Well-known political analyst Danjar Ashimbaev has published a brief overview of the work of the Sagintayev government, which lasted for nearly 3 years. Here is a summary:
«On September 9, 2016, 52-year-old Bakytzhan Sagintayev became the head of the government. His first deputy was appointed as 50-year-old President of Kazakhstan Temir Sarievich Askar Mamin. The deputy prime ministers were Imangali Tasmagambetov, the Minister of Defense (replacing Dariga Nazarbayeva), and Askar Myrzakhmetov, who also served as the Minister of Agriculture.
In February 2017, Tasmagambetov, who was considered the most likely next president, was sent for diplomatic work. In March, a constitutional reform was carried out, shifting the government’s authority to be handed over not to the newly elected president but to the Mazhilis. Vice-prime ministers had to undergo approval by the lower house committees.
In August, the deficit of vice-prime ministers was filled by 45-year-old President of NAC Kazatomprom, Askar Zhunusovich Zhumagaliyev, and 47-year-old Chairman of the Management Board of Baiterek National Management Holding, Erbolat Zhumagaliyev. Zhumagaliyev was assigned to lead digitalization efforts, while Zhumagaliyev was tasked with the economy and social sphere.
In December, the head of the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, Umirzak Shukeyev, became a vice-prime minister and the Minister of Agriculture. Myrzakhmetov, after a short pause, was appointed as the akim of Zhambyl Region. It appears that this was done to free up Samruk for Ussimov, and other changes were secondary.
A year later, in December 2018, Zhumagaliyev also became the Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry. The government, in principle, was not particularly efficient and was constantly criticized, particularly by the head of the state, with some recalling that Nazarbayev once referred to the ministers as «cowards.»
Numerous operations related to the rescue or collapse of certain banks, in which billions of the state sector disappeared, didn’t boost the government’s popularity, especially considering that the prime minister’s son-in-law was involved in two major BTA Bank collapses.
Less than a year after the formation of this government, expectations of its resignation began to emerge. The protracted agony came to an end on February 21, 2019. Dismissing the Sagintayev cabinet, Nursultan Nazarbayev stated, «systematic work has not been established.» The former prime minister, loyally, responded, «Elbasy [Leader of the Nation] is the father-founder of our state, he always makes decisions based on the interests of the state and the people, with the well-being of all citizens of the country at the forefront.»
