From South to North: Why Did Yenbek Migration Program Fail in Kazakhstan?

Madina Baimendina, a Saumalkol resident in Aiyrtau district of North Kazakhstan region, contacted Orda.kz.

She said that several years ago, she moved to the north of Kazakhstan under the "Yenbek" program. Orda looked into the situation.

They Don't Listen

This is the roof of my house, currently under repair. The roofs of other houses are in the same condition. I think it is impossible to remain silent, so I sent photos of my neighbors' houses. Here is a house where the bricks are attached to the walls with screws, and the bricks are starting to fall, Madina said.

Madina and her fellow villagers are concerned because of the approaching winter. 

After we contacted the Prosecutor General's Office, our prosecutor Medet Khafizov took control of this issue, and now all housing and communal services and Akimats are being looked into. The documents have been sent to the region. Explanatory notes have been taken from each house. It appears that there was corruption. However, no criminal case has been opened. Although the houses are in terrible condition, an official examination is needed. And it costs from 200 to 300 thousand tenge per house. So, we cannot do this now. Everyone is buying coal, preparing for winter,Madina Baimendina said.

Saumalkol residents raised this issue back in 2021.

23 people sent their statements to the Minister of Transport, Marat Karabayev.

Madina explains that not everyone from the 45 houses filed complaints; some fear losing their jobs.

In 2021, when Madina and her family moved from Astana as part of "Yenbek," they were well received.

However, the actual situation turned out to be very different. She showed her complaints to the presidential administration. They said corruption prevented the funds allocated for repairs from reaching them.

We saw a lot: radiators exploded, water froze in winter, we sat without water for several months, there were days when we melted snow. We had to rent an apartment for five months. The walls cracked, there was a 30-40 centimeter gap between the slabs on the roof, and the wind whistled... In winter, 12-15 tons of coal and two trucks of firewood are wasted. There is no foundation at all, if you dig it up, there is clay and sand... Cement was not used, Madina said.

And even now, not all houses are being renovated.

We are openly speaking about corruption. Only 15 houses have undergone partial repairs. A new house could have been built with this money, the 67 million that was allocated. They are quietly taking everything. After we expressed our dissatisfaction, eight more houses were added to the list. But out of the 23 houses that submitted applications, some were never included in this list. Nurbolat Galymov, the current head of the housing and utilities department, promised us a life in paradise when we arrived. He should be responsible for 2023-2024. And all the documents were signed by his deputy. I looked through all the documents, and for some reason there is no signature of his boss. Obviously, the deputy cannot do anything without the boss's order. If a criminal case is opened, the deputy will be held accountable for everything because Marat Usenov's signature is everywhere,said Madina. 

When these houses were built in 2019, Madina says, the district Akim was Darkhan Amrin.

He was later dismissed after the President's criticism of the poor quality of the houses.

Yenbek Isin was the deputy Akim, who supervised this project and is still working. When Yerbolat Bekshenov became Akim in 2023, 30 million tenge were allocated for repairs, but the estimates did not correspond to the work performed.

Madina claims that Nurbolat Galymov, the head of the housing and utilities department in 2023, supervised everything. She added that Zhanat Beiseuov, the head of the housing and utilities department, and Yerbol Abdulmanov, the head of the construction department, were also engaged in the construction.

Although Darkhan Amrin left his post, his work was not inspected, nor was he punished. After his resignation, he was appointed deputy head of the North Kazakhstan region's Department of Entrepreneurship and Industrial Innovative Development.

The next Akim, Yerbolat Bekshenov, was eventually appointed the electoral commission chair of the North Kazakhstan region.

Meiram Mendybaev was appointed as the Aiyrtau district Akim just a month ago.

Madina Baimendina emphasized that the current Akim is doing everything possible to solve all the inherited problems.

What Happened?

Aside from the houses, people cannot find work and leave.

People can't live here. Why didn't the program work? People didn't come here to take the money and leave, they were looking for a better life. But, not finding conditions for a normal life, they left. This year, 3.5 billion were allocated for relocatees to the north, but I think the money was spent incorrectly,Madina Baimendina said.

Meanwhile, activist Burakhan Dakhan, who raised the issue, is among those who moved north with his family. 

Burakhan Dahan created an organization called "Tauekel."

Orda.kz wrote that this organization tried to participate in a tender for 10 million tenge allocated by the state to solve the problem but lost. All four participating organizations were from the northern regions.

Now "Tauekel" is working on new projects to solve migration issues.

Burakhan Dakhan said that he is well acquainted with the Yenbek program, as he moved to the north from Jetisu under this program in 2021.

Yes, we know about the situation in Saumalkol. I sometimes communicate with Madina Baimeidina. The recently appointed head of the employment department, Rinat Sereyuly, together with the local Akim, began inspecting houses and gradually began repairs. Repairs have also begun in Madina's house, said Dahan.

He noted that it was necessary to acknowledge the housing problem in the north and spoke about the government's plans:

The government has come up with the 50/50 program. That is, citizens who move to the north will pay half the cost of housing, and the state will pay the other half.

"The North is Our Heritage"

Burakhan talks about relocatees' most significant concerns:

Are all the hundreds of houses that were built really occupied? If so, it would mean that the program is working. Officially, all the houses have owners. But in reality, many are empty. Often people receive state houses in the north, but they themselves live elsewhere. The North is our heritage... 

The activist believes the following are necessary: conducting an inspection in the northern regions, returning to state ownership the houses that were essentially turned into summer houses, and terminating contracts with such people. And return the money that they received as subsidies for resettlement.

Orda.kz sent official requests to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, and the Prosecutor General's Office.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Kazakhstan said that state support is provided based on legal requirements and within the established quotas, which in 2024 amounted to 9,483 people.

The Minister of Labor noted that the program's main objective is to support people who have decided to move to the country's northern regions. In response to questions about subsidies and resettlement conditions, the department stated that all funds are distributed based on local budgets, and any violations are subject to inspection.

The Ministry also emphasized that they will continue to look into responsible organizations' activities and "introduce new measures to prevent corruption risks."

In particular, the Ministry "is developing systems to automate processes and minimize contacts between employees of migration centers and relocatees, which will help reduce the risks of fraud and violations of the law."

It is also planned to “bolster oversight over compliance with legislation in the area of ​​migration and expand information interaction with local authorities.”

The Prosecutor General's Office also responded:

The program was implemented from 2017 to 2021. Currently, the resettlement of citizens is carried out within the framework of the Rules for the voluntary resettlement of persons to increase labor mobility. In 2021, the Prosecutor's Office of the North Kazakhstan region conducted an analysis of the legality of the use of budget funds to purchase housing for resettlers under the program. Prosecutors found that in some houses, construction work on installing roofs, interior decoration, and installing interior doors was not completed. The houses did not meet the technical and sanitary requirements stipulated by the contracts. In total, since the beginning of the program, prosecutors have conducted 28 analyses and identified 65 violations of the law in 311 houses.

The Prosecutor's Office also stated that it had conducted an additional analysis of compliance with the law in organizing work on the voluntary resettlement of citizens in 2023 and 2024:

The results indicate gross violations related to the abuse and embezzelment of budget funds in the amount of over a billion tenge through fictitious resettlement of citizens using forged documents. State funds intended to help relocatees improve their housing conditions were in reality distributed among participants in criminal schemes. The relocatees were listed as fictitious persons, and documents for apartments and houses were issued for housing that was obviously unsuitable for habitation or other buildings in disrepair that were purchased at low prices.

33 officials were brought to disciplinary liability, and 20 pre-trial investigations were initiated.

Original Author: Didar Kairat