The President of Kazakhstan held a final meeting of the State Commission for Emergency Situations
The final meeting of the State Commission for Emergency Situations was held under the chairmanship of the President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.
The meeting was held with participation of akims (heads) of regions and major cities, as well as heads of governmental and law enforcement agencies through a video conference.
In his speech, the President declared the termination of the state of emergency in the country, but noted that due to fact that the spread of the disease did not slow down, quarantine restrictions would be gradually lifted as the situation in each region improved.
The President announced that from May 11, 2020 a number of shops, parks, fashion salons, educational centers and other facilities would open in Kazakhstan. He noted that the work of air transportation for passengers would be resumed, but warned that strict adherence to precautions in everyday life, maintaining social distance, wearing a mask in public places should become the norm.
Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev also focused on the issues of social support in his speech. According to the President, two sets of anti-crisis measures were being implemented in the country, more than 4.5 million people were receiving financial assistance in the amount of 42,500 tenge, more than 1 million people were provided with food and household items, utility tariffs were reduced. About
2 million people have deferred their loans.
The President noted that Kazakhstan had sufficient financial reserves and the necessary resources to address employment and development challenges.
Focusing on the priorities of development during and after the crisis, the President noted that the main thing would be to save the lives and health of all Kazakhstanis, to increase incomes, to support and develop business, to improve the education and science systems.
The President stressed the importance of paying special attention to food security. At the same time, he said that affordable housing should be an important factor in economic development, employment and social support.
Mr. Tokayev instructed to implement a new project called "5-10-20" aimed to provide housing loans to solve the problems of citizens waiting in line.
In this regard, 390 billion tenge will be allocated from the anti-crisis funds.
This year, an unprecedented amount of housing will be built in the country, including 15 million square meters or 150 thousand apartments and the establishment of a "Family Bank" to support the organization, which will carry out the procedure of housing registration, queuing and distributing from a single center.
In addition, the President instructed to complete by July 1 the use of part of the citizen’s pension savings for their housing.
For the sake of social justice the President highlighted the necessity of considering the introduction of a progressive measure of personal income tax on wages and other types of income. The goal is to bring the most common and hidden method of remuneration out of the shadows. Special attention was paid to the citizens who had paid the lump sum for the first time.
The President Tokayev stressed the importance of not allowing citizens to be left alone and go into the shadows again. At the same time, it was noted that such citizens should be constantly monitored by the Government and governors.
The Head of State touched upon the issues of lending to the economy, support to the most affected industries along with small and medium-sized businesses in case of emergency. In his speech, he paid special attention to the radical changes in health care and education, which meet the new requirements.
Modernization of the public administration system was identified as an important area. “As a well-established way of working, I propose to hold various meetings of the Government, ministries, akimats remotely. Unnecessary procedures, agreements and consultations, and other time-consuming and costly measures should be eliminated. This practice is outdated. The essence of the
e-government concept needs to be reconsidered. Procedures for consultations, inquiries, applications have been fully transferred online. It is necessary to make the language of the "e-gov" system simple and understandable for the people”, - said the President.
During the meeting, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev also touched upon the issue of emergency response in Turkestan region.
In addition, the President said that the necessary measures would be taken to restore the daily life of Maktaaral district, in particular destroyed houses would be replaced by newly built ones, victims would receive compensations in the amount of 100 thousand tenge, livestock losses and flood damage to agricultural lands would be also made up. The President thanked all the citizens who were helping people living in the affected area.