KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CORRUPTION

Astana, September 16: Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev delivered a powerful message on affirming Kazakhstan's commitment to fighting corruption. He spoke at the opening of an international conference dedicated to the fight against corruption in Astana.

The President reminded conference attendees - nearly 60 States and 20 international organizations represented - that Kazakhstan was the first CIS country to adopt a special law ‘On the Struggle against Corruption’. A lifetime ban on holding any positions in state bodies and organizations was also introduced for those who had been dismissed for corruption offenses. In addition, the Kazakh Government set up an Agency for Fighting Economic Crimes & Corruption (the financial police) and the Commission on Issues Related to the Struggle against Corruption under the President - both of which operate effectively today.

The Kazakh authorities, the President said, had also launched a State Programme to counter corruption and the country is now implementing a second Programme for the period until 2011. In May last year, Kazakhstan ratified the Convention of the United Nations against Corruption.

 “The fact that this Conference is held in Kazakhstan for the first time reflects our strong determination to be in the forefront of combating this global threat” said President Nazarbayev. The President also spoke about the future: “We [in Kazakhstan] aim to improve the system of governance, making it more compact and transparent. We must remove all unnecessary steps in State collaboration with citizens and the private sector - all of which can be a breeding ground for corruption.”

The President analyzed the roots of corruption in the post-Soviet space: “Down through the decades, people solved certain issues by offering bribes. It was easier to do so than solving things lawfully. Unfortunately, that is the legacy of a command economy. Overcoming the vestiges of old law enforcement systems - especially the judicial system - was a very difficult matter.”

The President underlined that “A strong political will is necessary [to fight corruption]”

and that this political willingness must be translated into “strict and fair laws and their strong enforcement… Henceforth, we will improve our legal base - based on the wide experience of other countries… Our anti-corruption policy in Kazakhstan is constructed according to international standards, based on international instruments adopted by the international community.”

Apart from legal reforms, “It is necessary to instill a certain ethos in citizens from earliest childhood,” Mr. Nazarbayev said. “Even the idea of accepting or giving a bribe must become anathema to each and every citizen.”

President Nazarbayev called upon international experts, NGO’s, the media and the international civil society as a whole to engage actively in the Conference: “Kazakhstan has accumulated useful experience relating to the fight against corruption. But we are always open to dialogue with foreign partners on all questions. We are ready to share approaches... We are ready to study and apply the successful experience of anticorruption work of other countries.”

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