Majilis inquires PM on privatization of Kazakhstan strategic objects

The group of Majilis deputies of Kazakhstan Parliament addressed the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Daniyal Akhmetov with the request to provide information on privatization of some strategic objects of Kazakhstan.

The deputies in their inquiry refer to the government answer, signed by the Prime Minister. The Head of the government of Kazakhstan in his answer presented the list of the objects eligible for privatization as the state share holdings in the given joint-stock companies are not present.

In particular, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan listed the following enterprises: JSC "Almaty International airport", JSC "Airport Aulie Ata" (Taraz), JSC "Airport Sary-Arka" (Karaganda), JSC "Airline Kokchetav", JSC "International airport Akzhol" (Uralsk), JSC "International airport" (Petropavlovsk) - being privatized by private owners. Besides, the list includes such companies, JSC "Investigation and Extraction "KazMunayGas" and JSC "International airport Atyrau", the affiliated organizations of JSC "KazMunayGas".

In this connection, Majilis deputies requests the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan to clarify the question of the date of the privatization of those strategic objects of the Republic and to provide them with the list of the housing-and-municipal privatized objects (in each region), data on the involved investments on each of these objects with the detailed information what part of the fund was spent on modernization and updating of fixed capital as well as the level of profitability of these enterprises.

As the deputy of Majilis Parliament Committee of Kazakhstan for agrarian issues Bulat Abishev noted in the interview with Kazakhstan Today correspondent, according to the laws "On constitutional law of Kazakhstan" On parliament and the status of its deputies" the deputies must be given the answers".

"I also requested the information from other sources. I sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Justice and requested the data on all affiliated companies "КazMunayGas", the list of founders of КМG, the full list of founders of the affiliated companies founded with "КazMunayGas" participation, indications of share of actives of these companies, the names of founders of the companies with participation of affiliated companies of "КazMunayGas". The Ministry of Justice has not given the response yet," he explained. The deputy directed similar inquiry to the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan.

"Oil industry workers speak about transparency and then sell state shares and it is not known who redeems them. If the ministries will persist, we shall address this issue to the press and receive the answers," he emphasized.

Besides, as the Chairman of Majilis Parliament Committee of Kazakhstan for economic reforms and regional development Vera Sukhorukova stated during her interview with Kazakhstan Today correspondent, " it is necessary to approach a problem of privatization of objects of state ownership very cautiously, considering interests of the state and national safety".

"We have already had an experience of sale of the enterprises of life-support to private hands. They have been privatized, but their capacities have not been restored or updated. And the new owners are not to be blamed, as existing tariffs limit them in their activities," she explained.

Vera Sukhorukova reminded that in 1996 - 1998 many departments refused the maintenance of kindergartens and suggested local authorities to redeem them. "Instead private owners purchased them for their own needs. And now, when we lack kindergartens, we cannot construct new, as we sold kindergartens along with the land they were located," she emphasized.

According to V. Suhorukova, we should not reject state participation in the management of separate enterprises. "This is the way our country raises the level of wages and when Kazakhstan becomes one of the fifty competitive states, it will be possible to transfer them in private hands," Majilis deputy concluded.

Translated by Nataliya Shirinskikh