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Institute for eGovernment

Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the Digital Center, a digital public service center, in the Kazakh capital, Kazinform has learnt from the Akorda’s press service.

During the visit, the President of Kazakhstan surveyed the services of e-Government delivered to the citizens and guests of the country there.

During today's meeting, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed the implementation of the projects for providing rural settlements with Broadband Internet access and developing 5G and data centers, Kazinform cites primeminister.kz. Prime Minister of the country Bakytzhan Sagintayev, in turn, recalled the need for broadband Internet.

Presight, the region’s leading big data analytics company powered by artificial intelligence and based in Abu Dhabi, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Astana City Administration in Kazakhstan, WAM reports.

Aimed at contributing to Astana's development as a thriving hub of innovation and economic prosperity, the MoU was signed between Erlan Bekmurzayev, Deputy Mayor of Astana, and Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight, during the Forum of Mayors that took place as part of Astana’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

It will digitise urban infrastructure, enhance traffic management, and modernise public services leading to reduced traffic and faster emergency response

Abu Dhabi-based Presight will help turn the City of Astana in Kazakhstan into an AI-powered smart city.

A leading global big data analytics and applied intelligence company, Presight announced that it has signed a six-year agreement with the Akimat (municipal government), worth $190 million. The project aims to digitise urban infrastructure, enhance traffic management, and modernise public services, which will lead to a significant difference for the communities

Besides, 128 services are rendered through the portal of electronic government. They include 83 services, payment for 21 types of governmental charges, 16 types of state duties.

In small-town Kazakhstan, an experiment with the “smart city” model has some residents smiling. But it also signals the start of a new mass surveillance era for the Central Asian nation.

At first glance, Aqkol looks like most other villages in Kazakhstan today: shoddy construction, rusting metal gates and drab apartment blocks recall its Soviet past and lay bare the country’s uncertain economic future. But on the village’s outskirts, on a hill surrounded by pine trees, sits a large gray and white cube: a central nervous system connecting thousands of miles of fiber optic cables, sensors and data terminals that keeps tabs on the daily comings and goings of the village’s 13,000 inhabitants.

Astana is advancing its Smart City project to make the capital one of the safest and most technologically advanced cities in the region. The initiative involves an investment of 53 billion tenge (US$99 million) and introduces advanced artificial intelligence technologies to monitor traffic, enhance security, and integrate city services into a unified management system.

On Aug. 26, the Public Council of Astana held the platform titled Astana. Smart City Starts Today, gathering government officials, maslikhat deputies, IT experts, international partners, public figures, and residents. Surveys conducted through the Smart City application showed that 85% of residents prioritize child and school safety, 51% seek to reduce road accidents, and 91% support centralized AI-powered video surveillance.

The Kazakh capital should become the innovative city of the future, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a meeting on Jan. 31 devoted to the development of Astana, reported Akorda press service.

President Tokayev highlighted the importance of attracting IT business professionals, urging the capital’s administration and the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry to undertake this effort to turn Astana into a digital nomads mecca.

Chairman of the Board of the State Corporation “Government for Citizens” Ablaykhan Ospanov told about the use of biometrics in new developments of the Public Service Centers at the press conference following the Government meeting.

According to him, the biometric parameters of Kazakhstanis, which are provided voluntarily, can replace the digital signature when receiving a number of public services.

• The Astana smart city project will deliver community-wide benefits from reduced traffic and congestion to faster emergency response times.
• Kazakhstani companies will be responsible for 60% of the total project scope, which will be managed, implemented and resourced with a local Kazakhstan-based workforce.
• The Astana smart city project follows other Presight projects with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Digital Development, Samruk-Kazyna and Astana Hub. Presight expands its Astana office as it grows presence in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region.
• Presight expands its Astana office as it grows presence in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region.

As part of his working visit to the Zhambyl region, Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev familiarized himself with the implementation of the state program Digital Kazakhstan in the region, and also examined new educational technologies at the IT Lyceum, the press centre of Prime-Minister reports.

The Head of the Digitalization Office D. Yegizbayev reported that the Smart Taraz project, which includes 20 projects in five key areas: education, health, housing and public utilities, transport, agribusiness and security, is being implemented within the framework of the state program Digital Kazakhstan.

Every member of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) has agreed to employ a proactive approach in promoting transparency and increasing public awareness in the fight against corruption. Since its ratification in 2008, Kazakhstan, by being part of the UNCAC, has changed its anti-corruption policy by dramatically shifting from the use of law enforcement measures to building a transparent and accountable government.

In this context, the digitisation of public service and active civil society plays a crucial role in deterring corruption. For instance, 10 years ago Kazakhstan transferred the public procurement system to an electronic format.

Implementation of the Digital Kazakhstan programme is entering its active phase, said Kazakh Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev at a Feb.16 extended board meeting of the ministry. The impact of the digital economy sector will create additional value of approximately 2 trillion tenge (US$6.2 billion), ensuring fivefold return on investment by 2025.

“The President has set tasks for the digitisation of all sectors, including industry, agribusiness, transport, construction, financial sector, education, healthcare and public administration. The ministry will develop a start-up ecosystem, to stimulate demand for new technologies from the non-financial sector at the legislative level and to create a smart city standard,” said Abayev.

In the interview to the Kazakh TV channel representatives of Kazakhstan cellular companies have announced that the e-government will boost the development of next-generation networks. In the recent five years the e-government has undergone serious development. Some types of certificates are given only in electronic form.

Nurlan Iskendir, Astana resident: «People often need different certificates and to receive them, it is not necessary to ask for permission to leave work but just connect to the internet and receive all necessary information at home.»

The electronic government service eGov.kz has launched its first consulting robot, Kenes, from the Kazakh word for advice, in testing mode.

Kenes answers calls to Single Contact Centre number 1414 and consults on the most popular public service requests, according to head of the National Information Technologies (NIT) public-private company Aset Turysov.

“As world practice shows, contact centres are introducing special robots to optimise their work. The robot processes frequently asked questions and sends them to call centre operators in necessary cases. The mechanism not only reduces timeout, but also lightens the work of the operators,” Turysov wrote on his Facebook page.

The International Expert Council on Digitisation discussed at its Jan. 31 meeting international practices in digital development, the role of e-government as well as how to nurture young talent and develop a startup culture.

The gathering also discussed economic sustainability in developing technology and the impact of innovation ecosystems on education and employment.

The Government for Citizens Corporation launched Jan. 12 the first public service centre for immigrants and a digital public service centre in the capital.

The immigration service centre is located at 31 Imanov Street and is open from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.. Applicants can receive a medical examination, fingerprinting and issue an insurance policy and get an individual identification number.

Government for Citizens State Corporation intends to simplify real estate registration and reduce the times it takes, reported board chair Abylaikhan Ospanov at the May 23 Central Communications Service briefing.

“The rights to register real estate will be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Government for Citizens state corporation in the near future. This will simplify the procedure,” he said.