In this issue:
Construction Starts on Kazakh-Chinese Pipeline, Oil Expected to Flow in 2005
Nazarbayev Streamlines Government, Seeking Greater Efficiency
New Face for Kazakh Government, Less Red Tape and New Challenges
Trial by Jury Expected Soon in Kazakhstan
Vinokourov Takes Bronze in World Cycling Championship
Say it in Kazakh:
Pipeline --- Kubyr [Kho-BYRR]
Streamline --- Kyskartu
Bridge of friendship --- Dostyk kuperi [Dos-TYK Koo-peh-REI]
Construction Starts on Kazakh-Chinese Pipeline,
Oil Expected to Flow in 2005
Construction of a major 600-mile pipeline from central Kazakhstan to China started this week, as Kazakhstan moved one step closer to becoming a major energy exporter not just to China but to the world.
Officials from both countries attended the ceremony in the village of Atasu in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan on September 28. Vladimir Shkolnik, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan, said the pipeline is a “proof that even the most grandiose and ambitious projects can be realized if politicians and business people put their efforts together, if thorough economic calculations are made and if political and economic necessity is taken into account.”
The pipeline from Atasu to Alashankou on Kazakhstan’s border with China is the third leg of the three-legged pipeline known as the West Kazakhstan-West China pipeline. This large pipeline was originally envisioned when the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) bought a controlling stake in one of Kazakhstan’s major oil fields in Aktobe region in 1997. The first stage, between Atyrau and Kenkiyak, was completed earlier. Final decisions on the construction of this third section were reached during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to China in May of this year. The central section remains to be completed.
The 813-millimeter pipe will be able to transport 10 million metric tons of oil annually during the first years, and its throughput capacity will further be expanded to 20 million metric tons. The oil will be piped from Chinese-run projects in the Aktobe region of Kazakhstan, but will not be limited to that source. Other producers in Kazakhstan, including American companies will be able to ship their oil to the Chinese market via this pipeline. Also there is the potential that Russian oil producers from Western Siberia, using a link from Omsk to Atasu, will be using this pipeline to carry oil to China.
Kazakhstan is seeking to expand its oil sales in all directions, and China with its insatiable thirst for energy to fuel its growing economy is one of the primary markets for Kazakh oil. Minister Shkolnik called the Chinese energy market “infinite”. Uzakbai Karabalin, President of Kazmunaigaz National Oil Company of Kazakhstan, added that “in 2003 China imported 90 million tons of oil and intends to increase imports by about 20 million tons annually.”
The construction of the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline is expected to cost US$700 million. The two state oil companies, Kazmunaigaz and CNPC are financing it in equal proportions. Four thousand and five hundred people will be involved in the construction, and more than 500 people will be needed to run it. The construction is slated to be complete on December 16, 2005, the 14th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence.
Geng Chen, President of the CNPC, said at the ceremony: “We are building not just a pipeline, but a bridge of friendship between our countries.”
Nazarbayev Streamlines Government,
Seeking Greater Efficiency
President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a decree September 29 introducing major reforms in the government structure, seeking to promote the concept of “Professional Government.” He is seeking better efficiency and less red tape.
The reforms seek to emulate government models of Asian “tiger” countries such as Singapore, which speeded up their development through deregulation and promotion of business initiatives from the bottom up.
The President’s decree gave national ministries “strategic functions of formulating state policies in their respective areas,” while committees within these ministries will have functions to implement state policies, to control and oversee.
The decree will streamline the government’s structure by abolishing two ministries and independent agencies. Their functions will be folded into the ministries and covered by creation two new ministries, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sport. The first one absorbed the agencies of emergency situations and of state material reserves. The second one absorbed the ministries of culture, of information and a sport segment of the Agency for Tourism and Sport.
A lot of the changes are aimed at improving the business orientation of the government. A case in point will be the reformatted Ministry of Industry and Trade which now has oversight of industries previously regulated by others. Seeking to promote private business initiatives, the Ministry will regulate pharmaceutical and medical industries, the production of agricultural machinery and will coordinate innovation and applied scientific research. This ministry will also oversee tourism which will be viewed more as a business and less as a social sphere activity.
New Face for Kazakh Government,
Less Red Tape and New Challenges
National priorities effectively implemented will be the focus of the government reforms announced by President Nazarbayev on September 17.
These national priorities include the implementation of the Strategy of Industrial and Innovation Development (SIID), reforms in education, healthcare and social security, expansion of housing construction and implementation of the agricultural reforms. The President noted his proposals were based on a thorough analysis of the existing system and research into international models, citing both Singapore and Finland.
In addition to reforming the central government structure, reforms in many areas will extend to the local government level. Reforms are on the way will be power sharing between national and local governments, leading to the streamlining of local executive agencies. The President called for “creating effective local administration structures as a key part of state policies.” There are 14 oblasts (administrative regions) in Kazakhstan and two cities with a special status, the current capital of Astana and the former capital of Almaty.
Cutting red tape is another priority, and the Government will continue working towards the introduction of a “one window” principle. The principle, sometimes also referred to as a one-stop shop, implies the reduction of bureaucracy and regulated types of activity. The President announced up to 42 percent of all types of regulated activities will be deregulated and gave the Government one month to come up with a critical analysis to achieve this goal. The e-Government, to be introduced within the next several years, will also go a long way towards reaching the goal of cutting bureaucracy.
Increasing the professionalism of government workers and their services, reducing administrative corruption are also part of the new reforms. The proposed measures include raising salaries and introducing more electronic forms of communication.
Finally, in his speech, the President called for more transparency in managing state run companies, including the introduction of independent boards of directors. By the end of the year, the Government will also have to settle on an issue of creating a single government holding company, based on the model of Singapore’s state holding company, Temasek Holdings.
Trial by Jury Expected Soon in Kazakhstan
Igor Rogov, Chairman of Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council, said the planned introduction of jury trials in Kazakhstan will require a great deal of painstaking preparation. Speaking at a roundtable discussion on jury trials in Astana on September 27, Chairman Rogov said “the investigative bodies and the prosecutors need to be prepared for this step first.” They will be required to “improve the quality of investigation, enhance the role of trial attorneys, and strengthen the guarantees of citizens’ rights within criminal suits.”
Chairman Rogov also believes initially jury trials should only be used in trying serious crimes punishable by either death penalty or life sentence. Kazakhstan has observed an open-ended moratorium on the death penalty since December 2003.
Mukhamedzhan Pakirdinov, a senior legal official in the presidential administration, noted the introduction of jury trials will play a “positive role in strengthening the principles of law, objectivity in evidence assessment, the independence of the court making a verdict, and will help reduce judicial mistakes and abuses.”
Mr. Pakirdinov said two new bills have already been drawn up and are being reviewed internally by the Government. The bills would introduce changes in existing legal statues allowing the introduction of jury trials and provide legal definitions and qualifications for jurors.
Minister of Justice Onalsyn Zhumabekov, who also spoke at the round table, expressed hope that these bills will be submitted to Parliament before the end of 2004.
Vinokourov Takes Bronze in World Cycling Championship
Alexander Vinokourov, Kazakhstan’s
cycling star who came third in the
Tour de France in 2003, but missed
this year’s race because of an injury,
came back in style to take the
bronze in the Elite Men’s Time
Trial at the World Cycling
Championship in Italy which takes
place this week.
During the Athens Olympics in
August, Vinokourov finished only
sixth, again because of injury, so
it was even important for him to
get back in the sport.
He came third in the individual time
trial race over the 46.75-km roller-
coaster course in Bardolino, Italy,
on September 29. He lost 1 minute
and 25 seconds to Michael Rogers of Australia who won gold at 57 minutes and 30 seconds, and 13 seconds to German cyclist Michael Rich who came away with a silver medal.
The championship finishes October 3 with what is called the Elite Men’s Road Race.
In other cycling news, Yevgeny Yakovlev of Kazakhstan won the second stage of the Tour d'Indonesia cycling race in Jakarta on September 28.
Things to Watch:
- Runoff elections will be held in 22 constituencies across Kazakhstan on October 3 following inconclusive results in the September 19 parliamentary elections. Only 45 single seat constituencies returned clear winners.
- Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city with a population of 1.5 million, celebrates its 150th birthday on October 3 with a show, a parade and a fireworks display.
- Several of Kazakhstan’s nongovernmental organizations intend to stage events across the country on October 10 to mark “World Day against Death Penalty”, calling for a complete abolition of this punishment in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has observed an open-ended moratorium on the death penalty since December 2003.
________________________________________________________________________________
News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
