Kazakhstan’s decision to hike utility prices amid already rising inflation will “inevitably” cause living standards to plummet and could lead to a repeat of the January 2022 anti-government protests, experts have warned.
Utility prices in Kazakhstan will increase by 10-30% from 1 July, a move that the government justifies with the need to raise money for investment in infrastructure. Announcing the rises in April, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said: “Unless we gradually raise tariffs and bring them closer to the market, we will be left without infrastructure in all cities and villages.”
But experts have told openDemocracy they see the move as an inconsequential policy that will hit household incomes without sufficiently improving infrastructure. Economist Kuat Akizhanov warned that the increases will also exacerbate social tensions because people will be both unable and unwilling to pay.
