On May 15, during a meeting of experts organized by the analytical group «Cyprus«, a joint mechanism of joint management of the social space of modern cities - the Budget of participation was discussed. The event was attended by representatives of the Almaty City Development Center, the Almaty Public Council, Urban Forum Kazakhstan, international organizations, various analytical structures and higher education institutions.
Today's participation budget is applied in many cities around the world, including Paris, Seoul, etc. It was first adopted in 1988 in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. The essence of it is that the city authorities allocate a certain share from the budget and allow the citizens to decide for themselves what projects to spend this money. This approach has demonstrated its effectiveness.
In April this year, Mayor of Almaty Bauyrzhan Baybek announced the launch of the pilot project «Budget of Participation» from 2020. The project assumes that each of the 8 districts of Almaty will be allocated 500 million tenge from the city budget. Their expenditure will be determined by the Almaty people themselves by openly discussing the projects and proposals introduced by the residents and voting for them.
What factors should be taken into account when implementing the Almaty Participation Budget? What will make this initiative real? How to achieve high-quality interaction between the city and district akimats with residents at all stages of the budget process - planning, approval, execution and accountability?
All these issues were discussed by experts at the meeting. Sholpan Aytenova, co-founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Zertteu Research Institute, introduced participants to the practice of the Budget of participation in modern cities around the world. Oleg Sek, deputy chairman of the board of the Almaty City Development Center, said that the selection of projects, the voting mechanism for projects and other issues are being worked out. Irina Shumeiko, a member of the Karasu community, introduced the environmental project with the participation of citizens on the example of the Karasu district of Almaty.
During the discussion, the experts expressed their views on this mechanism in general, as well as the Almaty Participation Budget in particular. The expert discussion was attended by the chief researchers of KISS under President Lesya Karataeva and Berik Abdygaliuly.
Experts noted that the participation of citizens in the development of the budget is a complex and responsible process. It requires the adaptation of leading practices to take into account the social, economic, political and legal realities in each case. On the other hand, the «Participation Budget» is conditioned by the need to actively engage urban communities and experts, starting with the phase of discussion of the pilot project, forms, tools and mechanisms for its implementation.
Source: Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies
