get Tough on Environmental Protection
Kazakhstan Seeks Bigger Role in Space Exploration, Not Just Rent for Baikonur
Kazakhstan Moves to Combat Gray Economy
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
Environment --- Korshaghan orta [Kohr-sha-HAHN or-TA]
Space --- Alem [Ah-LEM]
Government To Get Tough on Environmental Protection
Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov said the Government intends to toughen the enforcement of the environmental regulations, particularly in relation to oil producers, and to introduce stricter ones on how taxes earmarked for the environment are used by local administrations.
Speaking at a meeting of the Ministry of Environment Protection in Astana on January 23, PM Akhmetov said this year the Government would seek national legislation and regulations on environment in line with international standards.
The Prime Minister believes it would be appropriate if "environmentally dirty" regions, such as the oil producing Atyrau region in the west of the country, "will have stricter regulations."
At the same time, he believes these measures need to be taken in full accordance with the laws on the books and without creating any more bureaucracy.
"These actions need to be taken in such a way that investors keep their interests in realizing projects of strategic importance for the country," PM Akhmetov noted.
At the same meeting, the Prime Minister also criticized local Akims (governors) for misdirecting the funds received as dedicated environmental taxes. He said only as little as 8.8 percent of such funds received locally are appropriated for environmental purposes. He also noted said the Government would see to it that this issue is soon more closely regulated and called on members of Parliament to be more active.
Currently, US$100 million is spent across the country for various projects to improve the environment. The Prime Minister said that figure would soon be increased at least two-fold.
Kazakhstan Seeks Bigger Role in Space Exploration, Not Just Rent for Baikonur
Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister, said Kazakhstan cannot be happy with its role of being simply a landlord for the Baikonur Cosmodrome and will work to gain access to space exploration in partnership with Russia.
Speaking at an international conference in Astana on
January 23, Minister Tokaev said recent agreements
between Russia and Kazakhstan extending Russia's
lease of Baikonur up to 2050 and expanding
Kazakhstan's participation in space exploration
create solid framework for Astana to pursue its
space aspirations.
"Our government has worked hard to develop
agreements [with Russia] on building a
communications satellite and establishing a joint
venture based on an ecologically safe launch
vehicle, 'Angara' [of Russia]," Minister Tokaev said.
According to Kazakhstan Today news agency, Minister Tokaev noted the Cosmodrome must bring "practical benefits to our two countries", and "cooperation must be developed exponentially, opening up new opportunities."
Kazakhstan has been home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome since the 1950's. It was from here that the former Soviet Union launched the world's first sputnik in space in 1957 and put the first man into space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has been leasing Baikonur from Kazakhstan under a bilateral agreement. During the visit of President Vladimir Putin to Astana earlier this month, the two countries extended Russia's lease of the Cosmodrome to 2050.
Kazakhstan Moves to Combat Gray Economy
Grigori Marchenko, the recently appointed First Deputy Prime Minister, and a successful governor of Kazakhstan's central bank for 4 years before that, has been asked to lead a governmental task force to explore the scope of the "gray economy" in Kazakhstan and to develop a set of measures to reduce its affect on the open economy.
The task force includes officials from the ministries of economy and budget planning, finance, and industry and trade, as well as the National Bank. Scientists and private business people are also included. They have until March 2004 to prepare a package of recommendations.
According to Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, data from the national Agency of Statistics shows the invisible economy in Kazakhstan in 2002 was 22.6 percent of the GDP.
Alzhan Braliev, an advisor to the Prime Minister, explained: "Our goal is to reduce this phenomenon across the board to the greatest possible extent, particularly in agriculture, construction industry, healthcare, education, retail commerce and in service industries. The gray economy cannot be defeated with strict administrative and law enforcement measures, but can be through consistently creating normal conditions of legal work for entrepreneurs who chose to go into the shadow economy."
Among the measures to be considered by the task force are tax cuts, the improvement of labor regulations and of the licensing system. Also under consideration are wide-scale actions of the state, such as an amnesty for clandestinely held capital and of private property.
Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov called on Kazakhstan's entrepreneurs to also participate in the task force's activities and invited them to submit suggestions, even through the Internet.
Things to Watch:
- On January 26, both chambers of Kazakhstan's Parliament will convene to discuss draft election legislation. The next national election, for Parliament, is due in the fall of 2004.
- The year of 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of the Virgin Lands program, which brought more than a million people into northern and central Kazakhstan from other republics of the USSR to farm steppes and grow wheat. On January 16, President Nazarbayev signed a decree authorizing the coining of a commemorative medal.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agenciy reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
