Nazarbayev instructed to prevent deindustrialization of Kazakhstan's regions

Kazakhstan President instructed to prevent deindustrialization of Kazakhstan’s regions, Tengrinews.kz reports. “If import prevails (over own production) in the Customs Union, you will face deindustrialization in the country's regions. This applies to everyone and we have to watch it closely. This would indicate that our goods are not competitive, that we don’t sell, we only buy. Our companies may wither gradually. We will have to compete with the whole world. We have to build some muscles here and learn,” Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the meeting with Akims (Mayors and Governors). President pointed out the necessity to develop new industrial sectors in the regions. “Industrial-innovative breakthrough requires will and real care about the region’s future. Our Akims got used to the budgets, they only want to distribute the money and run construction projects. Akmola, Kostanay and North-Kazakhstan oblasts have attracted only $550 thousand in foreign investments over the past 3 years whereas their budgets were increased by 60-percent via transfers (from the central budget),” Nursultan Nazarbayev said. The President also raised a problem of doubling of representative offices of the ministries and authorities in the regions. “We have 44 thousand people working in the representative offices of Ministries and 36 thousand in local regional administrations. Just think about it, why? I can explain it very simply: they just can’t work in another way. The Ministries have to pursue their policies in the regions; while all you (local administrations) want is to rule because it gives you power. We need to divide the authorities: what ministries do and what oblast administrations do,” he said. By Renat Tashkinbayev