A new three-year project has been launched in
Kazakhstan to support local governance reform. The initiative is a joint effort
of the Government of Kazakhstan, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), and the European Union. The EU has allocated approximately $5 million
to fund the project. The first Steering Committee meeting was held in Astana.
According to participants, the programme aims to improve the efficiency of
akimats (local administrations) and maslikhats (local representative bodies), while
enhancing the quality of public services through greater transparency. It will
also promote broader public participation in local decision-making. Particular
emphasis will be placed on introducing digital tools, facilitating the exchange
of expertise with European countries, and adopting international best
practices. According to Katarzyna Wawiernia, UNDP Resident Representative in
Kazakhstan, the initiative will help pilot new approaches that could later be
scaled up across all regions of the country.
«We, as UNDP, are doing local development in many
countries, supporting the countries, least developed countries too, you know,
but here we have Kazakhstan that is high middle-income country and is much more
advanced than many other countries. Local development is key, is key, is very
important. Many countries developed because they had strong local institutions,
so I believe that this is a very contribution of this partnership,» Wawiernia said.
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