Improvement of mechanisms for payment of targeted social assistance, development of civil aviation and measures to reduce airfare prices — how the Government session took place

Oct. 7, 2019, at the Government session, new approaches to the provision of targeted social assistance, as well as issues of the development of civil aviation and measures to further reduce airfare, were considered. On the sidelines of the Government, media representatives received answers to their questions on the current agenda.

During the consideration of the first question on improving the mechanisms for providing targeted social assistance, the prime minister was informed that changing the criteria for the payment of TSA is aimed at ensuring its transparency, fairness and motivation to work, as well as the introduction of a guaranteed social package for children from low-income families. The updated assistance allocation model is a logical continuation of the Aleumettik Qamqorlyq social measures initiated by the First President, Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, and was developed in accordance with the instructions of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, given in the Address to the People of Kazakhstan “Constructive Public Dialogue – the Basis of Stability and Prosperity of Kazakhstan.”

The bill provides for a comprehensive approach and targeted social support measures from Jan. 1, 2020:

  • the introduction of state benefits to all large families with 4 or more minor children or full-time students under the age of 23;
  • the quarterly appointment of social assistance for all family members, as the difference between the poverty line and the average per capita income of the family, provided that able-bodied family members work and the state helps in finding employment and doing business;
  • providing the state with a guaranteed social package for children from low-income families: from 1 to 6 years old — with baby food, hygiene products and educational services, and from 6 to 18 years old — with free hot meals in schools, daily free travel on public transport, school uniforms, school supplies;

The prime minister emphasized that the issue under consideration has a very high degree of importance. The state will primarily help children and large families.

Mamin instructed the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, together with akimats, to organize explanatory work in the regions on new approaches to providing ASPs, by the end of October to submit a bill to the Parliament, akims of the regions to ensure the clear implementation of the corrected measures for providing social assistance.

“Our citizens should know that all who need help, these are low-income families, large families, and children, have been and will remain under state protection. And those who can work, all conditions are created for them to be able to undergo training, get a profession, open their own business, get a job,” the prime minister emphasized.

When considering the second question, Mamain was informed that for 8 months of this year 5.6 million passengers were transported in civil aviation, which is 1.8% more than last year. The geography of flights is expanding — Kazakhstan has air links with 24 foreign countries on 99 international routes, including those opened in 2019 from Nur-Sultan to Tokyo, Prague, Ulan Bator. A regular flight connection with 9 world financial centers is established. About 60% of FlyArystan low-cost airline tickets are sold at the lowest prices — up to 10 thousand tenge. The average FlyArystan tariff is 1 km lower than the tariffs of European low-cost airlines by 4 times.

In addition, this year, thanks to the modernization of Kazakhstani refineries, the volume of aviation fuel production increased by 1.8 times compared to the production in 2018, which allows to fully cover the domestic market demand at the expense of domestic refineries.

The prime minister instructed to continue work on opening flights to Shanghai and Singapore in 2020, to complete accreditation procedures for domestic airlines to open flights to New York, to complete the reconstruction of the runways of Kostanay and Balkhash airports by the end of this year, and to complete the construction of an airport in Turkistan on time and the terminal in Shymkent, to accelerate the development and adoption of a program for the development of small aircraft and airfields in the regions.

The Head of Government set the task to intensify work on providing open skies for domestic carriers at domestic airports, expand the geography of flights of domestic airlines and continue to work on improving civil aviation infrastructure.

In addition, the prime minister instructed the Samruk-Kazyna Fund to ensure in 2020 an increase in the fleet of airlines operated by the state holding and expansion of the geography of flights.

On the sidelines of the Government, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Birzhan Nurymbetov said that a new mechanism is currently being worked out with the relevant authorities, and various options are being checked. The bill is planned to be submitted to Parliament before the end of October of this year.

“Today we voiced the main approaches that are currently being developed. It is calculated that it will enter the baby food, how it will be delivered. Funds will go to an ID-card social card in cities or it will be a certificate of local executive bodies. We are working on the exact mechanism, we have several options,” said the minister.

Nurymbetov also added that citizens who illegally obtained the assistance by hiding their income should voluntarily return it. One of the reasons for such cases, the Head of the Department outlined certain time limits when appointing a new type of social assistance in April-May.

“Now the system works, at the entrance you can check all the data on the recipient, the E-halyk system works, which is communicated to each rural akim, where at the entrance by IIN you can check every citizen, all his data, including income,” added Nurymbetov.

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