EUROSTAT
Directorate A: Statistical information systems; research and data analysis; technical co-operation with Phare and Tacis countries
Unit A-5: Technical co-operation with Phare and Tacis countries /
Mission Report
Eurostat mission to the Agency on Statistics (AoS)
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Almaty, 26 - 30 November 2001
Participants:P. Wolff, Tacis Team leader
B. De Toledo, Desk Officer for Kazakhstan
SUMMARY
Some important events in the country
In spite of the Afghan crisis and the fear of a number of Tacis experts to travel to the area, life remains as usual in Kazakhstan. Only road border controls have been strengthened, making more difficult for foreign representations and experts the necessary and frequent travel between Almaty and Bishkek.
Kazakhstan is preparing itself for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of its independence. Big festivities have been prepared for the 16 December.
The Government has undergone a big reshuffle since October: the creation of a new political movement (the “Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan) by some high officials of the Government, among them, one former Tacis National Coordinator and other Ministers and top officials, has led to their removal from office. These events were followed by the closing down of a popular newspaper, a TV station and an opposition website located in Pavlodar.
Mission appreciation
The organisation of the mission was well done by the international relations department allowing for a large number of meetings inside the AoS. They concentrated on the statistical system as such and on the progress that had been made in key statistical areas due to the Tacis programme but also beyond it. A major focus was put on the description of the organisation of the programming of future activities for the 2001 Tacis programme and on drafting the relevant documents. The presentation on various aspects of Tacis co-operation to the project leaders and other top management staff of the AoS was appreciated because a lot of useful information could be provided to numerous people.
The EC Delegation provided support in all stages of the mission and is willing to assist the AoS in the preparation of Statistics7. Both offices maintain fluent relations. That might represent an asset not only in the preparation but also in the implementation of the Programme.
Main conclusions
The following conclusions are based on the discussions Eurostat had within the AoS both with the top management and project staff. The more detailed project discussions are annexed to this report.
- The revision of the Statistical Law which should be adopted by the end of this year reinforces the coordinating role of the AoS in the field of statistics. The AoS has still to convince other institutions about the non-availability of statistical data for administrative purposes and the confidentiality of individual data. It should be sent to Eurostat as soon as available.
- Inter-administrative coordination still needs to be reinforced in Kazakhstan although the AoS is completely involved in this process. An official agreement is going to be signed with the Customs Committee, which should improve the exchange of information in the field of external trade statistics. The Ministry of Revenue is still reluctant to send detailed information to the AoS for the update of the business register.
- The move of the AoS to Astana remains an issue. The Chairman needs to travel every week to the capital and the Government would like to have the AoS located close to the Ministries and main users. However, a decision has not yet been taken.
- The AoS has developed a good planning system, based on a seven-year programme. This programme was largely discussed with many users inside and outside the government in order to reflect their needs in the programme. Stemming from this long-term programme an annual programme is developed and adopted by the Inter-Institutional Council for Improvement of Statistics. The budget for implementing the annual programme is in general provided by the State.
- The AoS is engaged in a deep and quick reform of official Kazakh statistics. In just a few years, the AoS has developed a comprehensive catalogue of very attractive publications. The statistical business register is fully used for the implementation of sample surveys in several fields: transport, trade, services, industry, etc… Sample techniques are also used in labour market statistics on the basis of the results of the last population census. All major international classifications have been introduced into practice and old ones abolished.
- The AoS co-operates with and consults its users on a number of occasions. Its dissemination policy is largely oriented towards a wide range of users. There are many publications available, Internet is used for these purposes and a methodological publication “Economy and Statistics” is issued quarterly. A statistical library, financed from the national budget, will be created in 2002.
- There is a need to improve inter-department co-operation inside the AoS. Many areas of statistics are linked with each other and managers should keep in mind these links when developing their area of competence. This concerns mainly the areas of statistical methods, business register, business statistics and national accounts.
- The AoS has made good progress in a number of areas like programming of activities, publications and dissemination, training policy, sampling methods, business register, classifications, business statistics (transport, services, trade) and labour market statistics. Even if there is room for further improvement the speed of progress has been impressive.
- There are also a number of areas that need significant development. This concerns mainly the move from a branch to an institutional approach (surveying of institutional units) in the area of business statistics. This transition towards surveying of statistical units will become a real challenge for the AoS because it requires many changes in data collection and processing procedures. It would deserve to be described in a specific strategic document. Sample surveys for small-sized enterprises should be extended to structural surveys and to the construction sector. The quality of external trade statistics should be improved by the development of mirror statistics exercises, in particular with the Russian Federation, which is the main commercial partner of Kazakhstan.
- Co-ordination of various donors is well done in the AoS. The international department keeps good track of all the donors’ programmes and ensures that there is no overlapping of programmes. Usually this is done by including completely different statistical areas into the donor’s programmes. Eurostat however, asked to be permanently informed about the various ongoing projects with other donors.
- A long presentation was made on the share of responsibilities among various actors of the Tacis programme, on the need to use the LFA when developing project documentation and on the changing environment in statistical co-operation. This seemed to very useful for many project leaders and top management, as they were not so much aware of the changing rules and procedures.
- Concerning the Statistics 7 programme it was agreed that the top management of AoS would provide Eurostat with a list of priority projects by mid-December. On this basis project leaders would start drafting the component descriptions based on the examples provided by Eurostat. All the descriptions should follow the format presented during the mission. The EU delegation offered its practical support in organising a training seminar on implementation of LFA method. Deadline for submitting them to Eurostat is end of March 2002.
1.BRIEFING MEETING WITH THE TOP MANAGEMENT
Mr. Shokamanov, Mrs. Denisova, Ms Hermalahti
Eurostat presented the objectives of the mission to the top management. These are the monitoring of progress in statistics and the support for drafting of the documents for the Statistics 7 programme. Some explanations were given concerning the future implementation arrangements for the Tacis statistics programme and the timetable for the preparation of the various documents.
The planning system of the AoS is in place. It includes a commitment of the government for its financing but, if this is not possible, actions are postponed like the agricultural census which is now foreseen in 2005. The seven-year long-term programme (1999-2005) was developed in close consultation with a huge number of institutions from the government, businesses, media and research. This programme was adopted as a decree of the government in November 1998. Some new topics (gender statistics, environment, sciences, etc…) have appeared that were not initially foreseen. Based on it, annual statistical programmes (Plan of Statistical Observation) are elaborated again involving many users from all over the country. There is a general will to go quickly for the reforms that are implemented in many domains at the same time. However, the multi-annual plan does not include any reference to the development of human resources needed for its implementation.
The Inter-Institutional Council on Improvement of Statistics is chaired by the Vice-Prime Minister. It plays a key-role in the coordination of the various governmental bodies and adopts the annual statistical plans. The methodological Council is internal to the AoS and is consulted for each document that needs to be adopted by the Chairman.
The Chairman of the AoS was in Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan, during this meeting as he was defending the third revision of the Statistical Law in front of the Parliament. This revision tries to improve the situation on three items: data collection from subsidiaries (local units), treatment of foreign subsidiaries and the inclusion of households registers hold in the villages in the statistical legislation. There is no major improvement on the treatment of confidentiality in the new revision.
Relations with users have been strongly developed over the last years. The new communication tries to apprehend each group of users in a specific manner. Press conferences are held each quarter and two seminars were held last year with the mass media. In December, an “Open Day” of statistics will be offered to the public.
2.PRESENTATION TO THE PROJECT LEADERS
Mr. Shokamanov, Most Project Leaders, Mrs. Denisova, Ms Hermalahti
A comprehensive presentation was made to all the project leaders and other interested staff on the following topics: split of responsibilities between the various actors in Tacis co-operation, need for and structure of action and final component reports, future organisation of Tacis statistical co-operation and recommendations for developing project documentation.
Eurostat emphasised the role of the various actors in Tacis Statistical Co-operation and indicated the main changes that will occur with the tendering of future contracts. The need to proceed fast with the development of component descriptions for the Statistics 7 programme was pointed out in order to get the tendering documents for the contract ready. A deadline of end of March 2002 was put for finalising all component descriptions. The EU delegation, which was present during this meeting, offered its practical support in organising a training seminar on implementation of LFA method.
The presentation of needs and structure for country and project documents gave rise to a lively discussion. Eurostat emphasised the importance of taking responsibility for the project development and for its rationale and logic content. As long as general rules were followed Eurostat would not interfere into the project content and rely on the project leaders thus developing ownership for the projects. The need to provide good reports and documentation for monitoring and follow-up from outsiders was mentioned and well understood.
3.SECOND BRIEFING MEETING WITH THE TOP MANAGEMENT
Mr. Smailov, Mrs. Denisova, Ms Hermalahti
Eurostat presented the objectives of the mission to the Chairman: monitoring of progress in statistics and support for drafting of the documents for the Statistics 7 programme. It was agreed that discussions on future priorities would be held during the final meeting but it was finally postponed to mid-December.
The Chairman of the AoS was just back from Astana where he defended the third revision of the Statistical Law in front of the Parliament. Amendments started to be discussed with 22 governmental bodies at the beginning of 2001. This revision has already been agreedby all governmental bodies, approved by the Lower Chamber and is now at the Senate. It should be adopted in December 2001. Main changes concern an expansion of the contents of the Law (subsidiaries) where social, economic, demographic, and ecology statistics are now explicitly mentioned. The co-ordinating role of the AoS is reinforced and the objective of setting definitions harmonised with international standards is introduced. The treatment of households databases in the villages has been specified. There are still some problems with implementation of confidentiality principle.
Eurostat asked to receive the final version of the revised Law.
4.MEETING WITH THE EC DELEGATION
Mr. Toll, Mrs. Hermalahti.
The purpose and findings of the mission were presented to Mr. Toll, Head of the Technical Cooperation Section of the EC Delegation to Kazakhstan, and also accredited to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Eurostat asked the Delegation for support in producing the ToR for Statistics7. It was suggested that the European expert of the project “Support to the Tacis National Coordinating Unit”, Mr. Mogensen, could provide training for the AoS. The training course, which could include the Kyrgyz experts, will be organised by and in the premises of the Delegation. Besides this, Ms. Hermalahti, as Programme Officer in charge of the Statistical Programme within the Delegation, will be available for consultations with the AoS project leaders.
Mr. Toll informed that, in view of the situation in Afghanistan, the Commission is considering doubling the allocations to Central Asian countries. Resumption of Tacis activities in Tajikistan is expected to happen soon.
5.DEBRIEFING MEETING WITH THE TOP MANAGEMENT
Mr. Smailov, Mr. Shokamanov, Mrs. Denisova, Ms Hermalahti
Eurostat presented a short assessment of the progress made by the AoS in the past and of the still existing shortcomings in the statistical system. Good progress could be reported in a number of areas.
The programming system of statistical activities has proved to be efficient. The seven-year programme and annual programmes passed the approval procedures and are now implemented by the AoS. Co-ordination among the various donors present in Kazakhstan is done by the AoS and it is obvious that any overlapping is avoided. The international relations department plays a prominent role in the coordination of international assistance and the link with the project leaders.
The style of management is also an asset, with the involvement of the middle management in the decision-taking process. For instance, the Methodological Council, which is composed of the top management and all heads of departments, is consulted for each statistical document to be approved by the Chairman. Dissemination of experts’ reports and documents received abroad is also generalised. The development of a general training policy is on the way. There is a very good understanding by the top management of the huge need of training for regional statisticians, for which the model of training of trainers applies perfectly. Finally, work conditions seem to be better in the AoS than in other Tacis countries. The salaries of the Civil servants will be increased in 2002 by 20%. The level of equipment in the Central Office of the AoS is remarkable, every expert having a PC.
The AoS has developed a comprehensive catalogue of very attractive publications. It has undertaken a number of initiatives to train users and disseminate statistical data satisfying the needs of its users. A statistical library, financed from the national budget, will be created in 2002. The statistical business register is fully used for the implementation of sample surveys in several fields: transport, trade, services, industry, etc… Sample techniques are also used in labour market statistics on the basis of the results of the last population census. All major international classifications have been introduced into practice and old ones abolished.
There are also areas, which need further improvements. The AoS needs to move from the branch approach to the institutional one. The number and heaviness of questionnaires have to be reviewed. All this will require substantial efforts and changes in the way of thinking among statisticians in the AoS.
Five Departments of AoS are involved in business statistics data collection. This is probably too much as, for instance, the National Accounts Department does not need to be involved in data collection but has a strong need to see its information needs fulfilled by each specialised Department. Better inter-Department co-operation inside the AoS is also needed, as various works are inter-linked.