Until April 24, people in Kazakhstan can vote for projects that will be funded from the budget next year. This is about participatory budgeting, a tool designed to involve citizens in deciding how part of public funds is spent.
Traditionally, the budget is seen as a complex area that requires special knowledge. But today, openness, accountability, and public involvement in decision making matter more than ever.
In this context, participatory budgeting is becoming one of the key ways to make budget policy more transparent. This model first appeared in the late 1980s in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. Today, it is used in more than 50 countries.
International organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development and the World Bank consider it one of the best practices for citizen engagement. Kazakhstan has also introduced this system, allowing residents to take part in allocating part of local budgets.
Within this framework, projects focus on landscaping, urban improvement, lighting, and building playgrounds and sports areas, among other categories. Participatory budgeting operates at three levels: in cities of national significance and the capital, in regional cities, and in district level cities with more than 10 thousand residents. In large cities, projects are implemented at the district level.
The maximum cost of a single project depends on the type of city:
- 75 000 monthly calculation indices for a district in a city of national significance or the capital
- 15 000 monthly calculation indices for regional cities or their districts
- 1500 monthly calculation indices for district level cities
At the same time, the total size of participatory budgeting is limited to 10 percent of the annual housing and utilities budget program.
Global experience shows that this tool can be used on a much larger scale. For example, Porto Alegre allocates up to 20 percent of its city budget to participatory projects, while cities in Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development countries typically allocate around 2-3 percent.
Public data suggests that in Kazakhstan the system works most actively in Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent. For instance, in the capital, 424 proposals were submitted across six districts, and 268 were approved for voting based on 2025 results. At the same time, some regions face problems with access to information.
A review of 71 local government websites found that some sections are inactive or difficult to navigate, which limits public awareness. In some cases, pages are not updated or are not accessible at all.
Another issue is that participatory budgeting is sometimes used to implement projects already planned by local authorities. These can include large scale urban improvement or riverfront landscaping projects. This reduces real citizen involvement and limits grassroots инициативы.
Analysis of project proposals shows that most ideas focus on solving small, local issues close to where people live. As a result, the main barriers to participatory budgeting include:
- low awareness and weak communication about how the system works
- technical difficulties during voting, especially for older users, including the use of electronic digital signatures
- challenges in understanding budget procedures and preparing project proposals
Overall, participatory budgeting in Kazakhstan is functioning, but its potential is still limited. This is largely due to a formal approach and low citizen engagement, especially at the district level.
Better communication, simple explanations of how to take part, and stronger support for grassroots initiatives could make this tool more effective. The results of the public vote will be announced after April 24.
People can also vote through the electronic government mobile application, in the Services section under Participatory Budgeting. Projects that receive the most votes will be implemented by local authorities next year.
Altinay Nurkeeva, expert at the Kazakhstan Institute for Public Development, exclusively for www.economyKZ.org
