Statement by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the State Commission meeting on the State of Emergency
Dear colleagues!
Currently we are all experiencing a difficult situation.
In this regard, the authorities have agreat responsibility. This should not be forgotten.
We must fulfill this duty with honour.
We have received information about the work undertaken by the Government, the National Bank and other bodies.
Now we mustconsider other measures aimed at maintaining stability in the country.
First. Strengthening work to counteract the spread ofCoronavirus.
As all of you know, the global infection is rapidly gaining momentum.
More than300,000 peoplehave contracted this virus worldwide.
The rate of infection is not slowing down.
The countries of the world are struggling significantly with this disease.
As permy instructions, a state of emergency has been declared in our country.
Quarantine modes have been introduced in the capital and Almaty.
I believe that these are timely measures.
The largest number of new casesthroughoutthe world are currently registered in countries where strict quarantine measures were introducedtoolate.
To prevent theavalanche-likespread of the infection, it is necessary totighten isolation measures.
Taking into account the constant flow of newinformation, and the negative and positive experiences of other countries, we should continue to prepare ourmedical system for any potential scenario.
To relax and say that we have done everything possible is not an option.
It is important to ensurethe complete isolation of the quarantine zonein the capital and Almaty, and toprevent the possibility of entrance into the citieson foot. In the near future, it is necessary to determine the need to close other large locations.
There is a need to imposepenalties for the violation of the requirementsfor persons placed under quarantine.
To ensure the safety of citizens, my decreelimits the activities of mass crowds, and it is forbidden to conduct various events. However, I see that restrictionsareoften violated.
Since March 16 this year, there have been18 instances of violations of the state of emergency, including in the regions of Akmola, Atyrau, East Kazakhstan, Karagandy, Kostanay, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan and Turkistan.
Administrative penalties were imposed on the offenders in the form of a warning or a fine.
It is time to move to morestringent measures, as well as to widely publicise these in the media for preventive purposes.
Current experience is showing that the greatest burdenon the medical system is exerted by people from the so-called “risk group”. These arepeople over 55 years of age, who have pre-existing health problems and those with chronic diseases.
It is necessary topreventthem from going to work as much as possible, and provide ahome isolationmodel.
The time has come totemporarily close all public service centres, while ensuring the ability to receive all services online.
The requirements for thesanitary treatment of those public facilitieswhere access is maintained must be strictly observed. There should not be any “savings” and “optimisations” here.
The State Commissionshould also determine the procedure for involving theArmed Forces in the disinfection of streetsin Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent and other large cities.
Governors’ offices have communal equipment, which also need to be repurposed for disinfection.
Priority should be given to thedisinfection of markets and surrounding areas.
Unfortunately, the time has also come to introduceadditional restrictions on air, rail and road passenger transportationwithin the country.
All persons arriving by any type of transport from abroad must bequarantined, including from the EAEU countries.
It is important to tighten controls on arrivingcharter flights.
It is necessary to develop and communicate to all citizens and businesses theprocedurefor the period of emergency and quarantine.
It is necessary to clarify to people thenew working environment of medical institutions: when to call doctors, how will work on other illnesses be conducted, who should be tested for coronavirus and at whose expense, who needs to be isolated, and how the isolation will be carried out.
The answers to these questions are still unknown to the vast majority of Kazakhstan’s citizens.
It is necessary to createone document - a memo, understandable to any person, and which communicates its key points to everyone.
The Ministry of Healthneeds to constantly monitor the readiness of our medical facilities and its staff. The availability of medical drugs should be studied taking into account the various scenarios for the development of the pandemic, including the most pessimistic ones.
Under the restrictive conditions, it is necessary that citizens do not feel isolated from the state.
All youth are now staying at home.TheMinistries ofEducation,Culture andSportsneed to consider the remote organisation of their creative activities; conducting online competitions, lectures and other learning events.
Particular attention should be paid to the organisation ofsystemic distance education, and retraining courses.
Second. Ensuring public safety during the state of emergency.
We cannot allow anincrease incriminal offenses.In particular, theft, robbery, looting, and noncompliance with the legitimate requirements of the authorities.
In the current situation,criminal elementsmay become active.
In this regard, it is necessary to strengthen measures aroundpatrolling public spaces, increasing lighting and equipping officialswith video surveillance.
It is necessary tomobilise the entire police force, and, if necessary, redistribute other forces.
I also ask you to make suggestions on including the Army and the National Guard for this work.
The Prosecutor General’s Office and the Supreme Courtshould urgently develop a processto ensure the rule of law and the fight against crime, and the administration of justice in a state of emergency.
It is clear that sometimes the loss of income can push people to commit crimes. But this is in no way an excuse.
At the same time, it is necessary to establish measuresfor the prevention of offenses with vulnerablegroups, as well as intensify the activities of local police inspectors, and if possible, involve cooperatives of apartment owners.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of trade, tourism and publiccateringare in the high-risk zone.
These sectors employ over1.6 million workers.
The introduction of quarantine measures in Almaty caused an outflow of youth to the regions. According to media reports, more than102,000 people, and 15,000 carsleft the southern capital on March 19 and 20. These are students, workers in the fields of markets, service industry organisations, and trade.
Unemployed youth must bemobilised and involvedin ongoing flood control measures, spring sowing, construction and other work with appropriate pay.
This can be arranged as part of theEmployment RoadmapProgramme.
Amid a pandemic,interethnic relationsreceed into the background. But this is only a deceptive perception.
Given the start of the spring sowing season, conflicts are possible due toland issues,along withthe separation and use of irrigation water. Please inform me about any potential issues immediately.
The National Security Committee, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Ministry of Information and Public Developmentneed to ensure themonitoring of the public mood and social networks.
In crisis conditions, every working enterprise, andevery workplace is especially significant.
Today, there are situations where fiscal authoritiesparalyse the work of entrepreneursfor minor violations.
For example, accounts and accounting documents are seized when deadlines for the provision of tax reporting are not met.
Frequently, businesses continue to be unreasonably drawn into therealmsof criminal prosecution.
I instruct to revise the methods of work with a focus on prevention,eliminating any instancesof pressure on entrepreneurs from the authorities and fiscal authorities during the crisis.
Currentlylocal officials and police are “crushed” by inspections, they are afraid to take responsibility and make decisions.
I instruct to review thepriorities in the work of the anti-corruption servicefor the period of the emergency, focusing on prevention.
Another major issue is ensuringinformation security. It is important to prevent panic among the population and the destabilisation of public order.
In emergency situations, special control should be taken tocurb rumoursand provocative information. Any attempts to disseminate such information should be strictly prevented; authors should be identified and punished.
It should be explained to the population that one cannot blindly trust all information, one should not allow provocateurs and frankly senseless people to manipulate the trust of our citizens.
Given the changing situation and the growth in the number of cases, I instruct to ensureunified coordination and centralisation of the work of the media.
According to the new process, all information from government agencies on the coronavirus should flow through a single Ministry of Information and Public Development information centre.
The Minister of Information and Public Developmentwill give daily briefings starting fromMarch 23rd.
As part of this information work, it is necessary to effectively useall available digital resources.
A special website has been created -coronavirus2020.kz, through which it is necessary to inform Kazakhstan citizens about the situation and the measures we are taking.
It should be an official online source of verified and reliable information. We need to actively promote this platform among citizens.
Under the Ministry of Health, there is anOperations Centre for Monitoring and Accounting COVID-19, which I visited on March 21. It should ensure an uninterrupted and efficient operation.
Our citizens are on the frontline today -doctors, police, and other specialistswho do not rest on weekends, rarely see their families, and put themselves at great risk. But, despite this, they continue tofulfil their civic and official duty.
I sincerely thank you.
I instruct the Government and governors’ offices to findadditional fundsand ensure the payment of a bonus in the amount ofone monthly salaryto doctors, police officers and other specialists involved in the fight against coronavirus.
Third. Ensuring social stabilityacrossthe country.
We will have totake drastic measuresduring the state of emergency to ensure the well-being of our citizens.
We have all the resources -the state budget, the National Fund. These need to be used correctly.
Kazakhstan’s citizens need to be informedof this. Most people in stressful situations are afraid because ofthe unknown.
As soon as possible,people should get a clear understanding of how they will be helped in this difficult moment.
Any delay willgenerate rumours, uncertainty, protest and panic.
Anti-crisis measures of the Government and governors should be developed as soon as possible.
Their key points should be conveyed to citizens in asimple and understandable manner.
Under the current conditions, many people have lost sources of income, with their wages in decline. Many of Kazakhstan’s families have virtually no “safety net”.
Therefore, I instruct the State Commission to work out a set of measures withintwo days. These including in the following areas.
Firstly, for the period of the state of emergency, in addition to the already adopted ban on the calculation of fines and penalties, thepayment of principal and interest on all loans of the population affected by the crisis should be suspended.
I expect full understanding and civic solidarity from banks.
Against abackdrop of adeterioratingsituation regarding personal finances, many citizens are forced to apply for unsecured loans fromnon-banking organisations- pawnshops, online lenders, and microfinance organisations.
Therefore, it is critical toclean up the sector.
Cheating citizens is unacceptable.
I instruct theAgency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Markets, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Information and Public Developmentto carry out a large-scale operation to verify compliance with the law and to punish violators by raising awareness widely in the media and social networks.
This is necessary so that Kazakhstan’s citizens who are at risk know that theirrights will be firmly protectedby the state.
Secondly, during the quarantine period in Almaty alone, the number of business employeesdecreased by 266,000 people. A similar situation is observed for individual entrepreneurs,80%of whom have suspended their activities.
Thus, according to preliminary calculations, the current situation has negatively affected the financial conditions ofapproximately 500,000 citizens.
Therefore, duringthe period of thestate of emergency, I instruct theinitiation ofmonthly paymentsto people who have lost income due to the state of emergency, tothe amount ofone monthly salary(42,500 tenge).
In total,at least 1.5 millionof our fellow citizens can count on this assistance.
If necessary, we havethe reserves to increase this amount, as well as coverage and expansion of types of support.
I instructthe State Commissionto develop an effective and transparent payment mechanism.
Selectionof recipients will be determined byspecially created regional headquarters with the participation of the public and the National Entrepreneurs Chamber“Atameken”.
At the same time, businesses, including SMEs, must also take measures to preserve jobs and not dismiss employees.
This iscriticalfor our people. Knowledge that there is security in employment will help our citizens to endure the hardships of this current period.
I instruct the State Commission, together with the National Entrepreneurs Chamber“Atameken”, to formulate aset of measures to support employers, especially SMEs.
In addition, the regular provision offree groceries to large families, people with disabilities, and other socially vulnerable groupsshould begin. This should consist primarily of domestic products.
Thirdly, unfortunately, we are faced with situations whereunscrupulous people have decided to take advantage of a difficult situation and cash in on the population. Relevant authorities are identifying and preventing such attempts. This is the right thing to do. As the French say, “À la guerre comme à la guerre” – At war as at war.
To systematise this work, it is necessary to approve alist of socially significant goods, according to which we will introducestate regulation of prices.
In all regions and cities, we haveenough food and basic necessities.
At the same time, each governor of the region needs to establish areal accountof the availability of goods of primary demand. Aninformal approach is unacceptable here.
It is necessary to work with both businesses and the public to preventpanic-buyingof essential goods.
Governors should communicatebetweenthemselves to controlinterregional flowsof goods and eliminatelocal deficits.
Together with the Government, it is necessary to ensure theavailability of sufficient reservesof goods, establish mechanisms for their delivery to the shelves, strictly control prices and exclude speculation.
Fourthly, in connection with the introduction of quarantine measures, we have called on the population to stay at home.
Remote working encourages people to more actively usemobile technology.
In this regard, for the period of a state of emergency, I instruct theexpansion ofaccess to mobile communications and theinternet, especially to educational resources, social networks and instant messengers.
During this emergency period, even in case ofarrears, the provision of communication servicesshould be continued. Access to all Kazakhstan’sinternet resources should befree.
Earlier, I gave instructions to reduce the payment ofutility billsduring the quarantine period. Almaty promptly responded and made appropriate decisions.
Now the State Commission should work outsystemic country-wide measures.
Overall, the Kazakhstan’s people are waiting for these measures from us. Today, I instruct citizens to familiarise themselves with my instructions and immediately begin to implement them.
Fourth. Support for the national economy.
We are witnessing a "perfect storm." The pandemic, the battle between the oil superpowers and the record drop in stock indices have beenimposed on an already imbalanced global economic system.
In such circumstances, we must provideanadequate economic response, rely on healthy, competitive entrepreneurship, help it survive and become stronger.
It is important to quickly identify those sectors of the economy that aremosteffectedby the state of emergency, thus experiencing reduced demand from the population, and implementa series of measuresto support them.
One of the effective mechanisms to support these sectors will be thesuspension of payments of principal and interest on all loansof small and medium-sized businesses affected by the current situation.
I also instruct to develop a set of measures fortax stimulation of business activity and ensurinprice stability.
I consider it necessary to provide SMEs adeferral of payment of all types of taxes and other obligatory paymentsfor a period of three months, without charging fines and penalties.
It is also necessary to consider the need totemporarily reduce VATon agricultural products and food products, zeroing customs duties on critical imports, and so on.
This task should take no more than one week.
Maintaining employmentis crucial. Within the framework of theindividual anti-crisis plansfor work with large enterprises formed by the Government,measures are required to preserve jobs and stable wages. We will use these measures as the situation develops.
I instruct the Government, local executive bodies and quasi-public sectorentities to suspend theaccrual of rental paymentsfor their property from SMEs from March 20 this year for a period of three months.
Local executive bodiesshould jointly consider the possibility of exemptingcommercial propertyfrom rent. Governors have all the tools to achieve this.
As experience of past years has shown, during an unstable economic situation, it is necessary to prevent a “crisis of non-payments”.
The Ministry of Financeis obliged to tighten control over the implementation by state bodies of contractual obligations in the framework of public procurement.
All payments for rendered services and worksmust be made within 5 days. Tightening demand for additional securities should be excluded.
State bodies and quasi-state-owned companies should notlevy penaltiesand include a supplier inthe register of unreliable suppliers, if the failure to fulfil the contract is connected with the current challenging economic situation.
It is required to rapidlycreate aregister of domestic producersand introduce aspecial regime of public procurement, providing for the abolition of the need to make a security deposit or a bank guarantee.
I have signed the corresponding decree, and I awaitconcrete actionsfrom the Government.
The regional headquarters should constantlymonitor local large producers, and carry outindividual work to support them, including through the allocation ofworking capital at a preferential interest rate, the provision of spaces on supermarket shelves and other measures.
I have instructed to increase funding for theEconomy of Simple Things programme to 1 trillion tenge.
These are significant funds, provided at an affordable rate of6%per annum. They can be used primarily forinvestment purposes.
In addition to this, I have decided to provide an additional600 billion tengefor lending to small and medium-sized businesses forworking capitalat8% per annum.
The special programme “Employment Roadmap” will be another tool to maintain business activity and employment. This tool performed well during previous crises.
I have already instructed the financing of it at alevel ofnot less than 300 billion tenge.
Based on the incoming applications from the regions, we have reserves to increase it to1 trillion tenge. This will create250,000jobs and help us to realize not only local projects, but also a number ofcountry-wide ones, including the construction of reservoirs, dams and other structures.
The National Bank should assist the Government in financing this initiative.
Furthermore, it is currently extremely important to achievestabilisation of the tenge exchange rate.
To this end, I entrust the National Bank, the Government and the management of quasi-state companies to ensure themandatory saleby companies operating in the quasi-state sector of aportion of their export earningsin the country’s foreign exchange market.
Also, taking into account the existing obligations, I instruct you to draw up a schedule for thephased return of foreign currencydepositsof quasi-state-owned companies to the financial system of Kazakhstan.
I believe that national companies should pay dividends to the state for last year in the amount of up to100 percentof net income.
Fifth. Transition to a new model of managerial decision making.
The entire state apparatus will have to quickly rebuild, and move away from typical work.
Governance in such a difficult situation should beradically transformed, it is necessary to take responsibility and make strong, bold, effective decisions.
For my part, I have already signed a number ofanti-crisisdecrees, which provide the public administration system with the right to make operational decisions to deal with the consequences of the crisis.
Thus, government agencies have every opportunity toresolve any issues that arise- in the budget process, price regulation, government procurement, the provision of benefits, etc.
I want to convey to each member of the Government and every governor - the time has come towork in adifferent mode.
Those who do not understand the acuteness of the current moment, and try to act in the old fashioned way with amentality of “no matter what happens”,shouldaccept new modes.
Otherwise, we will not win this battle.
It is important to ensure thecoordination of the activitiesof state bodies, including when covering the activities andwork of the State Commission.
I instruct thePrime Ministerto take control of this situation.
* * *
This crisis will serve as a shake-up for the state apparatus and domestic business. Theselessons must be kept in mind.
Therefore, in addition to operational measures, we have to develop and adoptsystemic approaches with a view to life after the stabilisation of the situation.
In fact, we areon the verge of a completely new world, in which Kazakhstan has to find its rightful place.
I want to emphasize that despite the complexity of the situation,it is far from catastrophic.
We have all the capabilities and reserves.
The key is that we started to prepare in time for the most unfavourable scenario and that we understand what needs to be done.
The total package of anti-crisis measures,excludingtax preferences and support at the local level, will amount to4.4 trillion tengeor10 billion dollars.
By properly utilising these funds, we will no doubt emerge victorious in the fight against the crisis.
Dear colleagues!
In such a situation,all state bodiesmust conduct jointly intensive work.
This is the time when ourunity and cohesion will be tested.
Each crisis has two sides. Of course, it is dangerous, but on the other hand, it is an opportunity.
Epidemics and crises are a passing phenomenon.
Our goal is to use the opportunity to the maximum, comeout of this crisis without losses, and become even stronger.
If each of us fulfills our duty with responsibility, I believe that we will quickly come out of this difficult situation!
I wish you success in your work!
I wish our country health and peace!