Kazakhstan will launch a new program called National Fund for Сhildren in 2024 that envisions allocating 50 percent of the National Fund’s annual investment income to support children, nearly the third of the country’s 19 million population, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced in his Sept. 1 state-of-the-nation address.

The funds will be directed to special savings accounts for children until 18, with no right to early withdrawal. The funds could then be used for housing and education purposes.

The National Fund is a governmental entity modeled on Norway’s Oil Fund to accumulate a share of the nation’s profits from oil exports. As of July, its assets reached US$53.3 billion.

Tokayev called it “extremely important” to announce the new program in 2022, which is designated as the Year of Children in Kazakhstan.

“We have enshrined in the basic law the key principle that land and natural resources belong to the people. This is not just a beautiful declaration, but the leitmotif of all reforms. Every family must receive a real return on using the country’s national wealth,” said Tokayev.

Another nation-wide initiative is to create new modern schools for 800,000 children by 2025 as part of the Comfortable School national project.

The move will help address the problem of schools with three shifts and those that require immediate repair work as annual population growth puts significant pressure on the country’s educational infrastructure.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for an extraordinary presidential election this fall.

“A new trust mandate of the people is needed for the successful implementation of fundamental and comprehensive reforms on the way to creating a fair Kazakhstan,” Tokayev said during his State-of-the-Nation Address on September 1.

In addition, the President proposed major revisions to the number and length of presidential terms. “I suggest that the presidential term will be limited to seven years. However, re-election is not permitted,” he stated.

According to the President, the suggested novelty will significantly reduce the risks of power monopolization.

Tokayev also proposed to hold elections to the Kazakh Parliament and Maslikhats (local representative bodies) in the first half of 2023.

“We are building a fair Kazakhstan with open competition and equal opportunities for everyone,” said the President.

Tokayev focused on the importance of carrying out major political transformations in a transparent way.

The President said that public disclosure of the timing and sequence of the new electoral cycle is consistent with the principles of openness in decision-making.

“All these steps gradually fill our main formula “a strong President – an influential Parliament – an accountable Government” with real content,” he said.

The Group of Citizens for Freedom in Telecoms submitted a document to Norwegian Ambassador to Thailand – Kjersti Rodsmoen, on the issue to put on hold the planned merger of True Corporation Plc (TRUE) and Total Access communication Plc (DTAC).

The move to ask the Norwegian government comes as opposition to the planned merger continues and Norwegian government is a shareholder in Telenor which in turn is the single largest shareholder in DTAC.

The Group of Citizens for Freedom in Telecoms demanded the Norwegian government to pressure Telenor, Dtac’s parent company, to consider putting the imminent merger on hold, because it would cause a market monopoly in Thai mobile phone services.

A duopoly of the merged entity and Advanced Info Service Plc (ADVANC) would create a grievance for consumers and impact the rights and freedoms of the public, who face interference in their access to information if the deal goes ahead, the Group of Citizens for Freedom in Telecoms said. This would create a grievance for consumers and impact the rights and freedoms of the public, who face interference in their access to information if the deal goes ahead, they said.

“We are aware of the grievance and what has happened, and we have even taken this public announcement to Telenor and the Norwegian government. May I confirm that this matter will be investigated, and if there are irregularities or violations of good corporate governance in Norway, we will not be negligent when considering this merger. Telenor is Norway’s third largest company, and the embassy will assist as an intermediary to further this announcement.”

The group also handed a statement to the ambassador which reads as below.

The Statement of the Citizens’ Group for Freedom of Communication

On the Merger between True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC)

The Citizens’ Group for Freedom of Communication is gravely concerned over the merger between True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC).

1. The merger proposal of the two companies violates Section 21 of the Telecommunications Business Act, which states that:

“In the telecommunications business operation, other than being subject to the law on trade competition, the Commission shall prescribe specific measure according to the characteristics of the telecommunications business operation to prevent the licensee from carrying out any act that is monopolistic, or that reduces or limits the competition in the provision of telecommunications service in the following matters:

(1) subsidisation of services;

(2) holding in businesses of the same category of service;

(3) abuse of market power;

(4) anti-competition behavior;

(5) protection of small entrepreneurs.”

• The merger between True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC) will result in a decrease in the number of telecommunications businesses. To be precise, only two main service providers will remain. This will affect the consumers both in terms of service quality as well as pricing. It will also impede the development and competition in a digital economy, for which Thailand and countries all over the world strive in this modern world. At present, DTAC owns a mobile subscriber market share of 19.6 million numbers (20%), TRUE has 32.2 million numbers (34), while AIS has 44.1 million numbers (46%). It is evident that the merger between True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC) will reduce the number of major service providers to two and increase the combined market share to more than half allowing the merged company to influence the market both in terms of pricing and service quality.
• In addition, the Group is concerned for the people’s freedom of communication, which should remain free from interference by private companies or the state. Given the potential reduced number of telecommunication service providers, the interference, harassment, restriction, and blocking of the access to information will be allowed to happen more easily. This is especially the case now, when the spyware technology is regularly used by the state to obtain an unauthorized access to activists and dissidents’ data. According to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), corporates also have the responsibility to respect human rights. In the second pillar, it has been stressed that business individuals and enterprises, regardless of their categories or size, have the responsibility to respect human rights.

The Group is aware that Telenor, the mother company of Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC), recognizes the importance of good governance and human rights, as seen in Telenor’s opinion that telecommunication is crucial in people’s exchange and communication and is a part of the freedom of expression as well as right to privacy. Maintaining this value will be proven difficult, if the merger involves a domestic company having in place human rights and privacy policies that are below Telenor’s standards.

Therefore, we would like to urge Telenor to halt this merger proposal between True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC). Moreover, we would also like to request the Government of Norway to consider whether the merger proposal between True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC) is in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

            These three demands are urgent as the voting of the meeting of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications is set to take place on 10 August 2022.

            Thank you in advance for your consideration.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has said Afghanistan’s de facto authorities and the international community’s unwillingness to engage effectively have pushed millions of Afghans into despair.

On the eve of the regime change anniversary in Afghanistan, the NRC Country Director Neil Turner in a statement said: “We have witnessed shocking levels of poverty and suffering in Afghanistan over the past year. The economic restrictions imposed on the country and the unwillingness of both the de facto authorities and the international community to effectively engage with one another have pushed millions of Afghans into despair.

“The families we meet are in crippling debt, facing an ever-increasing pressure on their household budgets. For a staggering number of people, money can no longer buy enough food to survive. Humanitarian efforts are not enough to put an end to the crisis. Frontline actors have done all in their power to provide emergency support to the affected populations and mitigate the situation.

“Yet one year on, Afghanistan stands at a precipice, with its people being punished for the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Despite repeated calls from humanitarian actors, nothing seems to have changed. Afghanistan’s foreign reserves remain frozen, the Afghan Central Bank is still not functional, and development assistance remains withdrawn.

“The international community must acknowledge the humanitarian impact of the economic measures imposed one year ago and step up to address the drivers of the crisis. Without a swift response to the current near economic collapse, including viable development assistance, support to key state infrastructure and fully funded emergency appeals, ordinary Afghans will continue to pay the highest price for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.”