New law to support further development of NGOs
ASTANA. December 26. KAZINFORM President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed on Dec.22 a bill "On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on state social contracts" into the law.
The purpose of the bill is to further improve state support for NGOs, increase the responsibility of social organizations in carrying out state social contracts and ensure effective use of budget funds. The act will secure accommodation of government policy priorities as well as social and economic needs of certain regions in the process of allocating social procurement contracts, the Kazakh MFA's press service reports.
The original Law on State Social Contracts, enacted in 2005 with a key task to build a system of cooperation between the authorities and NGOs through regulation of social relations arising in social order implementation by non-governmental organizations did not effectively promote the formation of effective partnerships between governmental bodies and NGOs. The new amendments introduced the expansion of the conceptual framework, rules regulating the interaction of state bodies and NGOs in the formation and implementation of state social orders.
As a result of amendments, the law will make a public social contract sectoral in nature which, in turn will enhance areas of NGO's expertise in providing services in specific spheres and for specified groups of people. This will also elevate professional level of NGOs and improve the quality of social services they offer.
The regulated procedures of allocating funds for placement of social orders will help increase the level of responsibility of the organizers of public procurement, as well as make it easier to monitor the effectiveness of the use of budget funds in this sphere. The monitoring functions carried out by an authorized body envisioned in the new law, including collection, storage and processing of data on contracts under implementation, is designed to improve the efficiency and transparency of state social orders execution.
The redrafting of the law goes in line with the Conception of the Civil Society Development for 2006-2011 that seeks the improvement of legal, social, economic, organizational and methodological framework for the comprehensive development of the civil society institutions and their equal partnership with the state and the business sector in accordance with international treaties and covenants on human rights.