Tokayev carried out blamestorming after protests in Kazakhstan and set political agenda for this year.
On January 11, president of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev addressed the session of the lower house of parliament and introduced new members of the government – almost one third of the cabinet of ministers were new – and indicated a range of measures to stabilise the situation in the country.
The speech of the head of state was promising. He addressed all the concerns raised by protesters at the rallies in early January. He specified the problem of inequality, which was worsening from year to year, although the average income of the population grew only on paper. He also declared a five-year moratorium on salary increases for members of the government, regional akims and deputies.
Kazakhs noticed that Nursultan Nazarbayev was mentioned only once in Tokayev’s speech. And not in the best context.
“Thanks to the First President – Elbasy the country had a group of very profitable companies and a layer of people, rich even by international standards,” Tokayev stated.
The daughter of Nazarbayev, Dariga Nazarbayeva, who has been the deputy of the 7th convocation of mazhilis since January 2021, was not present at the meeting. According to the press office, she was ill.
At the same time, the President instructed the government to restructure the activities of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK), which was established in 2001 by decree of the first president. Until 2013, Nurali Aliyev, grandson of Nazarbayev, was the executive director of DBK.
In fact, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan has become a personal bank for a selected group of individuals representing financial, industrial and construction groups. We know each of them. By accessing high offices, they get privileged conditions to implement their projects. These projects get the resources of the state, which could be used for the development of small and medium-sized businesses,” Tokayev said.
The fund “Samruk-Kazyna” – the investment holding with 22 national companies, was also criticised by him. It was established in 2008 by order of Nursultan Nazarbayev, and in 2017 the Fund was led by his nephew Akhmetzhan Yesimov. In his speech, Tokayev drew attention to the non-transparent procurements and stated that they should be handled.
In addition, the President promised a new political reform package in September, which will be prepared on the basis of an inclusive and constructive dialogue with civil society and experts.
Beyond Almaty
On January 2, hundreds of residents of the petroleum town of Zhanaozen protested against a double increase in the liquefied gas price and demanded to reduce it to the previous level of 50 tenge (0.11 dollar).
“People held banners “Gaz 50” and often shouted “50” in Kazakh. That day, the police tried to control the situation and came home to protesters. My neighbour was at the protest and the police were waiting for him at home. On the second day, more people joined the protests. In the evening, activists built a yurt and packed it with food. The head of the police department of Zhanaozen spoke to the public and said that the police were with the people and they would not arrest anyone, prosecute, etc.,” an eyewitness to the protests Inkar Amankosova said.
One day later, people across Kazakhstan began to protest in solidarity. Calls for the resignation of the government and slogans “Shal, ket” (from Kazakh “Old man, get away”), meaning former president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, were added to the demands of reduction of gas prices. There were also demands to lower the retirement age, property and utility prices, to hold fair elections, and to fight corruption.
The situation began to escalate on January 4. In Almaty, peaceful rallies turned into riots and looting. The next day, gas prices were brought down to the previous level, and the government resigned.
“In Kazakhstan, they tell now that the scenario of terrorism and coup was originally conceived. And the public opinion is that this scenario was implemented during the progress. Experts and I have arrived at a conclusion that it was a sabotage because the police took control of the square on the very first day. But in the following day and a half, control was sharply weakened or was lost,” political analyst Askar Nursha said.
Outside Almaty, the situation was more calm. Clashes with the police took place in Kostanai, but riots were suppressed in the first days. Some 700 protesters were detained there on the first day of the rally.
Protest in Kostanai on 5.01.2022. Photo courtesy of Olga Likhograi, Facebook
In eastern Kazakhstan, approximately three thousand people in Semei and Ust-Kamenogorsk protested, and the police detained a total of about 1,000 people. In the west of the country, according to witnesses, the rallies were peaceful, with people setting fires, cooking pilaf, and listening to songs, and they tried to ignore any provocations.
In Aktau, according to journalist Ruslan Zhubanysh, there were provokers, but rallies were peaceful, in general.
“After the gas demand was met, the people asked not to pursue those who had come out to support the people of Zhanaozen. As a result, people continued to stand until the end. After the news of the counterterrorism attack was spread, it was clear that the situation was getting out of control,” he said.
The protests in Aktau were the longest, and ended only on January 8.
Blamestorming
After the president’s statement on January 11, some Kazakhstanis lifted in spirits – their demands have been heard. However, not all are equally optimistic.
“Don’t expect the decrease in price of anything after this. Not of real estate, of cars, of food. It can happen in two cases: if the margin is subsidised by the state, or the goods become irrelevant,” blogger and entrepreneur Alisher Yelikbaev wrote on his Facebook page.
“In general, the purpose of the President’s address yesterday was to reassure and comfort the population. And public demands, which he voiced yesterday in his speech, will certainly get lost in offices of unqualified and incompetent ministers of the country’s government,” ecologist Laura Malikova wrote in her Facebook account.
According to Andrey Chebotaryov, director of Centre for Contemporary Research “Alternativa”, Tokayev in his speech used blamestorming.
“It was the first time when the term “oligopoly” was used in the country’s economy in the official vocabulary at the highest level. Although he didn’t specify the names and companies, he complained about the entire system of public administration and officials at all levels saying they had a distorted image of the lives of fellow citizens, the inability and unwillingness to communicate with them, the total bureaucracy and the formal approach to the implementation of tasks and duties,” the expert said.
He noted that Tokayev clearly outlined the future actions of the state and seems to be interested in refreshing the public officials. He also said that it was clear from the president’s speech who he hoped to rely on in the future.
“First, it is the Security Council, which has recently come under the leadership of the Head of State and is likely to be closely involved in the security sector reforms. In the context of recent developments in the country, the Head of State has particularly praised the police and the military. At the same time, much remains to be done to improve the effectiveness of their actions in critical situations,” Chebotaryov said.
Tokayev was also grateful to the current members of the lower and upper houses of parliament. It can be seen as a sign that there will be no dissolution of the parliament, despite the controversial processes taking place in the ruling elite.
The president also lays hopes on the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken.” It is planned to be involved in the activities of the government and the National Bank for the elaboration and implementation of a programme to increase the income of the population and of a set of measures to control inflation rate.
“Thus, the political agenda for this year is practically set. It cannot be ruled out that other measures have been originally planned by the country’s leadership. However, the unprecedented and tragic events of the first decade in January have brought about significant adjustments. Let’s hope that the entire system of power and its representatives at all levels have learned from them,” Chebotaryov said.