“Backstage, opacity, inflated prices” – Tokayev instructed to urgently sort out the purchases of the Nazarbayev Fund

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to sort out the procurement of the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, created by decree of the former head of the republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev. About it informs Tengrinews.

“Backstage, opacity, inflated prices – these facts must be dealt with urgently. There is nowhere further. I give a month, and for the last time,” the President of Kazakhstan said about the fund’s purchases. He also warned of “tough decisions” if the issue is not resolved.

“I hope everyone is convinced that the formula “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer” has a key, target value for me. This applies to all questions. The interests of the state are higher for me than good relations with anyone,” Tokayev said.

He also named fund “Samruk-Kazyna” “cumbersome” and “opaque” structure, where “politically significant people” are appointed.

“I am setting the task of cardinally reforming the fund. I had a conversation with Satkaliyev about this, if he fails to cope with the task of reforming, he will go into oblivion. And along with it, the fund itself,” Tokayev stressed.

The National Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna was established in 2008 by decree of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former president still heads the fund management board. The sole shareholder of the fund is the government of Kazakhstan. The Chairman of the Board of Samruk-Kazyna is Almasadam Satkaliyev.

On January 19, the lower house of the country’s parliament approved amendments to abolish Nazarbayev’s lifetime chairmanship of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and the Security Council. About it informed MP Kanat Nurov.

“The last speech of the head of state in the Parliament was essentially revolutionary, the people breathed a sigh of relief. Now the parliament and the government must implement all his promises in full, urgently and accurately. First of all, it was necessary to cancel the life-long chairmanship of the first president in the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and the Security Council, which he himself had already announced and what we have done today. Your humble servant participated in this historic decision of the Mazhilis. All the necessary amendments to the constitutional laws on “The First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – El Basy”, “On the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan” and “On the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan” have been sent to the Senate in terms of the fact that now the chairmanship of the ANC and the Security Council rightfully belongs to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – according to position, and not by personality, ”said the deputy.

“The first president should not return to politics, all official and informal political monopolies of his “family” in a broad sense should be abolished in the economy,” he said.

In early January, protests erupted in a number of Kazakh cities and continued for several days. During this time, more than a hundred protesters were killed, and the number of detainees approached the mark of six thousand people. The protests were triggered by a sharp rise in prices for liquefied gas, but subsequently the people of Kazakhstan began to put forward political demands – in particular, the departure of Nursultan Nazarbayev from politics.

The whereabouts of Nursultan Nazarbayev himself was unknown for a long time. The Sota publication, citing political scientist Arkady Dubnov, wrote that Nazarbayev may be in China. Later Beijing refuted these messages.

On January 18, Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the nation for the first time regarding the January events. He stated that he had transferred all powers to President Tokayev, while he himself was on a “well-deserved rest” in the capital of Kazakhstan.