Enhancing governance and institutions for sustaining inclusive growth and well-being

This chapter uses the framework of the OECD series “Government at a Glance” (OECD, 2013, 2015a), incorporating interaction with institutions, to assess the key governance constraints which shape policy effectiveness in delivering the desired public service outcomes to sustain inclusive growth and well-being.Kazakhstan has adopted a culture of continuous improvement to enhance its governance and institutions. Reforms are continuing to professionalise and modernise public service administration. It has strengthened the transparency and accountability of the national budget and of revenues from extractive industries. At the same time, it has stepped up its anti-corruption drive and rolled out open-government initiatives to improve policy transparency and accountability.Control of corruption remains a key cross-cutting governance challenge, transcending the scope of action of anti-corruption authorities. Corruption can hold back private sector development and economic diversification as well as the delivery of public services. Public procurement, which forms a sizeable share of government expenditure, is viewed as particularly corrupt. The delivery capacity of public administration remains low. This is exacerbated by weak government capacity and co-ordination across government agencies, which underscore the need to professionalise the civil service and instil a culture of meritocracy to harness talent and enhance integrity. In conjunction, institutional reforms must be pursued to enhance the rule of law, regulatory quality, and the openness and inclusivity of policy making.