Defense Ministry Explains 74 Million Tenge Media Spending Plan

On June 4, Deputy Minister of Defense Shaikh-Khasan Zhazykbayev addressed questions about the Ministry’s plan to allocate 74 million tenge for media coverage, Orda.kz reports.

Responding to journalists' concerns over the amount, Zhazykbayev said media placements are costly:

A lot or a little — this will be determined by the budget commission. All this is determined by the budget commission. You say 74 million. One placement, for example, on a website, on a news site — costs 800 thousand tenge. Do you understand, right? And you say that it is a lot,
he said in the corridors of the Majilis.

When asked whether the Ministry could reduce its PR efforts by simply focusing on its duties, the Deputy Minister replied that the Ministry is already working:

Yes, we do our job. But it is necessary to draw the attention of society to education in schools, in military-patriotic educational institutions and other places. I am not an economist, not an accountant. My opinion is that, as you can see, there is little video and news about the work of the Ministry of Defense in the information field. There is more content that lowers the status of Kazakhstan.

Earlier, the Factcheck.kz website reported on the ministry’s procurement plans for information and image support services totaling 74 million tenge.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova