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Central Asia Legal & Regulatory

Kazakhstani Authorities Promise to Reduce Number of Checks on Business

The Kazakhstani State Office of Public Prosecutors (SOPP) and The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) declared, that by 2011 the business community of the country will be divided into two types: those who are counted by the state as law-abiding, and those who are not. The second type of businesses need to be ever ready to be inspected any time, while the first kind has been promised to be left in relative peace.

Addressing the issue at a public event titled “Legality and Transparency of the State Control as a Basis of Consumer Rights Protection,” the authorities didn’t point out what criteria they are going to use to judge businesses and “to die-cast them as wolves or innocent sheep.”

At the same time, the vice-minister of MEDT Timur Sulejmenov informed that the state is going to reduce the number of checks in different spheres. They will be twice reduced in sanitation inspections, veterinary practice and plants while checks on seed-growing and the grain and cotton markets is going to be reduced by six times.
The chairman of the Legal Statistics Committee of the SOPP, Marat Ahmetzhanov said that in 2009 there were 853 illegal checks of business from the state. “Last year we refused to register 1154 certificates of inspection appointments where we are able to prevent them from being illegally carried out,” Ahmetzhanov confirms.

According to General Public Prosecutor Kajrat Mami, last year more than 11,000 infringements during inspection conductions were revealed, which were basically classified as unreasonable intervention of law-enforcement bodies in business affairs. “Some officials forced businessmen to sponsor programs and such examples can be seen in South Kazakhstan, Pavlodar and other areas of the country,” said Mami, adding that “even some NGO’s in Kostanajsky and South Kazakhstan areas are trying to conduct illegal business checks by themselves.”

Answering questions of local journalists, the MEDT vice-minister Timur Sulejmenov admitted that at the given stage all attempts to supervise mutual relations between businesses and the state have actually failed: “Despite the presence legislative possibilities, real protection of the legitimate rights of businessmen is carried out inefficiently.” He also informed that the Ministry of Economic Development intends to found a businessmen’s rights protection committee within its body.

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