Political elite in Taraz criticized for purchasing positions and hasty decision-making, says renowned political analyst Danier Ashimbaev.

On his Telegram channel, the expert wrote:

No one is saying Mr. Nugmanov is a bad leader

«…The former head of Aktyubinsk Airport has been appointed as the head of Taraz Airport. In principle, this manager has experience in the field, but the question is, not so long ago, he was at the center of a corruption scandal when he tried to pay off scammers to appoint himself as the mayor of Aktobe. Following this, the then-akim of Aktobe Oblast appointed him as the head of the airport, leading to a lot of jokes about what exactly Mr. Tugzhanov saw in the failed mayor. Apparently, these questions quickly made their way to Ak Orda. Now, Mr. Nugmanov is the head of the airport in Taraz. The owner there is not the akimat but ‘Scat.’

However, such matters are usually coordinated with the akimat, which was led a little earlier by former Minister of Agriculture Karashukeev. And the questions that were addressed to Mr. Tugzhanov have immediately been redirected to him. No one is saying that Mr. Nugmanov is a bad or incompetent leader. The issue is that after the ‘purchase’ of the position of the city akim, it would have been better for him to stay out of the limelight, and those who nominated him should think about the impression created by their personnel policy.

Insider Deals

Former regional akim Nurzhan Nurzhigitov has, as we know, become the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation. And one of the first appointments in his new department was the nomination of his former deputy in the akimat, Erbolat Ibraikhanov, as deputy minister, specifying that he will oversee tariff policy and construction. The principle of teamwork in Kazakhstan has always been, is, and will be, no matter how hard you try to fight it. And Mr. Ibraikhanov is no stranger to tariff policy and construction. In the first field, he rose to the position of Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Regulation of Natural Monopolies of the Ministry of National Economy, and in the second, he managed to work as the deputy head of the housing and housing inspection department of Almaty. As far as I remember, he comes from a highly respected family: his father served as the head of financial police/anti-corruption in the Kyzylorda, Karaganda, Akmola, Zhambyl, Mangistau, and South Kazakhstan regions. The question is, was it necessary to start working in the ministry with the appointment of his ‘own’ person? If he had joined later, there would be no questions, but as it stands, it creates an impression of insider deals.»