Comprehensive Support of Entrepreneurship
Development of small and medium enterprises
Firstly, we must create conditions that enable people to develop a business and become a true participant of ongoing economic transformation in the country, rather than wait and expect the state to resolve all the problems. It is important to raise the general level of business culture and stimulate entrepreneurial initiative.
For that it is necessary to:
• Encourage the pursuit of small and medium enterprises for unification and
cooperation, and create the system that would support and stimulate that.
• Develop the internal market by encouraging local business initiatives and
ensuring minimal, but tight regulation.
• Consider establishing new, more rigorous system of accountability for
government officials, who create artificial barriers for businesses.
• Improve support mechanisms for domestic producers and take all the necessary
actions for protection and promotion of their interests, considering the new reality, including our participation in Eurasian Economic Space and upcoming membership in the WTO.
We need to create the necessary conditions and prerequisites to enable individual entrepreneurs and small business to grown into medium sized businesses. Unfortunately, the current tax applied to SMEs prevents their growth and development. That is why by the end of 2013 the Government needs to introduce amendments to legislation, aimed at the clear separation of such terms as micro, small, medium and large business. At the same time, we must not increase the burden on small and medium business segments. I instruct the Government to ban all the permits and licenses that have no direct influence on security of Kazakhstan’s citizens and replace them with notifications by the end of first half of 2013.
On a legal basis, it is necessary to establish conditions under which business will self regulate the control of the quality of their goods and services. We need to develop a new system for the protection of consumer rights, exempting them from multilevel system of judicial decision making.
New model of public private partnership: “Strong business – strong state”.
Secondly, to build a robust dialogue on the principles of public private partnership, it is necessary to continue the process of business consolidation, which will enable wide coverage and engagement of all entrepreneurs in implementation of this new strategy. International experience demonstrates that consolidation of entrepreneurs within Chambers is one of the important factors of economy’s efficiency.
The Government together with “Atameken” Union has worked out a conceptual model of compulsory membership in the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs.
This model will ensure delegation of large powers and functions from state bodies to the newly created National Chamber of Entrepreneurs in such areas as foreign economic activity, vocational and technical education and , comprehensive service support for small business, especially in rural areas and single industry towns. The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs will become a reliable and competent partner to the Government.
In this regard I instruct the Government to develop the appropriate draft law and submit it to the Parliament in the first quarter of the year.
New stage of privatization – changing role of the state
Thirdly, the state must change its role. We need to pursue a second wave of wide scale privatization. This is not a simple step, since this would mean redistribution of responsibilities between the state and the market. But we must take this step in order to maintain a high rate of economic growth.
Private businesses are normally more effective than state run enterprises Therefore we must transfer non- strategic enterprises and services to the private sector. This is a crucial step for strengthening domestic entrepreneurship.
The successful start of “People’s IPO” program became the first step in this direction. First and foremost, this is about distribution of national wealth to the people. JSC “KazTransOil” announced the placement of shares worth 28 billion tenge, demand for these shares is twice as high as supply.
Social Gurantees and Personal Responsibility
Our main goal is social security and the well-being of our citizens. This is the best guarantee of stability in a society. There is a growing need within our society
for an updated and more effective social capable of meeting our current challenges. International experience demonstrates that there is no perfect and universal model of social policy, just as there is no society where all citizens would be satisfied by the existing social system.
Addressing the issues of social security and prosperity is a difficult and very serious task related to every citizen of Kazakhstan. Therefore there should be carefully thought out approaches.
I would like to present my vision of the principles we should follow. By taking them into account, we could correct our approaches to the issues of social justice and social security.