According to Nikita Shatalov, society does not believe that the truly responsible parties will be held accountable. Deputies from the AMANAT faction once again raised the issue of the responsibility of the leaders of ArcelorMittal Temirtau (AMT) for accidents at the company’s facilities that have resulted in the deaths of Kazakhstanis during a plenary session of the Majilis, as reported by Azattyq Rýhy.
“Over a month ago, an accident occurred at the Kazakhstan mine. During the fire, which is still not extinguished, 5 people died, and 16 others were injured. The enterprise will not be operating for a year. We awaited the results of the government commission’s work, and they were announced last week. The investigation found that the full blame lies with the employer. 28 people who should be subject to criminal prosecution have been identified,” said Deputy Nikita Shatalov, addressing a request to Prime Minister Alihan Smailov and Prosecutor General Berik Asylov.
He emphasized that this is not the first accident at ArcelorMittal Temirtau’s facilities.
“The AMANAT faction has repeatedly raised issues of equipment operation violations, safety issues, and inadequate labor protection. Unfortunately, society does not believe that the truly responsible parties will be held accountable. Often, in such incidents, the blame was placed on the performers, while major managers made decisions that led to accidents.
This time, too, it is obvious that the accident, which resulted in the loss of our compatriots, occurred due to the fault of the enterprise’s leaders. They decided that they could save money by purchasing unsuitable equipment and not complying with all technical requirements for coal mining. For example, it became known that a belt that, according to Kazakhstani legislation, should have been fire-resistant, caught fire. This is a blatant disregard for the fate of our people. If it were not for someone’s greed, Steshin, Khalikov, Burgun, Slyunkov, and Starovoit would still be alive,” the deputy said.
Nikita Shatalov stated that the deputies of the AMANAT faction were at the scene of the tragedy.
“We talked to colleagues of the deceased miners, saw the deplorable state of the mines, met with the families. People, unfortunately, cannot be brought back, but society expects justice.
Firstly, we demand that you do not weaken control. The results of the investigation must lead to fair punishment. Those responsible for the accident, for the deaths of miners, must bear full responsibility for what happened. No one, especially the leaders of the enterprise, including foreigners, should be removed from the orbit of criminal prosecution. Those who made criminal decisions should be punished several times more severely than involuntary performers.
Secondly, punishing the guilty is not enough. The accident at Kazakhstan mine is far from the first in recent years. And the reason for all of them is the same – the investor squeezed everything out of Soviet technologies, did not modernize, and did not monitor working conditions in the mines. This is the reason for all the deaths of miners, and there have been more than 100 during Mittal’s work in Kazakhstan. We demand that those who have earned hundreds of billions on the lives and health of Kazakhstanis fulfill their investment obligations in full. The Government of Kazakhstan has all the necessary legal levers for this,” the deputy said.
