Majilis Deputy: Manual Economic Management Should Be Temporary

When asked whether manual economic management could trigger sharp price increases in the future, Majilis deputy Aituar Koshmambetov said such measures are temporary and cannot become a permanent development model, Orda.kz reports.

Koshmambetov emphasized that he fully agrees that "it's impossible to live like this forever," as "a country under manual control is very difficult." He stated that the current situation is "on the brink of the Soviet Union, when everything was controlled," and this contradicts Kazakhstan's chosen course toward a market economy.

He described these steps as emergency measures acceptable only for a short period. Of the new initiatives, he supported only maintaining the simplified tax regime for all types of activities as an effective, sustainable regulation that could continue to be applied.

At the same time, the deputy noted that the regulation of tariff rates, gasoline prices, and other administrative instruments should be gradually transferred to the market.

He also praised reforms initiated by Olzhas Bektenov’s government, noting their “boldness.”

However, he said some changes should have been implemented in stages:

Society has become increasingly tired and dissatisfied with rising prices. This, of course, leads to inflation. We need to proceed very carefully, even surgically, implementing step-by-step reforms to keep inflation to a minimum.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov