On the
eve of the 21st century Kazakhstan finds itself in a deep systemic crisis. The future of
our state and of our multi-ethnic people is under serious threat. Our concern for the fate
of Kazakhstan prompts us to found a new political party; the Republican People's Party. It
is with great sadness that we watch our native country, with its enormous territory, sink
into desolation.
Millions of our fellow-citizens are
currently unemployed or receive either beggarly wages or pitifully scant pensions.
Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens leave the country each year. In many towns
and villages people have lost all hope for a decent life. They have forgotten what it
feels like to have heat and light in their homes. Our whole industry, with a few
exceptions, is in a state of decline. Hundreds of enterprises have been closed.
Agriculture is dying. Power has been monopolized by a small group of people.
In this situation, all rational people
begin to ask themselves questions about the future of our state. What will become of
Kazakhstan in the third millennium? What will we bequeath to our children?
We see that all possibilities for the
development of the country under the present regime have vanished. The time for a change
has come.
We are certain we can cope with this
crisis. By reforming our political and economic systems, we will turn Kazakhstan into a
prosperous country.
Meanwhile, we are faced with two options.
One is to continue on the present political course, tightening our belts and waiting for
the year 2030. This would lead to the complete exhaustion of our natural wealth and the
transformation of Kazakhstan into a backward, agrarian country. The other option is to
create a contemporary, civilized state that would make rational use of our unique
resources. Our way calls for social justice, care for our people, a rebirth of the
economy, and a struggle against corruption and crime.
We want international respect for
Kazakhstan. Our ideal is a democratic state with a socially oriented market economy.
Kazakhstan must and can become a state
which ensures a good and happy life for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnic
origins, a state where everyone can find satisfying employment and will receive just
compensation for his or her labor.
A stable society defended by strong and
just laws will give the citizens of Kazakhstan faith in their future.
Taking all this into account, we are
creating the Republican People's Party. This is a party meant to encompass the whole
nation, whose goal is to transform the political system through active participation in
parliamentary elections and elections of all other central or local political bodies in
order to ensure the basic interests of all Kazakhstan citizens. We are ready to work with
other political parties and social movements whose positions do not clash with our
principles.
Our goal is to improve people's lives
through political and economic change. Our party is built on the principles of civic peace
and harmony. We strive for dialogue and cooperation in the name of social stability and
the economic development of our society.
The Party and the Basic Direction of
Its Activities
The Republican People's Party is a
political party concerned with the interests of the whole population of Kazakhstan. Its
chief goal is to ensure the creation of a state which is based on the rule of law, on a
socially-oriented market economy, on the power of the people, and on unconditional respect
for civil liberties and human rights.
We defend the rights of all citizens of
Kazakhstan regardless of their ethnic origin and socio-economic status. The Republican
People's Party of Kazakhstan also considers as its chief goal the dynamic development of
the country by means of creating an effectively functioning political and economic system.
The Party is counting on the support of
all citizens who believe in the ideals of the sovereignty of the people, social justice,
and the rule of law. The party is counting on the support of all people for whom the
traditional moral values of Kazakhstan; honesty, decency, and responsibility; are not
empty words. It is the people who must be the source of power in Kazakhstan.
The Party is being formed without
consideration of class and ethnic origin as a party of like-minded people who recognize
the rights of all citizens of Kazakhstan to choose their own convictions and political
orientation. We stand for an honest and free choice of the way in which our country should
develop.
Reform of the Political System
It is evident that the main cause of the
current crisis lies in the existing political system. Parliament lacks the real means of
influencing the executive power. There is no mechanism for a free expression of the
citizens' will. People are deprived of the means to affect the actions of the authorities.
The judicial system not only failed to acquire independence, but lost all vestiges of it.
There is no local self-government. The freedom of speech and the independence of the mass
media are seriously abridged. There are major problems in regard to the exercise of rights
and ensuring the interests of the non-native population.
We advocate a strong and wise government.
This conforms with the traditions of our country. Our current leadership asserts that it
has the situation under control, but corruption and official abuse flourish and people
feel defenseless before the depredations of officials and are constantly faced with
lawlessness. This is called "democracy Kazakhstan-style".
The concentration of power in the hands of
one man is dangerous. Experience has shown Kazakhstan that the practically limitless power
of the President has not solved the problem of leading the country out of crisis. One man
is incapable of understanding and solving the problems of such a complex state as
Kazakhstan with its multi-regional and multi-ethnic diversity.
We do not reject the presidential form of
government, but we call for a rational delegation of some presidential powers to the
government and parliament. A strong cabinet of ministers whose initiatives would not be
constantly suppressed by the president would solve the socio-economic problems of the
country faster and better. A two-chamber parliament, independent of the President, could
better represent the interests of the various regions and more fully engage in substantive
legislative activity. Its members would be able to represent the whole spectrum of
economic, cultural, and political interests of Kazakhstan.
Presently, the powers that be are far
removed from the people and refuse to be held accountable. That accountability can be
ensured only through the democratic elections of all power structures from top to bottom.
We will strive to bring the whole electoral process into compliance with the democratic
principles of the Republic of Kazakhstan and to eliminate all aspects of discrimination
towards certain groups of citizens.
Kazakhstan does not have a viable regional
policy. We call for the election of the regional akims (ruling bodies) and the development
of regional self-government. The Republican People's Party is ready to cooperate with the
akims and render assistance to them in the improvement of living conditions. However, the
situation in various locations can be changed for the better only by locally-elected
officials accountable to those who elect them. We are ready to strongly oppose separatist
tendencies in the regions. But, at the same time, we are against the desire of the central
government to establish total control over the actions of regional authorities. We will
strive for the adoption of a law on local self-government which would correspond to the
European Charter on local self-government.
Our party stands for the strengthening of
economic self-reliance of the regions and the development of local initiative. The recent
ill-considered administrative reapportionment of territories has turned such major centers
as Semipalatinsk, Kokshetau, Zhezkazgan, Arkalyk, and Taldykorgan into wastelands deprived
of resources necessary for development. Therefore, we support local appeals for a return
to the decades-old division of the country into regions and a cessation of any further
changes in the boundaries of regions and administrative districts. We will be striving
towards the adoption of a new law on the administrative and territorial arrangement of
Kazakhstan which will most fully take into account the local socio-economic interests of
the population and the requirements of the state.
Kazakhstan is ready for a change of its
Constitution. We must introduce new amendments into the existing one and also discuss the
eventual drafting of a new Supreme Law of the land. This law would define the relationship
between government and society, would force the government to serve the people, to be
accountable and act constructively and openly. Kazakhstan needs a constitution which would
create a viable balance of powers, establish a system of checks and balances, and would
preclude the monopolization of power. Kazakhstan needs a Constitution which does not
simply proclaim, but actually guarantees civil and human rights. And in order to uphold
such a Constitution, Kazakhstan needs a Constitutional Court endowed with far-reaching
powers.
Having gained power, we would institute
the following ten major changes of the political system:
1. We will redistribute the powers of
government in favor of the cabinet and parliament while maintaining a strong presidency.
The relationships between president, cabinet and parliament will be defined through
legislation. We will create a Constitutional Court independent of the president.
2. We will expand the independence of the
regions by introducing local self-government and making the akims of all levels subject to
election.
3. We will reform the electoral system
transferring control to local governments and parliament. We will guarantee observers,
representatives of the community, and the media free access to the work of the electoral
commissions.
4. The whole system of legal and political
interactions in Kazakhstan will be brought into compliance with the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
5. We will create equal conditions for the
activities of all political forces in the country.
6. We will strive toward the elimination
of corruption by means of a total overhaul of the law enforcement and judiciary systems.
We call for an independent court system. We are ready to place the president and the
government under a strict and vigilant control of the legislative and judiciary powers.
7. We will promulgate a new law on the
activities of the information media which will guarantee free speech and protect the media
from pressure on the part of the authorities.
8. We will remove all discriminatory
clauses concerning state employees.
9. We will institute a military reform
creating an effective and professional army on contract basis to strengthen our armed
forces, to ensure the defense of our country, and to raise the prestige of our military.
10. We will reestablish the weakened
international prestige of our country. We will develop friendly and mutually beneficial
economic relations with all countries, especially with Russia and other NIS states.
One of the most serious political problems
of Kazakhstan involves relations between the various nationalities. We cannot seek comfort
in the fact that we have so far avoided the types of conflict which have occurred in some
neighboring countries. Our party stands for genuine equality in Kazakhstan for people of
all nationalities and for an open dialogue between the ethnic communities. The territory
of Kazakhstan is the original land of the Kazakhs, their historic motherland. But during
the last hundred and fifty years, Kazakhstan became the homeland of people of many other
nationalities including Russians, Germans, Ukrainians, Byelorusssians, Uzbeks, Koreans and
others. We should not forget this. Therefore, we are against the division of our citizens
into "native" and "non-native". We all are the citizens of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is our common home.
Kazakhstan needs a well thought-out
language policy. Our party calls for a genuine revival of the Kazakh language. It is sad
that young Kazakh people and even the middle-aged do not know the language of their
ancestors. Therefore, we consider the Kazakh language and the Kazakh culture to be our
unquestioned priorities. However, there should be no discrimination on the basis of
language. We are against the artificial elimination of the Russian language and Russian
culture from the life of our society.
Kazakhstan has become an independent
state, a geopolitical reality. We feel that it is necessary to preserve our traditionally
important relations with Russia and the other NIS countries with whom we are united by
centuries-old historic ties and close economic relations. Our party stands for a customs
union with Russia and for the coordination of both countries' policies in the area of
electric energy production, finances, communications, construction and use of roads as
well as the transportation of fuel and raw materials. We call for intensive efforts to
widen mutually beneficial collaboration with all neighboring states.
The implementation of the program of
political and economic changes proposed by the Republican People's Party will ensure the
genuine economic and political independence of our country.
The Rebirth of the National Economy
We live in one of the richest republics.
Kazakhstan possesses huge stores of natural resources, especially ferrous and non-ferrous
metals, oil and gas. There are enormous areas of tillable land. There is great industrial
potential. Kazakhstan is populated by hard-working people. We have everything that is
needed for a decent life. And we shall have a decent life.
In order to raise the Republic of
Kazakhstan to the level of a civilized country and reach economic prosperity, our economic
course needs to be changed. Today Kazakhstan is going through hard times. We are faced
with an extremely important task. We must ensure a decent life for the citizens of
Kazakhstan. In defining the priorities of our economic policy, we must be guided not only
by long-term goals, but also by the prospects for the immediate future. We cannot wait for
the year 2030. The measures which we propose are aimed at leading the country out of the
present crisis within a short span of time.
We are going to prevent further brain
drain in our country by creating a situation in which money will work toward the rebirth
of our national economy and toward the creation of new enterprises with high paying jobs.
Thus, we will raise the status and prestige of working people.
A top priority for our state is a sound
financial, taxation, and investment policy. The budget must be open to public scrutiny.
The use of state funds must be subject to the rigorous and public control of parliament.
Only in this way will we succeed in defeating one of the main evils of our system of
government; corruption.
The existing tax laws slow economic
development. After having paid all taxes, enterprises are left without the profit
necessary for the development of production. In order to assist local producers, we will
conduct a fundamental reform of the tax system. We favor the lowering of the rate of
direct taxation and for a change in the sales tax in such a way that the taxes would be
levied on gains and property and not on the people of Kazakhstan. It will be necessary to
rescind the current taxes on the export of finished products to other CIS countries. Our
tax policy must stimulate rather than stifle production. The taxes must be low, clear-cut
and stable.
Without stable tax laws, a steady
development of enterprises cannot occur. Small and medium business needs legislative
support and economic freedom. It would be useful to partially free from local taxation new
enterprises and those that are being rebuilt or to offer them certain tax free periods for
development. It should also be stipulated that the freed monetary resources must be used
exclusively for the development and improvement of the material and technical base of the
enterprise.
The economy is in desperate need of money
and of investments. However, up to now, the predominant sources of investment capital have
been the funds of the enterprises themselves, of organizations, and of individuals. The
main areas of investment continue to be industries engaged in mining and extraction of
natural resources. The government's policies should be directed towards attracting
investment capital to advanced high-tech production on which the future of our country
depends.
We are ready to carry out effective
financial and monetary policies which will be based not on passively curbing inflation,
but on its suppression by means of government support rendered to responsible
manufacturers. This must be accompanied by a rational budget policy guaranteeing the
stability of the financial and monetary system. This requires the redirection of internal
monetary and raw material resources from short-term use towards long-term projects inside
Kazakhstan.
Another critical problem of Kazakhstan is
the problem of our "dying cities" which are suffering from budget cuts, where
enterprises are closing and where the rate of unemployment is extremely high. Investments
need to be attracted to these cities to modernize existing enterprises and create new
ones, among them enterprises in the area of service. This would provide people with work
and income and stop migration to other regions. There is a need for a governmental program
of aid to small and medium towns.
Currently, there are few places in
Kazakhstan which attract foreign investment capital in large quantities and for long
periods of time. This is caused by the instability of Kazakhstan's legislation and the
resulting risks for foreign investors. Responsible legislation should attract foreign and
domestic investments not only to opportunities for quick and easy gain, but to areas where
serious social problems exist. It is necessary to formulate and pass laws on free economic
zones which would guarantee and actually protect the rights of foreign investors.
We intend to promote civilized market
relations. We are against a "clan-oligarchy-type capitalism" which allows the
people's property to be divided among state officials and permits corruption and bribery
to flourish.
We feel that a state enterprise should not
be allowed to remain in the hands of an ineffectual leader. Privatization must be
conducted openly and publicly. Final decisions in all privatization cases must be taken by
legal tender commissions. Independent experts should evaluate all major projects. In
selecting the objects and the form of their privatization, it is necessary to take into
account the level of socio-economic developments and the needs of the local population.
At the same time, it is necessary to
improve the quality of management of those enterprises which continue to be state-owned or
are managed by foreign companies.
The gas and oil industry, the mining
industry, and the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy can and must become the basis for the
revival of the country's economy. The efforts applied to the development of Kazakhstan's
economy, however, should not be concentrated on these areas exclusively. Today our economy
is focused on the sale of raw materials to other countries. If Kazakhstan's foreign trade
policy is not changed, the future of our country will be nothing more than that of a
raw-material appendage of the highly developed nations.
A stable development of the country's
economy requires expansion of the manufacturing industry. Tens of thousands of jobs will
be created and the national budget will ultimately profit from the increase in the export
of manufactured goods. In order to revitalize currently idle enterprises, we will create
assembly plants with the participation of foreign investors. The priority in our economy
must belong not only to the mining and extracting industries, but also to the
manufacturing industries as well as to those enterprises which concentrate on the
preservation of energy and resources. Among such enterprises, due to the historic
circumstances of Kazakhstan's economic development, are the following: the light industry
and the food industry; the oil refining and oil-processing industry; the chemical
industry; and the machine-building industry.
Domestic and foreign investment capital
must be utilized for the modernization of technology. This will create the opportunity to
direct investments toward the manufacturing branches of industry. Specifically, the
introduction of advanced and resource-saving technologies, especially in the area of
transportation and its infrastructure as well as in satellite and fiber transmission.
We consider the solution of the energy
problem to be one of our priorities. In some towns and areas of the country people live
without heat, electricity and gas. In other areas, the cost of public utilities is
extremely high. The serious shortage of gas, electricity and water is due to the fact that
many regions of Kazakhstan do not possess their own sources of energy. We must not only
develop energy-saving technologies, but we must also build new electric power stations.
Kazakhstan's rebirth is impossible without
the revival of its agriculture. Almost half of the population lives in rural areas. A
decent living standard for our rural population is one of the cornerstones of the recovery
process of our economy. One of the most important tasks is the restoration of livestock
numbers which have been reduced by 50% to 60% compared to the 1990 levels. Another
important task is the increase of the grain crops by 60-70%. The allocation of budget
funds to the reconstruction of agriculture represents care and concern for rural dwellers
and the intent to provide work and income for them. It also has a bearing on the security
of the country since, over the last few years, Kazakhstan has been unable to meet the
needs of its population in the area of agricultural production.
It is necessary to expand the initial
processing of agricultural products on the spot, create small processing enterprises,
local credit co-ops and service centers. A immensely important task is the improvement of
the road network in the main agricultural areas. It is necessary to allocate budget funds
to road construction in agricultural regions. High on the list of priorities is the
introduction of gas into villages.
The agricultural areas have few learning
institutions for the preparation of specialists required by the specific needs of the
region. If they have the necessary financial means, young people leave to attend schools
in the cities and usually do not return. In these areas it is necessary to create, in
conjunction with local enterprises, well-rounded learning institutions for young people as
well as a network of shorter courses preparing them for professions needed in the village.
This will lower the rate of unemployment in the villages, will ensure a transition from
training to employment, and will stem the outflow of rural youth from the villages to the
cities.
Kazakhstan has all that is necessary for
entrance into the world food market and to become a major exporter of grain, meat, and
processed agricultural products. What is needed is to attract investments for the creation
of contemporary agricultural complexes capable of producing competitive merchandise. One
should not forget that agriculture is linked to the national traditions of Kazakhstan. Its
revival of which is impossible without the restoration of village life.
The development of small and medium
businesses will create new jobs and employment which will enable many to follow their
aspirations. Throughout the world, small and medium businesses serve as a source of
economic stability. It is in these businesses that employment is found by those who have
lost their jobs at large enterprises during a period of crisis. The development of small
businesses contributes significantly to the solution of the unemployment problem and to
the national revenue. However, a substantial expansion of small business requires support
on the part of the state.
The most important steps toward the
development of small business are;
