The head of the transport control inspectorate in Astana, Aidar Aliakparov, was dismissed after sending an appeal to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and the Presidential Administration criticising the existing transport control system.
According to media reports, Aliakparov's appeal highlighted the outdated and low effectiveness of control in the transport sector.
He identified the main problems in this area as:
- limited resources for transport control, including a small number of checkpoints and automated measurement stations (AMS);
- corruption risks and low accountability for rule violations;
- a lack of integration of modern technologies, such as the Intelligent Transport System (ITS);
- inefficiency of current business processes, such as handling fines and orders.
Against the backdrop of these shortcomings, Aliakparov proposes:
- dividing control functions between the Ministry of Transport and local executive bodies (LEBs);
- a full transition to automated control using ITS;
- introducing mandatory registration of transport documents through the Unified System for Managing Transport Documents (USMTD);
- expanding the use of special permits for the transport of divisible goods.
According to Aliakparov, his dismissal was preceded by a conflict related to unlawful demands from management.
"I started arguing with our leaders' desire to falsify statistical data on transport from the summer onwards. Perhaps you know, information was leaked, and the deputy head of the committee was even punished. For two months, all heads of transport inspectorates across Kazakhstan were terrorised and pressured to lean on inspected entities and force them to submit fictitious statistical data on passenger and freight transport across Kazakhstan, in order to show the ministry's work in a positive light for the first half of the year compared to last year and the second half of last year. I also appealed to the Presidential Administration about this," the statement reads.
He spoke about a meeting with the Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Road Transport and Transport Control, Bakytzhan Kachakov.
"I started asking, listen, this is no joke, what is this? How can we put such pressure on them? And I was told outright: 'They are your inspected entities, you have everything, you have the tools.' I said, 'Well, that's illegal.' 'Well, legal or illegal. It's the minister's order. Whoever doesn't carry it out will be fired.' I immediately stated I refused to do such a thing. A second time, I was called in along with my deputy. He is still working. We were given a task: 'If the head won't do it, then let the deputy do it, and you step away from this work.' The deputy also refused. Then the question was put: write your resignation letter and quit. I stated: 'I don't work for the chairman, the minister, or the prime ministers. I work for the state, and I am obliged to comply with the requirements of the law,'" Aliakparov recounted.
Previously, the editorial board of FBRK came into possession of an appeal from transport sector workers, which they allegedly sent to a number of high state bodies. The appeal contained information about alleged systemic violations in the work of the Committee of Motor Roads and Transport Control.
The authors of the appeal claimed that individuals without specialised education or the necessary work experience in the transport sector were being appointed to leadership positions in the department. In particular, reference was made to the committee chairman Altai Ali, whose career path began in the hotel business.