Online voting for projects under the 'Youth Participation Budget' has been launched in Almaty, starting on August 11, 2023. This initiative is being implemented for the first time in Kazakhstan and will help determine which initiatives receive funding and are implemented in the city.

According to the Almaty Youth Policy Department, 203 applications were submitted for the competition, of which 122 projects have been allowed to proceed to voting after preliminary screening and expert evaluation.

The majority of initiatives are in the social sphere — 35 projects, followed by IT and digitalization — 30, and education — 21. Participants also proposed projects in areas such as culture, ecology, health, sports, and infrastructure.

"For the first time, we are creating a system where young people are not just participants in public life but full-fledged authors of urban change. Every idea submitted to the competition is a contribution from young Almaty residents to the development of the city. Now it's the residents who will decide which projects to implement first. This approach fosters a culture of responsibility, trust, and shared decision-making," stated Samarkhan Abdugaliev, project manager of the 'Youth Participation Budget'.

The project offers young Almaty residents the opportunity to propose their own ideas for urban development and participate in selecting initiatives to be funded from the budget. Online voting will continue until August 18. Projects with the most resident support will be declared winners.

reports ЖКХ24, citing the official website of the Almaty City Akimat.

Photo: gov.kz

Online connection to gas networks has been launched in Astana as part of the Ministry of Energy's efforts to digitalize the fuel and energy sector. This online service launch significantly simplifies the process for consumers to connect to gas networks.

JSC "QazaqGaz Aimaq" has completed the transition of the procedure for obtaining technical conditions (TC) to a digital format. Currently, about 80%—approximately 95,000 out of 120,000 annual applications for TC—are processed online.

JSC "QazaqGaz Aimaq" is the sole natural monopoly entity providing the service of issuing technical conditions in an online format. This option has been available to the public since 2023 through the eGov portal and eGov Mobile app. From 2025, this service will also be accessible to legal entities.

As of July 1st this year, the entire process of obtaining TC was moved online for new consumers' convenience. Technical conditions are issued within the timeframe set by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan: within 5 days for technically simple objects and within 10 days for technically complex ones.

The next phase will be the digitalization of the connection process to gas distribution networks, including the tapping and gas launch. JSC "QazaqGaz Aimaq" plans to automate and digitize these services next year.

Currently, the connection service is being provided in Astana on a pilot basis, and by the end of 2026, the service is planned to be introduced in Almaty and Atyrau Region, after which the project will be scaled up to all regions of the country.

reports ЖКХ24, citing the Ministry of Energy's website.

Photo: gov.kz