Public Council

The Public Council of Samruk-Kazyna JSC is a consultative and advisory, supervisory body. It was established to represent the interests of civil society and to take into account the opinion of the public during discussion and decision-making, to increase accountability and transparency of the Fund's activities. The scope of the Council's activities includes research, preparation of information and analytical materials and development of proposals on further development of corporate governance of the Fund; development of human capital; comprehensive analysis, forecasting of trends and development of conceptual approaches to economic policy. Over the years of its work, the Public Council, without replacing the Board of Directors and the Management Board, has become a significant element in ensuring transparency of Samruk-Kazyna JSC due to collegiality, publicity and openness of the decisions made.

HOW THE PUBLIC COUNCIL WORKS

Meetings of the Fund's Public Council take the form of hearing reports on the activities of the Fund and its national companies, which provides an effective mechanism of public control.

The hearing of the performance report includes a report of the Managing Director supervising the issue under consideration and a co-report of the Chairman of the Public Council of the Fund. Following the results of the hearing, decisions are made with proposals to improve the work of the Fund and its companies.

The objectives of the Fund's Public Council are to protect the interests of civil society, develop constructive dialogue, collect and take into account public opinions, as well as public monitoring of the strategies and development plans of the Fund and development of recommendations for its improvement.

The Chairman and members of the Public Council are a qualified group of experts from various fields such as corporate governance, legislation, media, science and economics. Their experience and professional skills contribute to a multifaceted approach to solving the Council's tasks.

External experts, opinion leaders, public figures and other stakeholders are invited to each meeting of the Public Council of Samruk-Kazyna JSC. This practice allows to ensure a high level of competence on the issues under discussion, bringing to the dialogue the diversity of views and approaches. This approach facilitates deeper analysis and comprehensive consideration of key topics and initiatives underlying the work of the Fund and its portfolio companies.

Also, within the framework of the activities of the Public Council of Samruk-Kazyna JSC, open accreditation for mass media representatives is carried out. This approach ensures transparency of the Council's work and provides an opportunity for the general public, including journalists and media organisations, to receive direct information on the progress and results of meetings, as well as on key initiatives and projects of the Fund.

Involvement of external experts and media representatives ensures openness and constructive dialogue with the society, which strengthens the understanding and support of the public in the implementation of socially significant projects of the Fund.

In December 2024, the term of office of the Public Council expired. In this regard, a competition was held, following the results of which the new composition, including 15 persons, was approved on 8 February 2025.

Representatives from civil society

Chairman of the Community Council:

• Bolat Zhamishev.

Members of the Fund's Public Council:

• Olga Bulavkina, Deputy of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Irina Tazhibaeva, Executive Director of the Nuclear Technology Safety Centre;
• Askar Bilisbekov, Co-founder, founder, managing partner of Byb Capital Ltd. Investment Fund;
• Dosym Kydyrbaev, Managing Partner of Rakurs Consulting Group LLP;
• Sholpan Zhakitova, Speaker of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Nurlan Sakuov, Deputy Director for Economics of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Olzhas Baidildinov, General Director of Almex Polymer LLP, member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, member of the Club of Experts at the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Alina Aldambergen, Chairwoman of the Board of Kazakhstan Stock Exchange JSC;
• Vladislav Galiev, Advisor – Minister of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Yerlan Abdiev, Deputy of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, member of the Committee on Economic Reform and Regional Development, head of the Inclusive Parliament parliamentary group;
• Sergey Ponomarev – Deputy of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, member of the Committee on Ecology and Nature Management.

Representatives of Samruk-Kazyna JSC:

• Aidar Ryskulov – Managing Director for Economics and Finance, member of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna JSC;
• Gibrat Auganov, Managing Director for Corporate Governance, Social and Employee relations and Health & Safety.

OUTCOMES 2024

In 2024, the Public Council of Samruk-Kazyna JSC continued active work on ensuring transparency, accountability and strengthening public control over the activities of the group of companies of the Fund. During the year, six key meetings were held, during which the most important areas of activity were discussed – from annual reporting and procurement procedures to charitable activities and implementation of investment projects. For the first time in the Council's practice, a meeting on procurement issues was organised in the format of public consultations, which made it possible to involve the general public and the business community in discussing systemic issues.

Particular attention was paid to the issues of sustainable development and progress in the implementation of priority infrastructure initiatives. The Council heard reports from such key national companies as NC KazMunayGas JSC, NC QazaqGaz JSC and Samruk-Energy JSC. In addition, in 2024, field meetings of the Public Council were organised in the regions, which allowed not only to get acquainted with the activities of the Fund's subsidiaries on the ground, but also to develop more substantial and practice-oriented recommendations.

Thus, on 5 April, a field meeting of the Public Council was held in Atyrau with the participation of Bolat Zhamishev, Chairman of the Council. As part of the rich programme of the visit, the delegation visited key production facilities, including Karabatan Utility Solutions Company, gas chemical complex of Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries Inc., where the laboratory, propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene production units, as well as finished product warehouse were inspected. The excursion to the construction site of the gas processing plant and booster compressor station was also conducted. The meeting of the Public Council was held on the basis of the central operator's room of the gas chemical complex and included hearing the reports of JSC NC KazMunayGas and QazaqGaz. As a result of the visit, specific recommendations on sustainable development and further development of oil and gas infrastructure in the region were made.

On 29 July, the city of Ekibastuz hosted a regular field meeting dedicated to the issues of electric power industry. Members of the Public Council were introduced to new technologies at Bogatyr open pit mine, where the project of cyclic-flow technology in coal mining is being implemented, and visited Ekibastuz Thermal Power Plant (TPP), Ekibastuz State District Power Plant-2 (SDPP-2) and Ekibastuz State District Power Plant-1 (SDPP-1 named after Bulat Nurzhanov). The Council's final meeting summarised the results of the visit and outlined areas for modernising the facilities and ensuring energy sustainability.

PLANS FOR 2025

In 2025, the Public Council of Samruk-Kazyna Joint Stock Company is to hold 13 meetings aimed at strengthening public control, increasing transparency and sustainable development of the Fund's group of companies. The agenda includes strategic issues covering the topics of corporate governance, ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance), industrial safety, privatisation, as well as the implementation of priority state initiatives.

Among the key topics of the year are the results of the Fund's group of companies for 2024, public hearings with Samruk-Energy JSC, QazaqGaz JSC and NC KazMunayGas JSC, including a field meeting at the desalination plant in Atyrau region (Kenderli).

Thus, the work plan of the Public Council for 2025 reflects the aspiration to a systematic approach in controlling the key areas of the Fund's activities and contributes to increasing trust on the part of the society, partners and stakeholders.