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The qualifications of oilmen and industrial workers should be verified
Corruption, economic hardship and poverty - according to a survey by the research centre Gallup International, in 2014 these are the world's top 3 ranking problems. How to win the fight against poverty whilst simultaneously solving the first two problems is the subject of our conversation with the president of "Arman" holding, Serikbay BISEKEEV - a businessman originally hailing from Kazakhstan, who managed to enter the international market without any start-up capital in the form of connections or bribes.
IT'S NOTHING PERSONAL, ONLY BUSINESS
- Political scientist Dosym Satpayev believes that in the future, Kazakhstan could face the situation where in a single country, people from different strata will live as if they were on different planets.
The gap between the very rich and the rest of the population in Kazakhstan is really crazy. Some people are successful within Kazakhstan owing to administrative resources and connections, rather than any professional competences or skills. And who makes them rich? Most of them have forgotten that they are successful thanks to the middle class - just like government officials, they forget that they are maintained by the taxpayers. At the beginning of the era of capitalism and the automotive industry, Henry Ford realized that it was impossible to increase car sales without raising the purchasing power of the population. Hence his famous slogan, "A motor car - for the great multitude". If the public cannot afford to buy certain things, the company and its owner will not thrive. Wages need to be raised appropriately, in accordance with qualifications; develop the workforce, and then the economy will improve. Who will buy thousands of TVs, refrigerators and so on, if people do not have the means? With consumer loans we bring people to despair, since their desires are not concordant with their capabilities.In light of current wars, fighting poverty in general should be a priority. Larger countries will seek to absorb the smaller ones, to expand their empires. It's nothing personal, just business. Kazakhstan, as well as Azerbaijan and other neighbours, are mere titbits for these states. Our task, now more than ever, is to rally together. The authorities need to be in touch with their citizens, and to really help in the development of professionalism. When a man feels he is needed and provided for, he will not rebel against his government.
- Speaking of consumer loans, not so long ago the head of the National Bank of Kazakhstan urged citizens not to take any out. What's your opinion?
- Learn to live within your means! Yes, there are people who took out loans and who have been able to return the money. But there are not so many of them. In general, it would be interesting to find out the statistics: who are happier - the ones who took the loans, or those who did not? The people of our country have certain hang-ups that it's absolutely necessary to own the roof over their heads and possess a horse - an iron one in the modern world. Folks, the world has changed! You have to live now - to gain experience, and not to work for a bank and then pass all that negative energy on to your children. Spend your money on the eternal values - knowledge and travel!
- And which class do you belong to?
- To the class of happy people. I do not fit into any standard classification: I cannot be called either a rich man or an oligarch - I'm not in politics, and I do not possess a castle, a yacht or a Bentley. Recently I visited a French chateau. Among the representatives of different regions of the world there was a Frenchman - a successful distributor of wines from France to South-East Asia, and inhabitants of Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Switzerland, who work across the globe. I am increasingly aware that entrepreneurs from Kazakhstan have hang-ups about entering international markets. An inferiority complex or something like that, some kind of fear that will not allow us to fully open up. We need to raise the self-esteem of one of the greatest nations, whose ancestors conquered a vast territory. And put all of our strengths to use without harming the state. Incidentally, by surrendering our land on lease to the Chinese, we run the risk of doing irreparable harm to ourselves. We spoil the land and lose a global competitive advantage in natural food products, which appreciate more and more in value each year as the amount of clean and fertile land on the planet is reduced more and more.
IT'S NO CRIME, BUT IT'S A PROBLEM
- How can we fight against poverty? By the way, how do you understand poverty in general and poverty in Kazakhstan?
- In my opinion, these concepts are identical. A poor person is uneducated and unprofessional, limited in judgment and choice. There are people who don't want to do anything, and they are satisfied living such a life. On the other hand there are some who do want to change the situation, but who don't believe in themselves. It is essential to reinforce their belief; figuratively speaking, to find an affordable way to boost their brains.Regarding ways to fight against poverty, the first thing is to increase people's competences. I talked with some foreign experts working on oil and gas projects, and they laugh: no one in the world pays them as much money as they do in Kazakhstan. At the same time, our leaders do not ask foreign experts for results - nobody gets punished for the fact that indicators do not improve, or get dismissed because they don't train local staff. Nobody sets us such tasks, the foreigners say, since the directors in Kazakhstan have other, short-term, goals. Why then should we keep these people and continue to pay them such exorbitant amounts?The state conducts certification of class 'A' civil servants. But these officials do not bring revenue to the economy! It would be more advisable to begin carrying out certification of state-owned companies, which generate the main income. We need to verify the qualifications of oilmen and industrialists. A
grading system will correct this imbalance; people will then get paid according to their expertise and contribution to the business as a whole, and not simply because they are registered on the payroll of these companies. Incidentally, the other day I received an offer from the Entrepreneurship Development Fund "Damu", to become an independent director...
THE NEXT LEVEL
- Did you accept the fund's offer?
- Yes, and I have already begun to analyze the overall situation on business loans.It's necessary to investigate how many loans were granted, how much money was returned to the state in the form of taxes on public enterprise activities, and how many enterprises went out of business. When these institutions were organized for the development of SMEs, there were no successful entrepreneurs; so how can decisions about the success of these projects and the loans granted be made by those who have set nothing up by themselves? Further problems include conflicts of interest, and a lack of transparency in the analysis and reporting procedures of projects. For this reason, the new leadership of "DAMU" has invited independent experts in the field - so that we may assist them by looking at the situation from the outside and offering our own support system, both for accomplished entrepreneurs as well as for those who are just starting out.Loan analysis should be done through certain committees, which would consist of successful independent entrepreneurs - from Kazakhstan to begin with, and in the future from overseas. I have been working towards the possibility of setting up funds to support business in Kazakhstan jointly with other countries - Japan, Korea, Malaysia. However, in this event, domestic projects will have to undergo appraisal by an international board of directors. In my capacity as independent director, I have a desire to help the country establish international appraisal of business projects with access to other markets.I know firsthand from entrepreneurs in the provinces how difficult it is to get a loan. Here is where my work can be useful - in terms of making recommendations for optimising business and attracting investors. The "DAMU" Fund has now moved away from direct lending, thereby removing the corruption factor. Nowadays one hears that the risk managers of banks, upon whom the entrepreneurs are dependent, are tightening the screws. I plan to go deeper into discussion with bankers and enterprises, to get an understanding of where the problem lies. How to find mechanisms that simplify the procedures for providing qualitative studies of projects?By the way, returning to the issue of education. Many do not understand what the fundamental difference is between reading books and a live appearance by the author in Kazakhstan. I'd like to point out that a book doesn't inspire as much as the art of a successful lecturer does. Perhaps the state should invite successful entrepreneurs from around the world, to link up the regions through Internet and satellite channels; this will inspire people to achieve great things, and help them to find foreign partners and establish joint ventures. Maybe I'm wrong, but I prefer to make suggestions rather than to criticise...
Source: megapolis.kz
