Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov severely criticized the heads of a number of government agencies for failing to curb the surge in prices of basic food items during a regular government meeting, the press office of the Prime Minister reported.
Commenting on the reports on the factors behind the increase in food prices, Smailov highlighted the tremendous importance of this work. The Prime Minister said he had set the tasks to ensure adequate funding for the “turnover scheme”. However, these measures have not been implemented effectively.
In this context, the Prime Minister ordered to increase funding in this sphere to 100 billion tenge this month.
“On the eve of the agricultural season, the regional authorities must first of all conclude forward contracts with agricultural producers for the autumn harvest. If this moment is missed, we will see a price rise in the off-season,” Smailov said.
The Prime Minister noted that the surge in food prices practically negates the large-scale consistent work being done by the Government at the initiative of the President to increase salaries, pensions, social payments, benefits and other incomes of citizens. Noting that all these aroused reasonable criticism by citizens, the Prime Minister instructed that the Government take immediate steps to correct the situation.
