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ASTANA (TCA) — The Government of Kazakhstan on January 16 approved the draft of the National Action Plan for implementation of the Address of the Head of State of January 10, 2018. The document was presented by the Minister of National Economy, Timur Suleimenov, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reports. Continue reading
ALMATY (TCA) — There is a tough competition in Kazakhstan’s taxi market, with the new taxi app players and unlicensed taxi drivers competing for each customer on the streets of the largest Kazakh cities. We are republishing this article by Almaz Kumenov on the issue, originally published by EurasiaNet.org: By Central Asian standards, Almaty has long been considered an expensive city. But the city’s taxi drivers may beg to differ: these days, you can get across the center for as little as a couple of dollars. Kazakhstan is slowly crawling out of a slump induced in large part by falling oil prices, but this bellwether of the real economy tells a less straightforward story. Aidyn, 53, an unlicensed taxi driver in Almaty, takes his passengers to work at rush-hour for just one dollar. Eurasianet.org has withheld Aidyn’s surname as unlicensed service workers fear the attention of tax inspectors. “My passengers don’t get bored in traffic jams. I tell them jokes and interesting stories. My clients are happy that instead of being shoved about in a crowded bus they get to work in a warm car. And I barely charge them anything,” Aidyn told Eurasianet. There are a few reasons for the low cost of taxis, not just in Almaty, but all across Kazakhstan. Foremost among them is the slide endured by the national currency over the second half of 2015, when the tenge slipped from 190 to around 380 to the dollar. Devaluation was accompanied by strict instructions from the government to enforce price controls on basic food items. The result has been a substantial fall in the cost of many goods and services in foreign currency terms. The cost of taking taxis, however, has even fallen in tenge terms due to increasing competition. Taking a trip by car in most cities in Kazakhstan costs anywhere between 200 tenge ($0.60) and 2,000 tenge ($6) — the latter typically being the cost of a drive to the airport. Most competitive of all are the “independent” taxi drivers. These drivers — bombila in their Russian nickname — are a staple of many post-Soviet cities, but seem particularly dominant in Kazakhstan. According to unofficial estimates, there are half a million people who will give rides in their car for some extra income. For a country of 18 million that is a remarkable number. Because grabbing an unlicensed taxi is as easy as raising a hand while standing on the side of the road, official competitors, whose cars can take several minutes to reach a customer, struggle to compete. One response from the authorities has been to pursue the punitive route. Police claim that they regularly stop bombila and slap fines of up to 45,000 tenge ($134) for tax avoidance. The war on illegal drivers is cast as an effort to protect citizens’ interests. “Many times, when the bombila are carrying female passengers, there have been disputes, and the customers have nowhere to address their complaints,” Bekmyrza Igenberdinov, the head of City Hall’s Transport...
ASTANA (TCA) — At the Government meeting on December 26, the Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev reported on measures being taken to implement the Smart City projects in Kazakhstan’s five largest cities — the capital Astana, Almaty, Aktobe, Karaganda, and Ontystuk, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — On September 29, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will organize a forum to discuss capacity development and enhancement of service delivery for local government bodies in Kyrgyzstan. Over 120 representatives of municipalities, local councils and civil society organizations from Jalal-Abad, Issyk-Kul, Osh, and Naryn provinces, national government, and international organizations will come together to share best practices and lessons learned, the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said. Continue reading
ASTANA (TCA) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is increasing its support for municipalities in the regions of Kazakhstan with a new investment in East Kazakhstan: the modernisation of the district heating system of the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the Bank said on August 2. Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance on July 12 signed a financing package of $482.3 million in grants with the World Bank to help the country through a difficult phase in its struggle to end poverty. Continue reading
