Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released weekly by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
April 10, 2003 Vol. 2, No.2
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In this issue:
President Announces New Stage of Political, Economic Liberalization...
New Innovation Program, Tax Cuts Meant to Spur Economic Growth
Seven Political Parties Registered
Government Discusses Introduction of Life Imprisonment
President Announces New Stage of Political, Economic Liberalization
President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced a new stage of political and economic liberalization reforms in his annual state-of-the-nation address on April 4.
The President said the successes in economic development and the nation building over the past years made it possible for Kazakhstan to introduce new wide-ranging political reforms in five key areas. He identified them as the modernization of the system of state management, improvement of the election system, strengthening the civil society institutions, freedom and responsibilities of the media, and the improvements in the work of law enforcement and judicial bodies.
The Government would carry out the decentralization and delimitation of responsibilities between the central, regional and local levels of authorities, improvement of budget sharing, and the introduction of wider practice of election of local executive authorities.
It will seek the adoption of a new election law and the introduction of new electoral procedures in order to ensure transparency, openness and competition of the electoral process.
Kazakhstan will work to strengthen the civil society institutions, in particular, political parties and NGOs. It is expected that political parties will gain an exclusive right to nominate candidates to the Parliament. The practice of self-nomination will be also maintained. As for NGOs, they will receive state assistance.
The authorities will seek the adoption of a new Media Law in order to strengthen political, economic and legal grounds of free media work, to ensure a dialogue between authorities and the media, and to strengthen the responsibility of the media.
The Government would work to improve the practices of law enforcement and judicial bodies with a view on ensuring better protection of human rights and freedoms and humanizing the criminal law. New measures to achieve that will include an introduction of moratorium on capital punishment, the institution of the trial juries and introduction the requirement of a court order to carry out an arrest.
New Innovation Program, Tax Cuts Meant to Spur Economic Growth
In the address, President Nazarbayev said the fourth straight year of high level economic growth, the economy's solid foundations allowed the Government to come up with a more ambitious program of development. He announced the new long-term industrial and innovation program, as well as its intentions to carry out a round of tax cuts, both personal and corporate and to ensure wage and pension increases, as means to spur economic growth. Under the program, by the year 2015 Kazakhstan will have achieved a 3.5-fold GDP growth compared to the year 2000. This goal is to be achieved through the development of high-end, the two-fold reduction of energy-intensity of GDP and a three-fold increase in labor productivity.
It will require huge financing, and a system of development institutions will be established and capitalized to provide the framework for it. In addition to the $2.2 billion National Fund that performs saving and stabilization functions, an investment fund and an innovation fund will be set up to make portfolio investments into companies producing high value-added products, to support innovations and to work with venture capital. The President also announced plans to increase capitalization of the Kazakhstan Development Bank and to establish the Export Insurance Corporation.
The Government intends to use these institutions as a driving force of the competitive economy, and to draw private business into innovations within partnership between the state and private sector.
Mr. Nazarbayev announced a new tax cuts for VAT, social and individual income taxes, as of January 1, 2004. The VAT is to be cut from 16 to 15 percent, the social tax on companies will be reduced regressively to a scale of 20 to 7 percent, and the highest personal income tax rates are to be cut by 10 percent. A tax-free minimum for calculation of individual income tax is to be increased by 30 per cent.
The President also declared the major increases in pensions, wages and social payments, including the 20% average pension increase, 32% minimal wage increase and 50% increase of public sector salaries.
Seven Political Parties Registered
The Ministry of Justice announced lately that seven political parties were registered in Kazakhstan under the new law on political parties requiring a minimum of 50,000 members. These are Agrarian, Ak Zhol, Auyl, Civic, Communist, Otan and the Party of Patriots. All of these parties have representation in the Parliament, except for the recently established Ak Zhol. Several other parties, such as El Dana (formerly Women's Party) and the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan, either failed to register or did not opt for registration due to lack of popular support.
The parties will field candidates during the next parliamentary election in the fall of 2004. Under the current system, of the 77 seats in the lower house of the Parliament, 67 will be contested in single-vote constituencies, while 10 other seats will be allocated to parties winning the most of the nation-wide votes.
Government Discusses Introduction of Life Imprisonment
The Government considered introducing the life imprisonment at its meeting on April 8.
"The acting criminal legislation envisions the introduction of life imprisonment by the end of 2003. We should either introduce it by that time or put it off for a later date," Justice Minister Onalsyn Zhumabekov told the meeting. He said two buildings in Pavlodar (northern part of the country) have been chosen as future facilities for prisoners serving life sentences. Refurbishing of these buildings for this new purpose would require about $800 million tenge (152 tenge/$1).
Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov said that the government is not able to assign this sum from the 2003 budget and instructed officials to continue working out appropriate proposals.
Discussions on this subject have been going on in Kazakhstan ever since the country opted for joining the Council of Europe, where membership is contingent on renouncing death sentence and introducing the life imprisonment instead. Lately Human Rights Ombudsman Bolat Baikadamov called the death penalty a "rudiment with no place in a civilized society," and said its abolishment in Kazakhstan was imperative.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and various agencies' reports)
Contact persons: Roman Vassilenko, Aibek Nurbalin
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, 115, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
