Cleanliness of the urban environment must become a sustainable norm of public life rather than the result of isolated campaigns. This approach to the further development of "Taza Qazaqstan" was outlined by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who called on Kazakhstanis to foster a high ecological culture in society.

The Head of State instructed that "Taza Qazaqstan" be brought to a qualitatively new level and that a national cleanliness standard be developed, following a tree-planting event with young people and eco-activists in Astana.

According to him, the next stage of the project should be linked to changing citizens' attitudes toward the environment, public spaces, and established rules.

"We must foster a high ecological culture in society. I want to repeat once again: this is an extremely important task set out in the Constitution," the President emphasized.

In Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's view, cleanliness begins with a person's own behavior.

The Head of State also linked the state of the urban environment to the quality of life of citizens. According to him, efforts should be aimed not at external image but at the real living conditions of people.

In this context, the President touched upon issues of urban improvement, construction, and infrastructure.

"Kazakhstan must become a vast construction site, a territory of creation. It is necessary to ensure the highest quality of construction. I will pay the closest attention to this issue and keep it under strict personal control. Those who violate the requirements and established rules will certainly be held accountable in accordance with the law," noted Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The Head of State separately focused on roads, calling their quality one of the problems that must be solved.

"At the same time, the Government and akimats must pay the closest attention to the quality of intra-city and 'country-wide' roads — that is, those roads that lie outside large and small cities. This is our 'Achilles' heel,' and this must be acknowledged. No one has been able to solve this problem (which is shameful in itself) or simply did not want to, and that is already sabotage. We will take measures with the full strictness of the law," he stated.

Another instruction concerns graffiti on the walls of public buildings. The President instructed Astana Akim Zhenis Kassymbek to take tough measures against those who apply such images to city properties. In his opinion, it is necessary to consider legislative and regulatory measures for a complete ban on such "creativity," which he called an act of vandalism and malicious hooliganism.

Speaking about the state's social obligations, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reminded that Kazakhstan is a social state, and the corresponding guarantees are enshrined in the Constitution. This concerns the guaranteed volume of free medical care: appointments with district doctors, basic examinations and diagnostics, emergency care, treatment of socially significant diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and tuberculosis, the provision of medicines, the work of ambulance services and air medical services. Certain types of assistance are also provided for foreigners permanently residing in Kazakhstan and for returning qandas.

The President reminded of the work of the "Qazaqstan Halqyna" fund, which provides, in particular, assistance to children with severe illnesses. At the same time, he raised the issue of possible abuses in the determination of disability. According to him, at a certain period the number of people with disabilities exceeded 800,000 with a population of about 20 million.

The Head of State also reminded of social guarantees for women with children, including parental leave for child care up to three years of age with the preservation of the corresponding guarantees and workplace.

Another measure is free hot meals for all schoolchildren in grades 1–4, regardless of family income. According to the President, the diet should provide about 40 percent of a child's daily calorie needs. It should exclude foods high in sugar and salt, sausage products, fast food, and carbonated drinks.

The Government has been instructed to accelerate the creation of domestic production of hearing aids for children with hearing impairments.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also called for ensuring the targeting of social assistance so that state support reaches genuinely needy citizens.

During the event, the practical results of the environmental campaign were presented by Minister of Ecology Alibek Kuantyrov and Astana Akim Zhenis Kassymbek.

According to the minister, over the years of implementing "Taza Qazaqstan," more than two thousand environmental events have been held in the country, over 3.8 million tons of waste have been collected, and about ten thousand illegal landfills have been eliminated.

Since the beginning of the current year alone, more than 600 events have been held. About seven million people took part in them, over 130,000 hectares of territory were cleaned, and 1.3 million trees were planted.

As reported by the Astana akim, in recent years about 500 courtyards and public spaces have been improved in the capital. By the end of the year, it is planned to put in order more than 170 additional facilities, including parks, squares, and boulevards.

According to his information, a unified system of public and recreational spaces is being formed along the Yesil River, and parks, walking, and sports zones are planned to be linked into a continuous green route.

The President also inspected the "Mynzhyldyk" alley and the second stage of the GreenLine linear park.

As noted, in developing the urban environment, the capital's authorities use proposals from the Center for Urbanism, which takes into account residents' opinions and develops models of development and the city's design code.

The Head of State instructed that the work of such centers be intensified in other regions.

Linarа SАKTAGANOVA
Astana