Olga Korneyeva, Deutsche Welle
Kazakhstan-2012 public movement is being founded in Almaty. The organization will bring together participants of the shared construction and bank borrowers who can not pay loans because of loss of a job.
Name of the movement "Kazakhstan-2012" says government's policy must change until parliamentary and presidential elections in 2012 and it should focus on social issues. The new movement calls itself the "popular" and has a tough slogan: "Change the policy or you will be changed!" Participants of the conference on the establishment of the movement used forgotten Soviet word "comrades." The overall tone of speeches was very emotional. The reporter said government does not take steps to address social problems and that a new popular movement would fight to the end for the rights of each participant.
The word "borrowers" in Kazakhstan is a synonym to social problems
The word "borrower" appeared in everyday life a few years ago. At first it looked quite positively and associated with hope for a better future. Indeed, borrower is the one who invested in the construction and got a new spacious apartment after a certain time. In late 2007, when it became known that the construction industry in the republic fell into coma, the word "borrower" became synonymous with emerging social problems. People were left without money, without accommodation and without any prospects for return of all of this.
Galiya Tukmanova is borrower from one of the Almaty construction companies. To expand living space, Galiya sold and invested in an apartment building. She had to rent housing with her two children and a disabled husband for the past two years. Galiya said building their was "frozen" in the trench. The family paid at 100% for the never-built apartment, but the return of this money is now impossible. Written address and appealing to respective bodies have not yet yielded any results. "I do not know what to do next", she said.
Saving drowning people
According to the Prosecutor General as of 2008 there are about 200 problem buildings in Kazakhstan. Most of them account for Astana and Almaty. As a result of investigations, criminal cases have been filed against several construction companies. Other companies have "hung" for an indefinite period due to lack of funds to complete projects.
Borrowers have decided to unite to fight for their rights. Almost every problem construction company has initiative group, which is negotiating with builders, writes a letter to authorities and organizes protest actions.
If mortgage becomes stone on neck
Another part of the crisis is the so-called "mortgage borrowers." They are those who are unable to repay loans. Elmira Alshinbekova was successfully engaged in business, but today her earnings fell sharply. It has already received a notice from the bank that her mortgage house goes for auction. "No one refused to pay," Elmira said. "But in the current difficult times when many people were left without work, one must establish a moratorium on payments, it's a disaster, it is force majeure." She said a bank did not listen her arguments and they say there is no crisis in Kazakhstan.
Elmira Alshinbekova is a member of organization of "Lets Leave Housing for People" founded by insolvent debtors in 2008. This organization has been negotiating with banks for a moratorium on payment of loans at a time of crisis and to lower the monthly payments. Elmira did not agree with the fact that the officials and bankers often held "mortgage borrowers" responsible for the situation in public speeches. Alshinbekova said "the banks say on what did you rely? And we answer that we relied on stability, about which we were told by government and president. We have always been told that our country's economy is growing steadily and successfully."
Popular movement designs its own program
The atmosphere around the debtors without apartments and mortgage borrowers, who can be deprived of housing at any time, is still difficult. In 2008, the government allocated funds for the completion of the frozen construction projects, and there was a real progress in some areas. But representatives of debtors' organizations believe that the volume of construction is not sufficient. For example, re-construction of houses that will provide about 4,000 cheated debtors with apartments began in Alma-Ata in 2009. But the real number of debtors surpasses the above-mentioned figure twice.
A-25-percent devaluation of tenge in February further exacerbated the problem for those who are held hostage by the mortgage. In fact, banks issued a lot of dollar-denominated loans at one time. State refinancing program - the transfer of credit in tenge at a lower interest rate - only works for those who are now able to repay. Refinancing will not help those who pay nothing.
The initiative teams of debtors and unions who advocate easing mortgage terms launched Kazakhstan-2012 to make their proposals to authorities to find a way out of social impasse.
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