Kazakhstan considers limiting government powers under constitutional changes

The Kazakh government may see some of its powers reduced under proposed constitutional amendments, the country’s Minister of Justice, Yerlan Sarsembayev, announced.

Sarsembayev explained that a relevant article in Section 5 of the Constitution, which outlines the functions of the government, could be revised to remove its authority to approve state programmes and to oversee state committees, including managing their activities or cancelling and suspending their acts, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kazakh media. 

Under the proposed system, state programmes would no longer be considered formal documents of the state planning framework, and would instead be developed and approved on an as-needed basis.

The minister also noted that committees within the executive branch are currently treated as departments of the central executive body, making it unnecessary to reference them separately in the Constitution.

By Sabina Mammadli