ASTANA – The deputies of the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Parliament, have begun to discuss a draft law on payments for children from the National Fund on May 24.
Photo credit: UNICEF.
According to State Counselor Erlan Karin, this fund will allow young people, who have reached the age of majority (18 years), to improve their living conditions or receive education at the expense of the national fund.
“The draft law has been developed to launch the project from Jan. 1 next year,” Karin wrote on his Telegram channel on May 24.
According to Karin, this is one of the key initiatives within the ambitious reform program announced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his state-of-the-nation address in September last year.
“This crucial social initiative of the President will be formalized at the legal level, and the assets of the national fund will begin to serve the interests of the people,” said Karin.
Deputy Finance Minister Dauren Temirbekov said in February that approximately $150-160 will be paid annually to a child from the national fund. They will be able to use the payments only when they turn 18.
The new initiative envisions allocating 50% of the National Fund’s annual investment income to support children. The National Fund was created in Kazakhstan in 2001, modeled on Norway’s oil fund, to accumulate the country’s massive oil revenues.
