Kazakh lawmaker Bakytzhan Bazarbek has proposed introducing a dedicated day for civil servants’ self-development, during which they would be freed from all work-related duties.
«We are now a nation that uses social media. We are not a reading nation,» Bazarbek said. «How many times has the president said, ‘You need to read books, you need to read books’? Therefore, my personal proposal is that, in the future — whether as part of this new draft law [on civil service] or separately — Friday or any other day of the week be fully designated as a day of education, a creative day.»
Goal: Raising culture and professionalism
According to the lawmaker, such a measure would help improve the cultural and professional level of government officials.
«There should be no workload, no assignments, no civil service duties,» he said. «Civil servants should be freed up — let them go to libraries, read books, set an example and raise their awareness.»
Bazarbek added that «a civil servant who reads Machiavelli and Abai will be able to do high-quality work.»
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In response, Yerlan Koshanov, speaker of the lower house of Parliament, instructed government agencies to review the proposal.
