Tokayev Abolishes Ministry and Akimat Performance Evaluation System

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has abolished the annual performance evaluation system for ministries and akimats, which had been in place since 2010. The decree took effect on 21 October 2026. Decree No. 1469, dated 18 September 2026, repealed 33 items in a list of earlier presidential decrees and provisions of other decrees that regulated the system.

The system's main legal basis was Decree No. 954 of 19 March 2010, signed by former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Under it, the operational efficiency of government bodies was scored on goal achievement (45%), interaction with citizens and business (30%), and organisational development (25%). The Supreme Audit Chamber compiled the ratings. Bodies placed in the bottom three, or whose performance declined for three years running, could prompt a review of their leaders' accountability.

In 2025 the Supreme Audit Chamber reported that nine different evaluation formats were in use across the country and proposed merging them into a single system. Under a law of 23 July 2026, the chamber will continue checking how ministries and akimats meet development plans and the results set out in budget programmes. New evaluation rules are to be approved in October.