Olzhas Bektenov instructed akimats to improve the quality of life of villagers: schools, hospitals and access to water

Olzhas Bektenov instructed akimats to improve the quality of life of villagers: schools, hospitals and access to water

The issue of rural development was considered at a Government meeting chaired by Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov.

Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of National Economy Nurlan Baybazarov reported on the current state of rural development. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, today there are 6,256 rural settlements in the republic, in which 7.6 million inhabitants live, or 38.4% of the total population in the republic.

In 2019-2023, 5.4 thousand projects were implemented in 1.8 thousand rural settlements in the amount of 524 billion tenge within the framework of the Auyl-El Besigi project. 85 primary health care facilities were also built, 1.8 thousand units of medical equipment worth 10.5 billion tenge were purchased, 120 fire stations were created. 176 villages are connected to the Internet using Wi-Fi HotSpot technology. As part of the project "With a diploma to the village", the size of the budget loan has been increased from 1.5 thousand to 2.5 thousand MCI to attract specialists.

Akims of Turkestan region Darkhan Satybaldy, Almaty region Marat Sultangazin, Abai region Nurlan Urankhaev also made reports on rural development.

The Head of Government noted that every citizen of Kazakhstan wants to live in comfortable conditions and a well-maintained environment. The Prime Minister set the task for akimats to improve the quality of life of villagers in accordance with the System of regional standards. It includes a specific list of facilities and services that should be available in each locality. 

"We are gradually reducing the gap between the city and the countryside. And the key factor in this is the availability of certain standards of living and access to services in the villages, as well as good roads, medicine and education. Schools and medical institutions are the most important facilities in the village. They need to be maintained and repaired," Olzhas Bektenov said.

At the same time, the Prime Minister instructed to link the standards systems with other policy documents, including national projects.

The emergency condition of schools and the unsuitability of the premises of health institutions forces residents of some villages to travel to other localities to receive medical and educational services.

"The villages have problems with the quality of drinking water, roads and the stability of electricity, mobile communications and Internet access. There are thousands of complaints about these issues. As a result, there is an outflow of the rural population. It is necessary to intensify work on the development of social, engineering and transport infrastructure, especially in the border areas," Olzhas Bektenov said.

In order to solve these tasks in stages, the Government will continue to work on transferring certain types of taxes and payments to the budget of rural districts.

At the same time, Olzhas Bektenov noted the importance of attracting business entities to the implementation of infrastructure projects. A positive example was noted in a number of regions. So, last year, a large school was built in the village of Shubarsu in the Turkestan region by an entrepreneur in his native village. A kindergarten has been built with private funds in the village of Karaotkel, Akmola region.

"Entrepreneurs provide support in housing construction, road repairs, street improvement, and organization of public spaces. There are enough such good examples all over the country. Akimats should step up efforts to attract business to the development of their native villages," the Prime Minister stressed.

The Head of Government paid special attention to the personnel issue in the villages. Akimats have been instructed to solve the issue of their shortage. To do this, it is necessary to provide support to incoming specialists, especially young ones, including within the framework of the project "With a diploma in the village".

Following the consideration of the issue, Olzhas Bektenov gave a number of specific instructions on the implementation of measures for the Concept of Rural Development:

  • to develop the infrastructure of rural settlements based on the priority of projects and ensuring equal access of villagers to basic services;
  • to work out the issue of expanding the revenue base of akimats of rural districts to improve the efficiency of solving life support issues in rural areas;
  • to identify specific indicators to assess the work of akimats to attract extra-budgetary funds for the implementation of infrastructure projects in rural areas.