NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government will increase social spending 2.9 percent by 2022, said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov Aug. 27.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.
He also outlined the main features of the proposed 2020 to 2022 national budget law, which is based on the forecast of socio-economic development until 2024.
“Social spending for 2020 is planned in the amount of 5.69 trillion tenge (US$14.69 billion), or with an increase of 303 billion tenge (US$782 million),” said Smailov.
Another priority area from 2020 is implementing President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s instructions to improve the status of teachers with expenses of 1.2 trillion tenge (US$30 billion) for three years, of which 749 billion tenge (US$1.9 million) are transferred to local budgets. Three hundred and four billion tenge (US$784 million) is additionally provided for annual indexation and increase in recipients of pensions and benefits.
The increase in spending will be reflected in the percentage of the state budget allocated to the social sector, from 44.7 percent to 47.6 percent by 2022.
Another state budget priority area will be the real sector development, for which 2.39 trillion tenge (US$616 billion) is provided, which makes 18 percent of the budget.
“To support the development of the real sector of the economy for 2020, 2.39 trillion tenge (US$616 billion) is provided. Implementation of the Nurly Zhol, Nurly Zher programmes, the development of the agro-industrial complex, State Programme of Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Development (SPAIID), the new Business Roadmap programme will continue, and the tasks of developing local roads, rural water supply, gasification and housing for youth and large families with low-income families will be ensured,” said Smailov.
Total 2020 expenditures will be 12.7 trillion (US$31 billion) tenge.
“Expenditures in 2020 are planned in the amount of 12.7 trillion tenge (US$31 billion) with an increase of 809 billion tenge (US$2 billion) by this year,” said Smailov.
The increase in social expenditure measures were accepted within the context of the budget deficit decrease.
“The share of non-oil revenues is growing steadily from 61.4 percent this year to 71.2 percent in 2022. The budget deficit is planned with a phased decrease to 1 percent of the GDP in 2020,” said Smailov.
