“We’re not afraid of criticism”: Kazakh PM defends crackdown on welfare fraud

Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov stated that the government is ready to face criticism as it tightens control over social welfare distribution, particularly in cases of unjustified benefits and dependency.

Speaking at a government briefing, Bektenov stressed that recent months have seen a rise in abuse of state support mechanisms.

“We’re seeing cases of social dependency and fraud. There’s a whole industry around this. Online you can find ads offering help to ‘maximize your government payouts’ for various reasons. We are investigating each case individually and will be putting an end to these schemes,” he said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that social assistance should go only to those genuinely in need.

“This is a firm principle: if a person is capable of working, they must work. We live in a market economy and need to speak honestly about this with the public,” Bektenov said.

When asked whether the government is prepared for backlash from large families potentially affected by these policies, Bektenov was firm:

“We are prepared. We must not fear criticism. We need to explain things clearly and honestly. Just like I’m explaining now: you would agree that a high-income family should not receive the same support as a low-income one. That’s the principle we’ll follow. We are not afraid of criticism or condemnation. Our job is to make the right decisions - even if they’re unpopular.”