The author of the petition against the recycling fee, Sanzhar Bokayev, has refused to participate in a working group meeting to consider it.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Construction, the first meeting of the working group to consider the petition against the recycling fee was scheduled to take place at the ministry on 6 June.
The working group included deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, vice-ministers of industry and construction, ecology and natural resources, finance, agriculture, digital development, innovation and aerospace industry, culture and information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and representatives of other interested state bodies.
In addition, the working group included representatives of public associations, the expert community, the industrial sector, as well as supporters of the abolition of the recycling fee: Sanzhar Bokayev, Yerkebulan Kulbassov, Daniyar Makeshov, Darkhan Salykov and other citizens.
However, the ministry had to cancel the event because the petitioner refused to attend. The ministry explained that Bokayev violated the meeting regulations by trying to bring a mobile phone with him.
“The regulations for visiting the Ministry of Industry and Construction building – a strategic facility – stipulate that visitors cannot bring mobile phones with them and must leave them at the entrance. However, the petitioner, S. Bokayev, and his representatives refused to comply with this regulation and to enter the working group meeting,” the ministry reported.
For his part, the author of the petition claims that the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan itself scuppered the working commission meeting on the petition.
“They don’t want to do it online because all the figures are with us. We would have pinned them down completely and finished them off, but they are afraid of that. They have something to hide. We have nothing to hide. I will explain why we do not want to enter. We do not want to negotiate anything with them behind closed doors. We are negotiators for the people. We are not defending our personal interests, but the interests of the people,” stated Bokayev.
At the same time, the author of the petition threatened the government that if the issue of the recycling fee is not considered objectively, he will begin collecting signatures demanding the resignation of the government.
“If you play cat and mouse, then we will not stand on ceremony with you. This is not our whim; 50,000 people signed it. <…> If you do not organise it, do not conduct a detailed analysis, if you do not make an objective decision that satisfies the people, then we will start collecting signatures for a referendum on this issue and will demand the resignation of the government,” said Bokayev.
Meanwhile, the head of the association ‘Road Traffic Safety “Common Road”’, Arsen Shakuov, has questioned the legitimacy of the petition from a technical standpoint. According to him, some individuals advocating for the abolition of the recycling fee in Kazakhstan are lobbying for the interests of foreign car importers.
“These businessmen care absolutely nothing about any of us; they have only one task – to sell you a car, and in fact, production in the country could simply stop <…> If it is proven that this petition was collected through illegal means, then I would be glad to see all these people found,” declared Shakuov.
It may be recalled that the petition for the abolition of the recycling fee was published in early March on the state portal ePetition. It received more than 50,000 signatures and, by law, must be considered by the government. The government then established a commission, which was tasked with travelling to the regions and holding regional consultations, including visits to some factories and manufacturers. The first meeting of the working group, which never took place, was scheduled for 6 June of this year.