Lessons from Zhanaozen: Bringing Business, Government and Society Together

Voices From Central Asia No. 6, September 2012

By Aitolkyn Kourmanova

Kazakhstan’s oil regions are suffering from various socioeconomic problems despite significant government and private spending.

The Zhanaozen riots demonstrated that Kazakh authorities need to develop a stronger public sector, one that is perceived as just, efficient, and efficacious.

A tripartite or tri-sector partnership between business, government and civil society is a model to follow.

Bio

Aitolkyn Kourmanova is the head of a private consultancy center, the Central Asia Strategic Management Group, based in Almaty. She is specializing in economic and political research, risk consulting as well as media and social projects. She was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in the United States in 2011-12, and a visiting associate to the Central Asia Program.