It’s necessary to build houses for working youth, young families actively - K.Tokayev

The meeting was attended by representatives of the scientific-pedagogical and creative intelligentsia, veterans and trade union organizations, youth, maslikhat deputies, and civil servants.

The Head of State highlighted the deep historical roots of Zhetysu and stressed that the geographical location on the revived Silk Road opens up new opportunities for the region.

“Today Zhetysu develops dynamically and is a leader in terms of agricultural production. The share of manufacturing industry is the highest in the country - 86 percent. Almaty region is one of the leaders in the development of human capital. These are young specialists, entrepreneurs, poets and writers, as well as representatives of labor collectives who daily contribute to the development of the country”, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

At the same time, the President pointed to issues requiring urgent solutions.

“In your region, like in other regions, there are still problems with the provision of villages with drinking water. Governor’s Office needs to create a schedule of works on the construction and reconstruction of water supply systems, taking into account the prospective development of human settlements”, the Head of State believed.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev separately focused on the problem of emergency and three-shift schools and charged the Government and Governor’s Office to solve the issue of school building until 2021.

“15.4 billion tenge was allocated on the construction of 14 schools in 2018-2019 from the republican budget. However, the region needs to build 20 more schools. For these purposes, it is necessary to allocate 29 billion tenge in 2020-2021. This is my assignment”, the President of Kazakhstan emphasized.

Besides, the Head of State stressed the lack of healthcare manpower in the region. He stressed the need to encourage young specialists to move to the rural areas and continue providing them with necessary conditions.

Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev paid much attention to providing housing to socially vulnerable groups of the population.

“Over 41 thousand people are on the waiting list for accommodation, including 11 thousand representatives of low-income large families, who are of primary importance. The working youth, young families should be provided with housing at the expense of housing certificates to compensate the down-payment under the 7-20-25 preferential mortgage loan following the example of other regions”, the Kazakh President said.

His speech also centered on the targeted use of agricultural plots, upgrading of irrigation systems and rehabilitation of irrigation, improved transparency of the procedures for granting land, control over the effective use of land resources, tariff-cutting to support the agro-industrial complex.

“Another important issue is development of Zhetysu’s tourist industry. The region becomes the center of tourism for the entire country, with Alakol lake, which is famous for its minerals, being a major magnet. Last year the flow of tourists grew by 20% and equaled 2 million people. Nevertheless, the service level, as well as transport and hotel infrastructures, need improvement. I task the Government and the Governor’s Office to adopt comprehensive measures to improve the resort zone’s infrastructure”, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

The Kazakh President commended the transport and logistics potential of the region, pointing to the need to improve the quality of local roads.

“Almaty region is a strategic one, holding a huge potential to turn into a key transport hub and logistics center of the country. With the completion of the “Western Europe-Western China” road, the region became a gateway connecting transport flows from Asia to Europe. The local road network’s quality is still pressing. 22% of the region’s roads are in worse condition. Therefore, the Governor should address this problem through working out a plan for step-by-step reconstruction of roads until 2025”, the Head of State said.

Concluding the meeting, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that any efforts, including efforts of scientists, builders, workers, are honorable and need to be awarded by state prizes and be the public domain. 

The Kazakh President presented letters of appreciation to Chairman of the Regional Veterans Council Mr Kelemseita, Chairman of the “Khilnichenko and K” limited partnership board Mr Khalnichenko, head of Almaty’s General Hospital Mrs Kenshebekova, deputy director of the general school No.40 Mrs Ibraimova for their considerable contribution to Kazakhstan’s social and economic and cultural development.