Financial violations of 4.1 billion tenge were revealed by the state audit in the Ulytau region

Financial violations of 4.1 billion tenge were revealed by the state audit in the Ulytau region

The results of the audit on the effectiveness of budgetary funds use in the Ulytau region for 2022-2023 were considered at a meeting of the Supreme Audit Chamber chaired by Alikhan Smailov.

The new region, along with the regions of Abai and Zhetysu, was established by Decree of the Head of State in May 2022 to give a new impetus to its economic and cultural development, as well as the full realization of existing production and logistics opportunities.

Ulytau's revenues increased 2.1 times in 2023, amounting to over 169 billion tenge against about 90 billion tenge in 2022. The execution of the revenue part, excluding transfers and subventions, exceeded the approved plan by 12.5 billion tenge. Receipts of own income increased 3 times with an increase in their share in the total revenues of the region. This indicates a significant economic potential in ensuring budgetary independence from the center.

At the same time, the state audit, which covered the period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023, revealed the presence of systemic deficiencies. In particular, the efficiency of using state funds for the implementation of projects for the construction of engineering and communal infrastructure, residential buildings, social facilities, etc. was analyzed.

"Since the formation of the region, effective measures have not actually been taken to solve the accumulated regional problems. In the Comprehensive Plan, there are no measures that require updating or reducing the high level of wear and tear of existing water supply, sewerage and sanitation networks. There was a low level of construction of new educational, health, cultural, sports facilities, as well as repair of existing social infrastructure facilities," the audit report says.

Effective measures are not being taken to clean up and reduce the intake of pollutants into the Kengir reservoir, which is the main source of drinking water supply in the cities of Zhezkazgan and Satpayev. In addition, with significant deterioration of centralized wastewater disposal networks, and in some areas their practical absence, no relevant work was planned during the audited period. There are no measures for the design of new wastewater disposal systems.

Despite the advantageous geographical location in the center of Kazakhstan with common borders with six regions, the development of road networks is aimed exclusively at the Kyzylorda, Karaganda and Kostanay regions. At the same time, for 2022-2023, it was planned to implement only 2 projects for the reconstruction and construction of highways of regional significance with a length of 47.5 km, which will not allow developing the existing trade and transport potential of the region in the coming years.

There are 50 kindergartens for 7.8 thousand children in the region. The deterioration of the buildings of 19 state preschool organizations is more than 65%, and three of them are already 100%. If there is a shortage of places, the akimat of the region has not taken proper measures to complete the construction of kindergartens with 320 places each in Zhezkazgan and Satpayev. Construction has been going on for 4 to 10 years with a 14-17% increase in price.

Similar problems exist in the health sector, especially in rural areas. Thus, there are 41 health facilities in the region built in 1950-2008. The deterioration of buildings in 18 of them is more than 60%. According to the state standard, a number of multidisciplinary and highly specialized regional centers, hospitals, ambulance stations and medical rehabilitation organizations were to be provided in the region. However, these medical institutions were not formed during the audited period. At the same time, there was a delay in the construction of primary health care facilities within the framework of the pilot national project "Modernization of rural healthcare".

In the field of culture and sports, there is an excess of the regulatory deadlines for the construction of new facilities. In particular, the construction of a sports and recreation complex in the village of Zhezdy worth over 396 million tenge has been carried out since 2020 and has not been completed at the time of the audit. At the same time, the standard construction period for this facility is 7 months. The same applies to the wellness complex in the village of Atasu worth more than 906 million tenge, which has been under construction since 2022 with a regulatory deadline of 9 months (at the time of the audit it was not completed). According to the sports facilities, construction works in the amount of over 60 million tenge that were not completed and did not comply with the design and estimate documentation were also accepted.

In general, according to the results of the audit the following was revealed:

  • financial violations amounting to 4.1 billion tenge;
  • inefficient budget planning for 1.7 billion tenge;
  • inefficient use of budget funds and assets by 7.8 billion tenge;
  • losses and lost profits of 22.8 billion tenge;
  • 12 systemic deficiencies and 203 procedural violations.

To eliminate the systemic shortcomings and costs of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, relevant recommendations and instructions were given to the Ministries of National Economy, Transport and Agriculture, the Akim (Mayor) of the Ulytau region, the Akims (Mayors) of Zhanaarkinski district and Ulytau district, the cities of Zhezkazgan and Satpayev, as well as other organizations.

"This audit was conducted on behalf of the Head of State to identify problematic issues in the newly formed regions. This is necessary to help the further development of these regions. Gradually, the akimat and central government agencies will take practical measures to eliminate all violations," Alikhan Smailov said.

During the meetings, the questions of the Chairman and other members of the Supreme Audit Chamber were answered by Akim of the region Berik Abdygaliuly, Akim of Zhezkazgan Kairat Shaizhanov, Acting Akim of Satpayev Almat Saukhimov, Akim of Ulytau district Amanzhol Myrzabekov and Deputy Akim of Zhanaarka district Murat Ibrayev.