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Economic development of Kazakhstan
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Kazakh regions lag in economic developmentASTANA Like many young Kazakhs, Akzhibek Musurmankulova, 18, moved to Astana to attend the university. And like many, she has no plans to return home after school.
Musurmankulova , a freshman studying electronics and telecommunications at Eurasian National University in Astana, moved from the provincial town of Schuchinsk. Her father works for the railway, earning about KZT 45,000 (US $300) monthly, while her mother lost her job to banking-sector layoffs. Musurmankulova said her family can hardly get by. She has seen the hardships endured by her parents and the lack of opportunity in the regions. |
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In case I can't go to Almaty, I will stay in
Astana, because at least it's the capital, she said.
According to economic analysts, Astana and Almaty are weathering the economic crisis because they are the centres of political and economic power and because they receive a disproportionate share of the national budget. Zhanibek Khassan, an independent economist from Almaty, said that in 2009 Almaty and Astana received 13.6% and 11.9%, respectively, of the KZT 256 billion (US $1.7 billion) national budget. The remaining 74.5% went to 14 Kazakh regions, where the majority of the countrys population lives. That means while the government spent KZT 45,000 (US $300) and KZT 25,000 (US $167) per capita in Astana and Almaty, it spent only KZT 13,500 (US $90) per capita in the rest of the country. Spending on social programs such as healthcare, education, social security, transport, and communication differs significantly when one considers funding for the capital cities and that for the regions, Khassan said. With many jobs located in the major cities, internal migration in Kazakhstan is growing. Many are moving to Astana and Almaty to pursue those jobs, according to the nonprofit group Shanyrak-Kazakhstan. Astana grew by almost 45,000 people, up to more than 680,000 people last year, according to the Statistics Agency, said Makhambet Abjan, Shanyraks Astana representative, whereas Almatys population increased by 40,000 people and reached 1.4m. Kazakhstans population is 16.2m, according to current official data. According to Abjan, the population surge is overtaxing housing, transportation and other infrastructure sectors. According to the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning, in order to solve the problem of growth in the big cities, the government plans to build satellite cities Koshi for Astana and G4 City for Almaty. But the current economy is only part of the problem. Old habits may play a much greater role. Esen Esetgaraev, a political scientist from Karaganda State University, said the country inherited a highly centralised system of governance from the Soviet Union. That system ends up privileging the "centre", the former and current capitals. There is no sophisticated understanding of regional development in Kazakhstan, said Aidos Sarimov, a political scholar at the Altynbek Sarsenbayev Fund in Almaty. Regional development policies in Kazakhstan are not implemented according to the logic of nation-building and organic state structure creation but rather with the goal of resource redistribution and bureaucratic operation. Sarimov said the Kazakh public too often is interested only in the narrowest definition of regional governance: the identities of those taking regional governorships and other appointed positions. The president, rather than voters, names those governors. Kirill Osin from the nonprofit EcoMangistau agreed with Sarimov that the idea of regional development is immature in Kazakhstan. In his opinion, it is eventually necessary to transition to a form of self-governance in each region. The state of the regional development agenda in Kazakhstan is also faulted by economists. Efforts by the government to foster regional development come from the top down, said Tatyana Pritvorova, an economist at the Institute of Regional Development in Karaganda. "They lack a sound foundation or a focus on the economy of the region", she added. In 2006, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development defined regional disparities in Kazakhstan as a systemic problem that could halt the country's development. Kazakhstan subsequently adopted a strategy on regional development, but critics say the country implemented the strategy poorly. More recently, to try to create new jobs in the regions, the Ministry of Labour launched a programme, Dorozhnaya karta, for those who lost their jobs in the economic crisis. The program creates jobs in the infrastructure sector for the unemployed as well as offering re-training. According to the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning, in order to foster a balance between the regions and the capitals, the government is creating regional development agencies. In 2009 such agencies opened in the Akmoli and Mangistau oblasts. These centres research the oblast economy, identify needs and give the central government advice on what steps to take to improve the local economy. But at this point, there is scepticism that the central government in Astana is ready to give the regions what they need to develop. Oleg Metsik, an Astana-based economist at Turan-Profi University, said the government is likely to continue appointing bureaucrats loyal to Astana, rather than the professionals it needs to direct regional development. "There is no region (in our country) with an action model that can lead to achieving the region's goals", he said.
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Marat Makhanov maratmakhanov@mail.ru 2010 |
