Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting on improving the quality of life in the country "by increasing the effectiveness of state support measures", where he instructed that KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for the work of akims be introduced based on the criterion of real improvement in the welfare of specific residents.
According to the government press service, for this purpose, based on the "Digital Family Card" platform, constant monitoring and analysis of the welfare of all Kazakhstani families will be carried out across five categories, ranging from emergency and crisis levels to satisfactory and prosperous ones.
"Depending on the dynamics of families moving from unsatisfactory categories towards improvement and vice versa, the work of local executive bodies will be assessed. To date, the current results of the Digital Family Card have already been positively evaluated by the UN and leading international institutions", the statement said.
Akims have been instructed to use this tool as a "handbook" for planning and implementing medium-term and long-term measures.
The head of the government also instructed regional akims, together with central state bodies, to carry out targeted work with each family and ensure a reduction in the number of families in the "crisis" and "emergency" categories to 31.2 thousand families by the end of the year.
"The task set before us by the head of state is to improve the quality of life in the country. The mechanism is in place, state support measures are working, and the state is allocating the necessary funds. We are moving to a criterion for assessing the real contribution of akims to improving the welfare of specific people. Monitoring of the implementation of indicators will be constant. We will see the dynamics online and draw conclusions", Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
In addition, the meeting considered the "Social Wallet" project. It is expected to ensure transparency and timeliness in providing state support measures to citizens. To date, through this project, residents are being provided with free and subsidised meals in schools, as well as medicinal products, on a pilot basis.
"Additionally, the launch of pilot projects is being worked out to provide targeted assistance in purchasing socially significant food products, procuring technical rehabilitation aids for persons with disabilities, as well as vouchers for socially vulnerable segments of the population to compensate for price increases on fuel and commercial gas", the statement said.
Among other things, the government presented the project "Voucher Financing of Preschool Organisations", aimed at improving the quality of educational services.
"The concept of 'Money Follows the Child' means that state order funds will be transferred to preschool organisations only after the parents' choice. This will increase competition among kindergartens for children and reduce corruption risks. The Ministry of Education has been instructed to complete the pilot project on voucher financing in the cities of Taraz and Shymkent and ensure its scaling across the entire country from 1 January 2025", the government reported.