In his speech, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that during the event, the results of the first half of the year will be summed up and tasks for the upcoming period will be defined.
- Despite the pandemic and restrictive measures, the country's economy grew by 2.2% in the first half of the year. This is a good indicator. Last year, due to the pandemic, GDP fell by 2.6 %. We must restore it as soon as possible. The recovery of the global economy, coupled with the anti-crisis measures taken and the reduction of quarantine restrictions, contributed to the recovery of business activity. Our task is to increase the pace of economic growth in the second half of the year, " the President said.
According to the Head of State, the endless waves of new strains indicate that the coronavirus has firmly entered our lives. It is necessary to adapt and learn to live in such conditions. The urgent task is to minimize the appearance of large foci of infection and prevent overloading of the healthcare system.
– The main emphasis should be placed on reducing severe cases and mortality, as well as on the treatment of complex patients. Fundamentally different approaches in the fight against coronavirus concern not only medical aspects, but also restrictive measures against business. It is necessary to reformat the work of monitoring groups and actively use digital solutions, such as the Ashyq system. The timing of vaccination of employees of small and medium-sized businesses should be realistic, without signs of campaigning, " Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The President called the cases of falsification of vaccination documents very dangerous for society and called on law enforcement agencies to pay special attention to this issue. According to him, citizens should first of all think about their health and the health of their loved ones, make informed decisions.
– Do not believe the rumors and stories of anti-vaxers. We must continue the vaccination campaign. And in some areas, vaccination should become mandatory. There is a constitutional and legislative framework for this. Actually, this is the duty of every person to his compatriots, " the Head of State said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev demanded to expand the range of available vaccines for citizens, including internationally recognized ones.
- Last year I gave the corresponding instruction. Nevertheless, the supply of Pfizer vaccines allocated by the company for Kazakhstan was disrupted. I can say that in accordance with the agreements, Pfizer planned to deliver 2 million doses to Kazakhstan in May this year. The government attributes the disruption of the drug supply to a number of requirements that were put forward by Pfizer. However, these conditions are standard for all countries that purchase the vaccine. Recently, a new proposal was received, which contains the entire algorithm of actions. They say that it is necessary for the Head of State to sign a corresponding decree. If there is a need for this, I am ready to do it. I instruct the Government and the Presidential Administration to look into the current situation and take measures against officials who allow the disruption of the supply of this necessary drug to our market. In the end, we must give our citizens the opportunity to get vaccinated with what they want. The problem of the availability of Pfizer's vaccine must be solved as soon as possible, " the President noted.
The Head of State pointed out that the pandemic had a negative impact on the quality of education. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the shortcomings made in the last academic year, and not to fall behind in the new academic year.
– The only way out is to switch to the previous training format. I instruct the Government to ensure the return of students to the traditional format of education in the new academic year. It is clear that in the conditions of the emergence of new strains of coronavirus, this task is not easy to perform. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an integrated approach that will ensure the maximum protection of students and teachers, " Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The President believes that against the background of the anti-crisis measures taken, such as unprecedented fiscal injections and a soft monetary policy, the inflation rate has accelerated. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, world food prices have risen by 40 % – this is the highest figure in a decade. In such conditions, inflation in the country for the first six months amounted to 7.9 %. The most acute problem was the rise in the price of food. The pandemic has exposed the country's vulnerability in terms of food security.
- The criticism of the inability of the domestic agricultural sector to provide the domestic market with basic products is absolutely fair. In addition to production costs, the key factors of pricing are seasonality and opaque intermediary schemes. The seasonality of deliveries, as follows from the term itself, is absolutely expected, predictable, and therefore manageable. The solution to this issue lies in the creation of a modern and affordable storage infrastructure for products until the next season. Instructions for the construction and modernization of vegetable storages were given more than once. But the situation is not changing for the better. This problem should be solved systematically. I instruct the Government, together with the akims, to develop a plan for the construction and modernization of vegetable storage facilities. Direct part of the money from our numerous support programs for these purposes, " the Head of State said.
The Government, together with NCE "Atameken", was instructed to assess the effectiveness of existing instruments for restraining prices for socially important food products and propose a package of new, more effective measures. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called an important and unacceptable problem the presence of excessive and opaque intermediaries who "break" the market for themselves, receive excess profits at the expense of producers and consumers. In his opinion, it is necessary to create commissions to investigate such intermediary schemes in the regions.
Another issue of concern is the provision of feed. The situation has worsened due to adverse weather conditions and ineffective forecasting. Only in the Mangystau region, the number of dead cattle reached 3 thousand.
- The akimats and the Ministry of Agriculture did not make the right decisions. No clear and systematic work was carried out. As a result, farmers found themselves in a difficult situation. There are no specific actions and feedback. Therefore, the farmers turned to me directly for help. Of course, drought is a natural phenomenon. I understand this perfectly well. But this is only one side of the question. First of all, in such a difficult time, the relevant ministry had to make prompt and responsible decisions. However, the Ministry failed to organize its work effectively. Therefore, I think it is right that Minister Saparkhan Omarov, as a person personally responsible for the situation in the industry, should resign, " the President said.
The government and akims, together with the Baiterek Holding, were instructed to urgently develop a set of measures to support the affected farmers.
The Head of State noted that the growth of real and nominal incomes of the population has decreased, and changes in the types of income are unsatisfactory. The President said that despite the increase in social transfers, such as pensions, allowances and scholarships, labor incomes continue to decline. Urgent and large-scale measures should be taken in this direction. This will increase labor income and business income, reduce the scale of the shadow economy.
- Special attention should be paid to the situation in rural areas. On my instructions, a pilot project has been implemented in Zhambyl region to increase the income of the rural population. The result is not bad –the production of agricultural products has doubled, the number of livestock-by 24 %. The number of unemployed, recipients of targeted social assistance, and unregistered self-employed has decreased. The government should consider the possibility of expanding this project – " Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
According to the President, the quality of road repairs causes fair complaints. This is especially true for toll roads.
- The recent protests of "truckers" and carriers are proof of this. The introduction of toll roads is the right decision, corresponding to global practice. It is impossible to build roads only at the expense of the budget in such a huge country. In addition, Kazakhstan should earn money on transit. But for this, it is important to ensure the high quality of such roads and excellent roadside service. Businesses and citizens should understand and, as they say, "feel" the new quality of road infrastructure. I ask the Government to keep this issue under special control – " the Head of State said.
The President instructed the Ministry of Energy and the Samruk-Kazyna Fund, in particular Kazmunaygas, to strictly control the situation with oil refineries that affect the fuel market. Also, the Government, together with the Fund, was instructed to take measures to punish those responsible for the situation with the unplanned shutdown of the Atyrau refinery. The Financial Monitoring Agency and the Accounts Committee should start checking Kazakhstan's refineries for the presence of "gray schemes" related to money laundering and report on its results in the first decade of September.
In conclusion, the Head of State spoke about the quality of the work of the state apparatus. Civil servants should mobilize at this critical moment for our state, show initiative, diligence and ability, the desire to make much-needed operational decisions.
https://akorda.kz/ru/glava-gosudarstva-provel-rasshirennoe-zasedanie-pravitelstva-respubliki-kazahstan-1065149