Astana Boosts Budget to Meet Social Needs
Following an extraordinary session of the city’s maslikhat (local administrative bodies) on October 2, the budget revenue plan for the Kazakh capital has been raised by 99.5 billion tenge (approximately US$205 million).
The session approved amendments to the original budget plan for 2024-2026, which was established in December 2023.
As reported by Kazinform, Kaysar Mankarayev, head of Astana’s Department of Economics and Budget Planning, noted that the revised plan includes 58.4 billion tenge (US$121 million) in tax revenues, 39.5 billion tenge (US$82 million) in non-tax revenues, and 10.6 billion tenge (US$22 million) from the sale of fixed assets.
Mankarayev emphasized that the additional funds will be primarily allocated to address social issues, including support for vulnerable populations, maintenance of new educational institutions, promotion of children's sports, procurement of medicines and vaccines, funding for grants and scholarships, and enhancement projects for the city's landscape.
“In terms of expenses, the priority is fulfilling the state’s social obligations, with a special focus on funding the social sector,” said Mankarayev.
Furthermore, a substantial portion of the budget will be allocated to the maintenance and development of infrastructure, enhancement of the city’s transportation system, and support for local entrepreneurship.
“Following these updates, Astana’s revised 2024 budget reached 1.31 trillion tenge (US$2.7 billion), with 977.8 billion tenge (US$2.02 billion) expected from various income sources,” said Mankarayev.(Source:astanatimes)
