Time Change: Research Won't Take 3 Years

The AMANAT faction Head, Yelnur Beisenbayev, explained why the meeting on time-zone change was closed, Orda.kz reports. 

The day before, the deputies gathered to discuss this topic but did not invite journalists. 

A press release about the discussion appeared on the party's Telegram channel at almost 10:00 p.m.

It stated that the deputies instructed government agencies to complete a scientific study on the issue of a single time zone by March 2025.

The following ministers attended as well: trade and integration Arman Shakkaliyev, health Akmaral Alnazarova, and science and higher education Sayasat Nurbek. 

We need to get an answer - how does the change of time zone affect, first of all, the health and well-being of our citizens, their comfortable life. This should be a priority. At the same time, I believe that the three years that the government is talking about is too long a period. Therefore, it will be right if you complete the study within three months. And in March next year, we are waiting for you with the results of the study and proposals with specific solutions,
 said Yerlan Koshanov, addressing the ministers.

In the corridors of the Majilis, Yelnur Beisenbayev noted that this timeframe would be sufficient.

We have set certain conditions for the government that they must complete the study within three months. And we must now discuss this position in a substantive, high-quality manner, said the deputy.

However, he does not know how much the government will allocate.

We don't know how much they will spend, but this money has already been allocated, the ministry has already determined it. I think they will definitely give an answer for every tenge they spend there, he added.

Journalists asked why they were not invited. Yelnur Beisenbayev replied, "This is a working meeting of the faction."

Sometimes we invite journalists, sometimes we don’t, he explained.

The party’s position on the time zone issue remains the same: deputies are against it.

In early September, we stated our position to the government. After that, at an extended meeting, the government responded that they would stand by their decision. After that, we held a faction meeting. We have a number of deputies who are against it. We said that this decision has not been analyzed, has not been finalized. There is a big public outcry. More than 10 million people say that they are against it, he said.

At the same time, the deputy called for "respect for the government's decision, " to which journalists retorted that the people's opinion should be respected first and foremost.

Yelnur Beisenbayev said he supports the people, as evidenced by the deputies' positions.

This also shows that AMANAT is for the time to be changed back. This is what this shows. We respect the position of the people who are turning to us, they write us letters in thousands. We and the people expressed their position yesterday at the faction meeting,
he concluded.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova