Which sectors will see budget cuts in the regional budget of East Kazakhstan?

In the current year, according to the published civil budget for 2024-2026 on the akim's website of East Kazakhstan region, the region's treasury received nearly 450 billion tenge last year. This year, the expected total is 416.4 billion, while in 2026 it is projected to be 408.3 billion tenge. A significant portion of the regional budget for East Kazakhstan is formed from transfers, which include subsidies and targeted transfers from the republican budget, as well as, to a lesser extent, transfers from lower levels of government. The revenue part of the regional budget in 2023 was 445.2 billion tenge, compared to almost 424.8 billion tenge last year. In 2025, it is forecasted to reach 405.8 billion tenge, and in 2026 – 401.5 billion tenge, reports inbusiness.kz.

Social security expenditures will increase

The budget expenditures for the last year were estimated at nearly 449 billion tenge. In 2025, they are expected to be just over 416.4 billion tenge, and in 2026 – 408.3 billion tenge. In the previous year, 59% of the total budget expenditure was allocated to the social sphere, including education – 43%, healthcare – 6%, social assistance and support – 6%, and culture, tourism, and sports – 4%.

Expenditures from the regional budget for general government services will decrease this year compared to 2024 by 286.7 million tenge. If the cost of government services was 4.8 billion tenge last year, this year it is expected to be 4.5 billion, while in 2026 it will amount to almost 4.6 billion.

Defense expenditures from the regional budget will also be cut in 2025 compared to last year by 724.7 million tenge. If in 2024, this sector received 1.1 billion tenge, in 2025, the region will allocate 405 million, and in 2026 – 407.8 million tenge.

The public order and safety sector will lose 77 million this year compared to last year. In 2024, almost 10.8 billion tenge was allocated here. In 2026, expenditures in this area will be further reduced by 9.4 million compared to 2025.

Additionally, expenditures for education will be reduced. In 2025, compared to the previous year, they will decrease by 948.4 million tenge, from 192.8 billion to 191.9 billion tenge. In 2026, educational expenditures from the regional budget will be even lower – 184.7 billion tenge.

Healthcare expenditures will decrease this year by 413.2 million tenge, but are expected to increase again in 2026. Last year, this sector received 25.5 billion tenge, this year approximately 25.2 billion, and in 2026 – over 30.9 billion tenge.

Spending on the fuel and energy complex will be nearly halved, affecting housing and communal services, as well as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industrial, architectural activities, transport, and communications.

This year, compared to 2024, expenditures on social security and assistance will increase. If last year they amounted to almost 24.6 billion tenge, in 2025 they are expected to reach 25.8 billion, and in 2026 – 25.9 billion. For areas such as culture, sports, tourism, and the information space, the regional budget allocated nearly 17.3 billion last year. This year, it will be 18.4 billion, decreasing to 14.8 billion in 2026.

Where the transfers went

In 2024, targeted transfers and budget loans from the republican budget amounted to 73.9 billion tenge for East Kazakhstan. Of these, 12.4 billion tenge were current targeted transfers, which, among other things, were spent on increasing the salaries of preschool education teachers, equipping and conducting major repairs of healthcare facilities, organizing and conducting elections for akims, anti-epizootic measures, increasing scholarships for college students, post-secondary education, purchasing identification tools for agricultural animals, and acquiring housing from the communal housing fund for socially vulnerable groups of the population.

Targeted transfers for development totaled 49 billion. These funds were allocated for infrastructure and the construction of educational facilities. Budget loans totaling 12.5 billion tenge were directed towards investment projects in the agro-industrial complex, microloans to rural populations, promoting youth entrepreneurial initiatives, and social support for specialists.

Economy of East Kazakhstan

The volume of industrial production in East Kazakhstan region for 2024, according to the data from the national statistics bureau, reached nearly 2.7 trillion tenge, reflecting a 16.5% increase compared to 2023, with a physical volume index growth of 3.4%.

In the mining industry, the growth rate increased by 10.6%. The extraction for 2024 amounted to 151.4 billion tenge, showing a 6.8% increase compared to 2023.

Last year, manufacturing enterprises in East Kazakhstan produced goods worth almost 2.4 trillion tenge, marking a 16.9% increase compared to the same period last year. The physical volume index grew by 2.2%. Among these, metallurgical production, which is part of the manufacturing sector, produced goods valued at nearly 1.7 trillion tenge. In 2024, the industrial production index in metallurgy decreased by 1.4%. A significant portion of the output in this sector is directed towards export.

The main enterprises in the metallurgical sector of East Kazakhstan include LLP "Kazcink", JSC "Ulbinskiy Metallurgical Plant", and JSC "Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant".

The chemical industry products are produced by JSC "Orika-Kazakhstan", JSC "Ulbinskiy Metallurgical Plant", and LLP "Ulba-TVS". The share of the chemical sector in the overall industrial volume is 3.7%. In 2024, industry enterprises produced goods worth 99.1 billion tenge, with a physical volume index growth of 14.7%.

In the woodworking industry, enterprises produced goods worth 3 billion tenge in 2024. They manufacture sleepers, various types of timber, wooden packaging, plywood, and OSB boards.