OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2008. “I bindingly confirm that the Government takes strenuous efforts to nail down economic growth”, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov said when speaking in the Majilis on adjustment of the 2008 state budget, reported the Official website http://en.government.kz.

“I bindingly confirm that the Government takes strenuous efforts to nail down economic growth”, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov said when speaking in the Majilis on adjustment of the 2008 state budget.

According to him, due to a package of measures taken by the government to stabilize macroeconomic environment, the economy is expected to grow by around 5% in 2008. “This is somewhat lower than the estimated growth rate that we took into consideration when deciding on the 2008 state budget. But it would be fair to note that the draft budget had been planned and submitted to the parliament in a period of external economic wellbeing”, the Prime Minister said.

The Government has taken right prompt decisions within the changed economic environment; “hadn’t the government taken those decisions, we could put economic growth on ice altogether”, K. Massimov concedes. Besides, the PM emphasized that the government had succeeded in shutting out the unemployment growth. “This is a tangible result of our efforts and air-tight validation of economic growth”, he said.

On the 6th of June, the city of Atyrau will host a regular plenary sitting of the Council of Foreign Investors under the direction of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, announced the Prime Minister, adding that “the major issue on the agenda will be development of the electric power industry in Kazakhstan”.

“At the present moment there are no prerequisites for a systematic financial crisis, the things have been flattened out and we expect them to look up”, Head of the Kazakh Government said.

Majilis of the Kazakh Parliament has passed a bill on adjustment of the 2008 state budget. Thus, budget revenues will make up KZT 2 722 210 114000, KZT 34,9 billion up from the originally planned level. Expenditures will total KZT 3 064 014 386000 (KZT 158,8 billion up). Expenditures of 13 public bodies have been cut down by KZT 34,9 billion. The new budget envisages rise of basic pensions, social allowances and student allowances.

“I am confident that the proposed package of amendments into the 2008 state budget will enable us to attend to temporal problems and ensure sustainable economic growth in the foreseeable future”, K. Massimov said, expressing his gratitude to the Majilismen for the decision.