Tenure Following the outbreak of
2022 Kazakh unrest, President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Smaiylov as the acting
prime minister of Kazakhstan on 5 January 2022, in response to the resignation of his predecessor
Asqar Mamin and his
government. According to Joanna Lillis from
Eurasianet, Smaiylov along with other ministers is a
technocrat with role in "carrying the baggage" of a "tainted cabinet" and that his appointment as the head of government would provide more clues in Tokayev's future policies.
First term On 11 January 2022, the
Mäjilis, the lower house of the
Parliament of Kazakhstan, approved Smaiylov as the new prime minister with 89 deputies across party factions unanimously voting in favour for his candidacy. President Tokayev at the session asserted that Smaiylov's view on Kazakhstan's future economy being "correct" and that he had "a precise plan". From there, Smaiylov himself thanked for support and remarked it as a "great responsibility" and praised Tokayev's existing policies. At the first meeting with cabinet of ministers on 12 January 2022, Smaiylov proclaimed that the government "must justify the high confidence of the head of state at this difficult moment for the whole country." On 31 July 2023, Smaiylov signed a resolution to allocate an additional 918 million tenge from the government reserve for purchasing fire-fighting overalls for employees of forest fire stations working in environmental institutions and forestries. On 5 February 2024, Smaiylov and his cabinet resigned. He was replaced by his deputy and acting Prime Minister,
Roman Sklyar. The next day, the official new Prime Minister,
Oljas Bektenov was appointed.
Domestic policy COVID-19 response Amid rising
COVID-19 cases in several regions of Kazakhstan, Smaiylov on 12 January 2022 instructed the
Ministry of Healthcare and local executive bodies to increase PCR testing, monitor operations, ensure medical readiness, and prevent drug shortages, emphasizing the need for mobile medical teams to provide home care and free medicines, while also significantly increasing the rate of population revaccination under the personal control of regional
akims.
Socioeconomic policies On 18 January 2022, the government approved the Plan of Operational Actions to Stabilize the Socio-Economic Situation following the
January Events. The action plan included 51 measures to restore public order, rebuild infrastructure, support social issues, prevent price hikes, and aid businesses. Key actions involve increasing security, compensating affected workers, and supporting the families of victims. Measures also include debt relief, housing aid, stabilizing the foreign exchange market, and delaying tax inspections. Smaiylov emphasized the plan's focus on increasing citizens' incomes and reducing youth unemployment, with strict oversight by state officials to ensure effective implementation. In March 2022, the Program to Increase Incomes of the Population until 2025 was adopted, aimed at improving citizens' well-being and updating social and labour policies by boosting employment in industry and entrepreneurship through the creation of new industrial clusters, financial support for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and fostering SME development around large enterprises; in the agricultural sector, it includes measures to establish households, implement investment projects, and expand microcredit mechanisms, with the overall goal of reducing the share of the population earning below the subsistence level, reducing unemployment, and creating about 2 million new jobs by 2025.
State regulation of prices Under President Tokayev's initiative, Smaiylov instructed the adoption of a regulatory act on 5 January 2022, to implement price caps on liquefied gas, gasoline, and diesel for 180 days, along with a mechanism for state regulation of prices for socially significant food products, which the price cap for petroleum products was extended until January 2023. Following this, in June 2023, legislation was adopted to continue regulating state pricing for liquefied gas, emphasizing transparent pricing mechanisms and fair market practices in Kazakhstan.
Inflation reduction Facing an 8.1% inflation rate, Smaiylov instructed government bodies to take measures to increase food production, control trade markups, monitor pricing practices, and ensure market saturation. A draft set of measures to control and reduce inflation for 2022–2024 has been developed was adopted in February 2022, which included 66 measures across five areas to boost production, improve logistics, regulate pricing, and enforce antimonopoly and foreign trade regulations. Following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan's inflation rate suddenly spiked. Smaiylov attributed the cause to
rising global food prices and urged state bodies and regional akims to strengthen efforts to curb inflation and take effective measures. == Notes ==