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Is the business environment in Russia different from the business environment in Kazakhstan?
Business in Kazakhstan and business in Russia are very different. I am often asked to provide a comparative analysis to identify weak areas. Our level of competences is much lower than in other countries. We are now regarded by foreigners as people who will only do what they are told to do: donkey work.
We must be fully aware that a lot of teachers and experts have left Kazakhstan, and now our task is to develop young professionals in the field. Education in schools needs to be improved. It should be in the interests of the government that a teacher training college graduate ends up working in provincial Kazakhstan, and not for a western company. To achieve this, a good contract and social support need to be offered. The state should encourage this and guarantee a springboard for career growth. This is one of the most important conditions. If quality education is made available to everyone, then we will acquire professionals to whom we can entrust the country.
Now all the major projects in our country are handed over turn key to foreign companies or to Kazakh companies that win the tender without competition, or that make closed-door deals with margins of 300 percent or more, recruiting contractors outside the Republic of Kazakhstan who have already implemented similar projects. Gentlemen responsible for the fight against corruption - if you do not believe me, check for yourselves! In the energy sector, for example, the construction of 1 MW power plants has a market value of 2 million dollars; compare this with the cost in Kazakhstan. Horrific! We say that we want to get into the top 30 countries, but our main obstacle is certainly corruption.
Companies in Kazakhstan remain on the sidelines due to a lack of experience. One of the key tasks for our ministries is to ensure the joint construction of various facilities. The condition must be stipulated, by law, that foreign managers need to cultivate their supernumeraries from among local staff. At the same time, they should get a bonus for training these highly-qualified backups.
The same applies to institutes of higher education. We need to take advantage of the recession in Europe and America, where hundreds of qualified professors have lost their jobs. We should invite them to lecture here. It is not profitable to send several thousand Bolashak candidates overseas, and the President has taken very timely corrective measures in creating the Nazarbayev University. Similarly, we now need to set up a specialised university in each regional centre - based on the needs of each respective region. Then our children will be able to get an education at international level without leaving the country - from the roots.
