At the fourth session of two Parliament chambers, fourth convocation, attended by the PM, leaders of the President Administration, ministries, departments, national companies and holdings and media President Nursultan Nazarbayev formulated short-term priories in the country’s development and their solutions, legislative including.

Platform for sustainable development

In his address to the session the President tallied up the Parliament’s work and set the tasks in the season ahead. He noted a better quality of lawmaking, citing figures: 148 laws adopted within the third session and over 340 bills in all the three preceding sessions. The national legal basis was fortified by the laws aimed at reform of the enforcement bodies and fighting crime and corruption.

-Regulations on financial and economic relations, budget and tariff policies, taxes have been improved, stimulation of energy saving and rational use of water resources – legal-framed. A big block of new legislation was adopted to support certain population layers and ensure a guaranteed medical assistance volume.

The Parliament has ratified over 35 international instruments, signed by Kazakhstan, legal framework for the Customs union of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus was formed, a single Customs code and other bills for it were adopted.

The President thanked MPs for constructive work at these momentous documents, boosting our market and enabling implementation of the industrial program. The commodities we are going to produce should have a big market, and we are building it, the President emphasized.

He also referred to an effective anti-crisis program and timely adopted laws that put Kazakhstan laws onto the trajectory of growth. As of 2010 first quarter GDP went up by more than 8%, industrial production – by 11%, agro-production –by over 3%, the growth in the processing industry made 18,3%, in mining -6,3%.

-Positive dynamics is traceable in engineering, chemical and food industries, consumer demand upped in this year. Retail trade volumes rose by 13,1%. Small and average businesses boosted production by 6,1%. The country’s international reserves surpass USD 53bn, which is by USD 5,7bn more than in the year-start.

The banking system is stabilizing, debts are restructured, of BTA –bank including, and our banks will credit business, the President hopes.

-To support the agro-industrial complex the Republic budget allocated 220bn tenge, twice the sum of the preceding year. For spring sowing and harvesting works alone 96bn tenge has been spent.

-We were facing challenges too. The drought has ruined part of the grain crops in West-Kazakhstan and Aktyubinsk oblasts, but there is no ground for anxiety, the President assured. – We have enough grain in the country and the state will be sustaining internal prices on bread and flour.

Another challenge to the state was deceived equity construction holders – over 45,5 thousand of them have been bailed out by the state, construction of 353 objects was finalized and their invested means, pocketed by the unscrupulous developers must be returned to them.

Under the world crisis conditions the state has fully met its social commitments. In 2008-2010 pensions and wages to budget employees were raised on average by 62%. In this year Strategic plan for the country’s development up to the year 2020 was adopted, the state program for accelerated industrial-innovative development was endorsed, and on the Industrialization map 72 new productions were launched taking up in total 381bn tenge, another 72 are due by this year-end. Over 25 thousand jobs are opening.

Kazakhstan’s integration into the international economic space has entered a qualitatively new plane. The Customs union of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus was launched on 1 January, thanks to which the market potential to Kazakhstan producers went up more than 10 times, involving nearly 170 million people, which is stimulative to diversification of our economy.

A lot of work accomplished and a lot more is ahead

-We have coped with the global crisis wave, - the President went on, but it’s no ground for complacency. The situation in the world economy remains uncertain. There’s no full recovery from the crisis yet, and experts are talking of a possible second wave.

We must be ready, therefore, for different scenarios and economize the budget means, allocated for development programs. State expenditures should be curtailed where possible, we need to create reserves, improve the business climate and develop state-private partnership.

N.Nazarbayev focused on five priority tasks in lawmaking: first – bills on licensing system improvement, competences of the state bodies need urgent handling. Administrative load on business needs be reduced, with licensing procedures facilitated. Bills on the activity of banks and financial organizations want amendments and extension in the part of risks’ minimizing.

Second – draft on the industrial policy wants consideration, amended laws on science, on state regulation of production and certain petrochemical products’ turnover, on special economic zones. Legal framework on farming partnerships, on electric power organizations has to be improved. Law on project financing and state-private partnership is important. These need be submitted to Majilis by this year-end, the President bade.

Third – the bill on the New International University status is soon to be in Parliament, and the draft on corporate management of state healthcare facilities to enhance the state control over them and to better protect the patients’ rights.

Drafts on the population’s migration and draft amendments to the legislation on the citizens’ registration at place of residence go next.

The fourth task, as formulated by the President concerns improvements in the law-enforcement and judicial systems, pursuant to humanization and decriminalization of the penal policy.

The President issued the task to form a reliable shield against raid and to legally protect business against the pressure of inspecting structures. A big legislative block is related to crime prevention and ex-convicts’ social adaptation and rehabilitation.

Fifth -intellectual property rights should be harmonized to the international standards.

Legislation on notariat wants updating, and the Parliament will have to adopt the 2011 budget amendments, suited to the targets laid in the President’s state-of-the-nation Address.

In the world spotlight

Then the President broached the OSCE summit-to be in Astana on 1-2 December, which is of global scale, he emphasized. Leaders of 50 states are coming to it, and we are going to be in the world’s spotlight.

-It is our big responsibility that both the Government and the Parliament, and all the state bodies too ought to feel, and the summit should be properly organized, N.Nazarbayev bade.

He also reminded of the 20th jubilee of independence in 2011that should be properly marked too. The MPs’ task in it is public involvement in the celebrations, their outreach work in the regions.

The next 2011 year will go on under the motto “20 years of Independence”. It is the time for Kazakhstanis to show their patriotism in action.

***

The same day Kasym-Jomart Tokayev was chairing the first plenary session in Senate, in which he congratulated the deputies on the start of the work. Appointment by the President of Nurtai Abykayev the chairman of the national security committee was approved.

***

On that day too Ural Muhamedjanov was chairing the first session of Majilis Bureau that drafted the plenary session’s agenda.

Olga Kazantseva, Vladimir Kuriatov

Photo: Sergey Bondarenko, Bolatbek Otarbayev