Dear deputies! Dear compatriots!

We have resumed the results of ten-year development of our state. It was not only the report on our achievements, but the richest historic material for our sons. It was a critical analysis of our maturity level of our ability to part with the past and open a new historic stage in development of independent Kazakhstan.

Together with it we were convinced once more that a great way was covered and we have achieved the level allowing us to enter the XXI century.

The main result of our achievements is our republic's becoming independent state and equal partner of world community. We have conducted strict economic reforms, which have brought their fruits.

The fact of Kazakhstan's being recognized market economy state by European Union and USA testifies much.

We have succeeded much in the sphere of democracy and

statehood development. Our country and all Kazakhstani society have cardinally changed: economic and political rights and freedoms became the fact of our reality.

All these results are the reliable grounds of present days.

Together with it we never fall into euphoria and never hidden our problems, it was also stressed in jubilee report. We have to cover the stage of development from boyhood to manhood of state and civilian society. And political system, issues of citizens' rights and freedoms demand constant improvement in compliance with the level of economic, social and cultural development.

Our ten -year plan based on " Kazakhstan-2030" strategy is targeted to it.

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To determine midterm plans and priorities and the ones of 2003 year is important for to work on social and economic potential increase dynamically. I have accepted a three-year Governmental program of actions, which is focused on improvement of real sector, transport infrastructure development, increase in population life-standards, country's economy integration in regional common markets.

That is why I would like to put concrete accents and priorities, it will give the Government an opportunity to realize its intention within the frameworks of concrete budget programs.

I consider to refuse of the practice of announcing every year a year of some sphere or direction of activity and transfer to tree- year priorities determining necessary.

Secondly, message to Kazakhstani people is sounded in the course of budget forming but not after it, like it has been before for the first time.

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Dear compatriots!

There exist several causes to devote upcoming period (2003-2005) to development of rural settlements.

My message is devoted to this very problem.

We should admit that exactly agriculture, people working in this field have suffered the imperfection of soviet economy most of all, exactly they felt all its defects when transferring to market.

Rural settlement is the way of living of nation, source of culture, traditions, customs and spiritual life. The sum of the factors demands us to be serious when approaching to rural settlements.

The history has proved that rural residents suffer most of all in revolution cataclysms and painful changes.

Kazakhstan has not become the exclusion.

We should remember that exactly rural population is a genetic face of any nation. Exactly it intends to achieve stability and healthy evolutional development.

Exactly it feels the ideals of independence and strong statehood most sharply, because it keeps and reproduces hopes of ancestors of ours at genetic and information levels.

But there exist purely economic causes. A careful review of internal structure of economy, far and near markets makes us think on Kazakhstan's agrarian and industrial specialization seriously. It's a paradox, but a fact: all nearest and far markets feel needs in grain and meet. But Kazakhstani food products cannot emerge there because of low quality and high expenses, weak state and diplomatic support.

Moreover internal market yields increased expansion of food products import.

The presence of strong agricultural sector in the country could help to development of by-industries: mineral fertilizers production, agricultural machine-building, light and food industry and others.

It means that the effect for country's economy will be colossal.

We should also touch upon demography, migration and social factors of our special attitude to rural settlements.

During the epoch of command economy the spread of people in rural areas was not successful from economic, social and ecological points of view.

It resulted in depressive economy's being the main feature of many rural districts.

We can say that about million of people live in minimal standards of quality of land conditions, in natural and social conditions. We must analyze one feature most seriously. 43 percents of Kazakhstani population is rural. Exceed of rural population caused high unemployment rate at many districts. It undermines rural labor markets, makes them country's cheapest.

It leads to mass outflow of rural population to district centers and towns. 186 not perspective rural settlements were left by people in 2000-2001, 93 more are expected to be left in current year.

Such a phenomenon should be considered an objective process though it is painful.

The problem is the process' being spontaneous, it does not depend upon executive authority.

We have become a state with good economic positions. At present the time to help the compatriots of ours residing in rural district has come.

What I am proposing.

The first. We should understand that the support to rural settlements should not be concluded in total state subsiding and without return financing of everything and everybody. We can and we shall restore the practice of state paternalism.

We should implement the line of creating conditions when people can earn for themselves and their families, we should support those who can and wish to work who demonstrate their love to work. And it is the responsibility of the state for people's future.

All financial and economic policy of the state should be targeted only to hose territories, which are perspective from the positions of people's activity and market functioning.

The second. I charge the Government to develop the model of rural territories residents settling with perspective. We should determine the resolution of fate of several depressive towns.

The country needs state policy regarding internal migration from not perspective regions to developing district centers and small towns stimulating. It should take the issues of planning and directing migration flows, people's settling, their provision with lands and housing, improvement of migrants' qualification and changing it into account.

All people intend to live in ecologically safe environment, have good access to social services.

The intention should be supported. The village has a chance for normal life, there, where there are good soils, where there markets and transport communications.

There appeared an issue on giving additional functions to Ministry of Agriculture.

The third I set a task to the Government to work out a three- year presidential program of Kazakhstani agrarian and industrial complex development.

Our country has been and it should be regional supplier of food products and agrarian and industrial complex itself should be an additional source of economic growth, country's trade and payment balance improvement. We should apply all our efforts for to achieve it.

The main factor of rural districts' rise is stable and economic development of agrarian and industrial complex, its economy quick rise, based on modern market principles.

Here I could determine the next key moments.

First of all land and water economic reforms should be completed.

We should admit that recently accepted Law on Land has not moved the country to civilized market. And if we have committed mistakes, let's correct tem quickly.

The answer to the question " Should agricultural lands be privatized?" should be the soul of the law.

Answering the question we return to the thesis " we are selling Motherland", and do not understand that private ownership of land is the peasant's being sure that his land would not be taken from him. Land ownership is the motif to settle it.

The land without master is an orphan.

I am sure that present Government will be able to cope with historic mission having accepted the Law "On private ownership of Land". I charge the Government to study the experience of other states and develop and submit the draft law to the Parliament

The time to set order in water relations has come. We should resolve the ancient problem of irrigating structures.

We should start organizing small and medium size enterprises in cattle breeding, plants growing, oriented to export and big state purchases,.

We should render state assistance to high labor productivity growth in agriculture.

We should target our peasants to launch modern technologies, develop processing branches. We must create equal economic conditions to our producers with neighboring states.

The time to strengthen and improve state control and supervision over the quality of production has come.

The Government should put the system of veterinary and sanitary supervision, cattle and plants diseases battling in order.

We should restore scientific and information provision of villages.

Agricultural universities should work within Agriculture Ministry's system. Statistics agency should occupy with the problem of primary information.

All level mayors should render assistance in development of marketing and informational system, which is functioning only at 36 districts at present.

The Government must take efficient measures on external markets expanding.

Village needs financial network on credit services rendering.

We should occupy with agricultural enterprises insuring.

The Government must continue the practice of directing a significant part of external loans to agriculture on mild conditions.

The Forth I have charged the Government to focus special attention on social sphere.

A new policy regarding the village should occupy most important place. This policy of perspective regions development needs appropriate financial provision.

First of all we should not hamper the farmers, we should give them freedom in their farms development. We should help them in crediting, consulting and production sale.

This three years budget should be priority for the villages.

The means directed to social sphere, especially to rural districts: roads and conduits, hospitals, schools - firstly for villages. I commit a task to Government and mayors to raise volumes of financing for rural education, health care, means for fresh water supply and building and reconstruction of interregional rural roads by 10 billion tenge annually.

But these means must be planned: for example, what for to build new schools at struggling places, where population is reducing. In such cases we must build boarding schools at promising districts and transfer children there. This relates to modern clinics too. Beside, there must be allotted up to 8-10 billion tenge for development of agriculture annually, beginning from 2003.

I think the paramount task is cardinal reformation of education system. The keynote will be increasing status of a teacher, first of all - rural teacher. In first turn, we must settle a problem with wages of teachers. I think it will be possible to raise their wages by 30% in this year.

I commit a task to Government and mayors to find necessary financial sources for this aim.

The fifth. The migration strategy, special accents at village and social sphere will demand obviously definite budget decentralization. And here Government and Parliament must evince continence before elaboration of a model for resettlement of inhabitants of villages, taking into consideration that it evidently causes definite administrational-territorial reformation at rural districts.

And the last thing is the next. We must realize a number of measures for legalization of property - land and immovables of rural migrants in cities and small businessmen. Property of these people cannot be capitalized, sold or pawned because their property is illegal of semi-legal, was not registered properly. This is great potential. International experts think that most part of poor countries have assets and resources, able to provide breakthrough in these countries.

Our state is placed at transit zone of economic development. According to estimation of experts, illegal turnover includes from 25 to 35% of assets and resources of economic growth.

Proceeding from the above mentioned, there is necessary to strengthen small and middle size business, step-by-step settling the next paramount tasks:

- reduction of tax burden;

- legalization of property and assets;

- alleviation of access to credit resources;

- simplification of administrational procedures and permissions;

- protection from controlling officials despotism;

- establishment of regional centers for support to small and middle size business, assistance for marketing, training, establishment of centralized accounting.

I commit a task to Government to establish special commission for these problems.

Responsibility on implementation of the stated tasks requires responsible and harmonized work of Government and mayors. We can consider it as an examination for the entire system of the executive.

In this message I emphasized one very important issue of our new policy at rural districts. Government and Budget Commission must define adequate priorities for the next year.

I like to cover a number of issues concerning main spheres of state construction and democratization of society.

There was approved a complex of measures for middle-term future. It is based on constancy of Constitution and stability of Constitutional regime.

According to opinion of many experts, including international ones, Constitution of Kazakhstan, enacted in 1995, has democratic essence, corresponds to needs of the country development. Potential of the Basic Law is not completely realized. I agree with this position. Unity, international concord and political stability is the main desires of our people. I know this.

Democracy is our consciously chosen way of development, which I offered to you, and which you accepted. And we all must work for deepening of this process, based on wisdom of people, taking into account historic, economic, political and ethnic social factors and public opinion.

We shall move step by step, preserving values of our culture, based on mutual aid, patience, collectivism, deference between people of different nationalities. Foreign recipes can just damage our country.

We shall raise efforts of state and society at sphere of strict observance of rights and freedoms of citizens, to combat red-tape despotism.

We have a lot of reserves for perfection of party-political construction, in first turn - its legislative bases. There are such long-felt questions as: introduction of legal norms, debarring political extremism at activity of parties; exclusion of party construction at ethnic or confessional principles; financial transparency of their activity.

In this sphere I back the initiative of a group of deputies on amendments of party legislation.

Government also has to initiate elaboration of a law on status and rights of non-governmental organizations.

We shall conduct consistent and energetic work for perfection of state construction, development of local state administration and self-government, perfection of judiciary and electoral systems.

On my errand Government works for elaboration of Conception of Limitation of authorities between levels of state management and perfection of inter-budget relations. Designers of the Conception have to elaborate a project of optimal list of state functions, their distribution at levels of management. The project will be the basis for establishment of main conditions for transition to new principles of state administration and corresponding model of inter budget relations by the beginning of 2004.

Here we must settle problems of transferring a part of authorities and responsibility from the center to regions. Then the structure of power will be clear, and we shall see where we must elect, and where assign a manager.

A target of the Conception is formation of active institutions of state power at the rural level of management.

We can observe definite vacuum of power at rural regions. Rural mayors have not sufficient authorities, and the main thing - financial resources. Therefore Government and regional mayors must organize efficient state management at low echelons.

Detailed analysis of the experiment on elections of rural mayors will be carried out in this August, and there will be made a resolution of purposefulness of electivity of these managers.

At the same time we must define how many levels of management are to be in our country. And just after definition of all basic principles of state government we shall be able to start elaboration of a model of Law on Local Self-Government.

Serious amendments to the Law on Civil Service will be made this year. These amendments will be transition from competitive to career system of promotion at civil service, and also liquidation of all shortcomings in the law.

We undertake some measures on perfection of cadre policy at judicial sphere and elimination of corruption at judicial corps, strengthening role of advocateship. Conception of introduction of the institution of jury will be elaborated by the end of the year.

We must thoroughly study issue on moratorium on capital punishment, up to its complete abolishment. I understand that we must create definite conditions for this resolution. This demands finances and time. I know there are different opinions in the society. But we must resolve the problem.

We state also a number of measures on perfection of mass media means activity.

Soon we shall reconsider and enlarge membership of tender commission on distribution of radio frequencies with representatives of public. There is organized a public council for informational policy.

Our statehood step-by-step comes to the border, where Parliament must more completely use its authorities, stated by Constitution, including ones relatively to Government.

Lasting dialog between Parliament and Government, joint law-making work - is the paramount conditions for strengthening statehood.

Serious tasks will be resolved in the next year too, including amendments to Constitutional Law "On Government", legislative introduction of mechanism of state social order for services of non-governmental organizations, elaboration of draft law "On Alternative Military Service" and others.

Finally, I want to state a number of principal positions in our foreign policy. Our life and practice state that from the very start we have chosen right line of behavior at the international arena.

Resolution on the rejection of nuclear weapons is still working for security and positive image of our country.

Kazakhstan is one of few states at post-soviet space, which managed to construct good steady relations with all countries, do not harming its strategic interests.

From now forth we shall follow this very multisided pragmatic policy, which completely corresponds to geopolitical situation and economic potential of Kazakhstan. This policy is a key for strengthening national security. At the same time we must make all in our power to strengthen factors of predictability and stability of interrelations of Kazakhstan with adjacent states.

Our diplomacy must pay serious attention to strengthening of such priority organizations as Eurasian EC, and Shanghai Organization of Cooperation.

Together with the above mentioned we shall develop cooperation with the USA, West Europe and other countries. We must gain concrete results on convocation of CITA.

We must strengthen our external economic policy, to attain merge of efforts of state and private business aimed at steady positions in external markets.

Kazakhstan, which has built market economy, became an inseparable part of globalization process. We must find our place in the world, thoroughly elaborate strategy of our further activities, which would assist us to eliminate expenses and gain some dividends.

At this sphere Government must activate work for preparation to the entrance to the WTO.

The problems, touched upon in this message, are stated by our life. Most part of them were arose by people. Work of state and society is more and more regulated by law. Therefore Government and Parliament must more consult people, who will live with these laws.

We cannot resolve all problems at once, we should be patient and concentrate at the chosen priorities. We, as elected by people representatives of executive and representative power, must be guided by common sense, but not emotions.

And I hope for your support at realization of the statements of this message.