Public councils do not always fulfill their powers - A. Balayeva

Today Minister of Information and Social Development Aida Balayeva met with members of the Public Council of Almaty.

During the meeting the minister said that the work of public councils is constantly analyzed by the ministry, discussed with public figures themselves, and the results are published on various platforms of public authorities and civil society institutions.

"The practice of public councils allows us to say that a real institution has been created to express the opinion of civil society.

Public councils have become an important link in the formation of a "hearing State," A.Balayeva said.

So, now there are 249 public councils in Kazakhstan, including 33 at the republican, 216 at the local levels.

A.Balayeva noted that, thanks to legislative changes on the activities of public councils introduced earlier this year, a breakthrough in improving the efficiency of their work became possible. She dwelt in detail on the ongoing work of the Ministry to improve and coordinate the activities of public councils, including by-laws, methodological training seminars to explain the main provisions of legislation. Also, the minister said that together with the expert community, a National report on public councils is being developed. In addition, "to strengthen the feedback mechanisms of public councils with the population, work is underway to popularize the KAZKENES information portal," A.Balayeva said.

At the same time, during the meeting, the Minister paid attention to the fact that not everywhere and not always public councils fully fulfill the powers given to them by the legislation.

For their part, members of the Public Council of Almaty told how legislative amendments are being implemented in practice to expand the powers of public councils, difficulties in working with some local executive authorities.