President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Karim Massimov, that in the near future Kazakhstan is expecting a severe crisis.
"There is a real crisis coming, much stronger than in 2007-2009," the head of state said. He admitted that today the republic's economy is operating in a difficult mode, adding that due to the decline in energy prices budget revenues have decreased by 40%. In addition, prices for other basic export goods including ferrous and non-ferrous metals and coal have also gone down. Meanwhile, agriculture provides a small increase but industrial enterprises have reduced production, Nazarbayev noted.
According to the President, the population of Kazakhstan "must know the current situation in the country, Kazakh enterprises should expect profit shrinkage, reduction of income and possible job cuts."
Nazarbayev "instructed the Government to analyze and work out a plan of anti-crisis work," stressing that "the state will not allow a reduction of the social well-being of citizens."
The head of state stressed the importance of increasing the volume of industrial production, capacity utilization of already-constructed facilities. "Business organizations should not expect that the state will provide them with means. I forbid the use of the financial resources of the National Fund for the construction of new facilities or supporting and subsidizing poorly performing enterprises," TASS cited him as saying.
