ABSTRACT
The last chapter discusses the practical implications of the findings of the studies. It highlights an emerging, urgent need for a workable decentralisation strategy in Kazakhstan aiming to eliminate key administrative, fiscal, and political obstacles that hamper the capacity of local governments to coherently reflect local needs. The national government is encouraged to start partnering with local governments and engage them in the revision of the actual administrative functions of local governments to improve their current urban management practices. Based on examples from international practice, the author proposes that the national government pays special attention to the access of local governments to key resources required for the proper implementation of their assigned managerial duties and incentivises them with mechanisms to manage these resources efficiently. The key steps towards better urban government aim to: decrease decentralisation risks and increase decentralisation rewards; balance vertical and horizontal inter-governmental interests; and improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the use of public funds at the local levels in Kazakhstan.
