Kazakh government allocates record amount for social assistance
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan increased social spending 28 percent in the first eight months of 2019 over the same period 2018, reported Ranking.kz. The country spent 2.3 trillion tenge (US$5.9 billion) on social programmes from January to August and spent 1.8 trillion tenge (US$4.6 billion) during the same months of 2018. As of August 15, 1.8…
Young runners debut at start of annual Almaty Women’s Race
NUR-SULTAN – Girls 10-14 debuted at the start line Sept. 28 of the annual Almaty Women’s Race in Atakent Park. Rima Grankina took the top spot among the 32 children in the age group, running the three-kilometre distance in 11:24. Seconds behind her were Dariya Medushenko (11:46) and Nina Gladkaya (11:51). The older participants ran…
Online document processing, soft loans, preferential lending expected to boost Kazakh domestic businesses
NUR-SULTAN – Online document processing, soft loans and preferential lending are some of the measures introduced by the government to stimulate the country’s businesses. Signing documents to subsidise and guarantee loans online started Sept. 22. Rather than the previous 40 days, processing time has been reduced to three. Since its introduction, the business process automation…
Kazakh government alters procurement processes to focus on domestic suppliers
NUR-SULTAN – Construction, IT and electronic materials for government use will only be available after a pre-selection stage, said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov on Sept. 23. The changes are designed to ensure procurement sustainability and give an edge to Kazakh domestic businesses. The amendment regarding construction materials became active…
More than 20,000 people sign petition demanding closure of Almaty Zoo
NUR-SULTAN – More than 20,000 people have signed an online petition at change.org demanding the Almaty Zoo be shut down. The petition is titled “We demand to close the zoo in Almaty. Animals are neither a thing nor a source of profit” and was launched by Batyrkhan Togaibayev. Togaibayev addressed Almaty Zoological Park officials in…
Kazakh Accounts Committee proposes reducing air, railway transportation subsidies
NUR-SULTAN – The Accounts Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the National Budget recommends reducing the subsidisation of air and railway transportation in the draft national budget for 2020-2022, said Accounts Committee Chair Natalia Godunova during the Sept. 12 presentation of the budget in the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament). The draft budget allocates 19…
Kazakh cattle genotyping company awarded with international quality certificate
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh company Genesis.KZ recently received an international quality certificate from the International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG) for using genotyping of cattle to confirm breed and breeding origin. The company had already won one of the grant programmes of the Genesis Stimulating Productive Innovation project established by the Science Committee and the World…
Young Kazakh para dancers win World Cup medals
NUR-SULTAN – Young Kazakh athletes Aknur Akzharkenova, Lestein Aslambekov, Arua Beikhari, Altynai Kazbekova and Akbota Rysbekova took the medal stand at the Sept. 12 World Para Dance Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. “I love dancing, I want to dance all the time! For me, fourth place is a very big achievement, because this is my…
100 MW capacity solar power plant launches near Kapshagai
NUR-SULTAN – ENEVERSE KUNKUAT, a subsidiary of Singapore-based companies, launched Sept. 3 a 100 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the Almaty region near the city of Kapshagai. The power plant will annually produce approximately 160 million kilowatts (KW) of electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 150,000 tonnes per year. “There is a shortage…
Ablyazov, Khrapunov cases to be sent to foreign jurisdictions, says Kazakh Prosecutor General’s Office
NUR-SULTAN – Materials from the cases of former BTA Bank Board of Directors Chairperson Mukhtar Ablyazov and former Almaty Akim (Mayor) Viktor Khrapunov will be transferred to foreign jurisdictions for prosecution, said Kazakh Deputy Prosecutor General Marat Akhmetzhanov following a Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) meeting, Zakon.kz and several news agencies reported Sept. 18. “On the two…
Kazakhstan sets 30% interest limit on short-term microloans
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh National Bank plans to limit the maximum interest rate on microloans to 30 percent, according to the recently drafted Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Kazakhstan “On establishing the limit value of remuneration under the agreement on the provision of microloans.” The limit applies to microloans issued up…
More than 2,700 young professionals have applied for Kazakhstan’s Presidential Personnel Reserve
NUR-SULTAN – More than 2,757 young professionals have sent in applications to be chosen for the Presidential Personnel Reserve, which matches Kazakhstan’s brightest early professionals with key positions in government agencies and companies. Young people in Kazakhstan that excel in innovative technologies, engineering, business, medicine, economics and culture will have the opportunity to be selected…
Kazakhstan to increase penalties for wildlife poaching, better protect state wildlife officials
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is drafting a law to more harshly punish wildlife poachers and to better protect state wildlife officials, Kazakh Deputy General Prosecutor Marat Akhmetzhanov said Sept. 11 at a Central Communications Service press conference. “Compulsory confiscation of weapons of crime, vehicles and property of poachers is introduced for poaching in all formulations. Illegal…
Kazakh draft law would toughen penalties for rape, child sexual abuse
NUR-SULTAN – A draft law is being developed to make penalties more stringent for rape and child sexual abuse, Deputy Prosecutor General Murat Akhmetzhanov said at a Sept. 11 press conference. “The draft law is being prepared to further improve the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. It includes amendments to toughen liability…
Experts predict shrinking smartphone sales will recover in Kazakhstan, globally by 2020
NUR-SULTAN – Smartphone sales declined in China, Kazakhstan and the United States in the second quarter of the year, reported Finprom.kz. Experts expect a recovery in global sales in 2020. Global smartphone shipments totalled 644 million from January-June compared to 673.9 million in the same period last year, reported the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide…
WBA restores Beibut Shumenov’s World Champion title
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh professional boxer Beibut Shumenov (18-2, 12 KOs), a multiple-time world champion in two weight classes, has regained his previous world champion standing according to the updated cruiserweight class ranking published by the World Boxing Association (WBA). He was previously considered “a champion on vacation.” Shumenov had his last fight in July 2018,…
Kazakhstan to develop New Professions Atlas
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Labour and Social Protection confirmed the decision to create a New Professions Atlas (NPA) during the Aug. 28 meeting of the National Council of Qualifications in the capital. The listing will create industry credentials and professional standards. Sayasat Nurbek, BTS Digital educational centre director, noted the company, a partner…
Kazakhstan must tighten its monetary policy, says National Bank head
NUR-SULTAN – Existing global economic trends dictate a tighter monetary policy in Kazakhstan, said Kazakh National Bank Head Erbolat Dossaev Aug. 27. He named lowering global demand and uncertainty in trade policies as factors affecting the policy. “The following factors will influence the decline in inflation rates. Lowering global demand and uncertainty in trade policies…
Kazakh Government provides compensation to thousands of nuclear weapons tests victims
NUR-SULTAN – Approximately 3,000 compensations have been paid to Kazakh nuclear test victims since the beginning of the year. They were provided by Government for Citizens, a single public service provider akin to Canada Service and Centrelink (Australia), which integrates all public service centres into one system. “Today, through the Government for Citizens state corporation,…
Kazakh Anti-Corruption Agency presents new logo, emblem
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Anti-Corruption Agency recently presented its new logo and emblem in the capital. The agency sought to create a logo that was “simple, adaptable, universal and easily recognisable.” “We are used to the fact that all external communication products of government agencies are no different from each other. Usually, these products include…
Kazakh government to increase social spending 2.9 percent by 2022
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. 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…
Central Election Commission investigation finds no data leaks, Ministry of Internal Affairs continues check
NUR-SULTAN – The Central Election Commission (CEC) investigation did not find any evidence of possible data leaks in posting on foreign servers, said the Centre for Analysis and Investigation of Cyber Attacks in an Aug. 9 release. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will continue checking. “The Central Election Commission conducted an official investigation into the…
Almaty Emergency Department manages mudflow alarm in Nauryzbay district
NUR-SULTAN – Early-season preparation helped Almaty’s Nauryzbay District emergency officials respond to and avert an August mudflow. The mudflow risk was in the Nauryzbay District, near the Kargalinka River. This risk occurred because the water level in the lake located in the district drastically increased, and the dam could have broken down. The district residents…
Kazakh musician is youngest graduate of Italy’s oldest academy
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh composer and pianist Rakhat-Bi Abdysagin recently completed the doctoral programme at Santa Cecilia Academy, Rome. He is among the institution’s five best musicians of 2017 and the youngest graduate of the nation’s oldest musical academy. For the final exam, Abdysagin presented his work “Ombre del Vuoto” (Shadows of the Void), written for…
Kazakhstan leads among CIS countries in attracting international development bank loans
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan led among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries in attracting project funding from international development banks in April-June, reports Finprom.kz. With 24.9 percent, Kazakhstan exhibited the largest share of approved investment project funding among CIS countries. Eight projects worth $257.7 million were approved for funding in the country in the second…
