The Audit Commission for the Karaganda Region conducted an audit of the effectiveness of debt management by local executive bodies (LEBs) and certain entities in the quasi-public sector.
According to the press service of the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC), the inspection covered the regional finance department, the economics department, the energy and housing and communal services department, LLP «Қарағанды Су», LLP «Теплотранзит Караганда», LLP «Housing Stock Modernisation Centre», JSC «Football Club «Shakhter», and the housing and communal services, passenger transport and roads department of Karaganda.
The auditors found that over the last 5 years, the debt of local executive bodies increased 2.2 times, and spending on servicing it rose 1.5 times.
“In particular, during the coronavirus pandemic, there was a large-scale issuance of government securities and non-compliance with the LEB debt limit for 2020 by 3.8 billion tenge. At the same time, the overall debt burden is currently assessed as manageable,” the statement said.
It is noted that in 2031, LEBs must repay debt of 21.7 billion tenge under 20 agreements. Overall, of the total principal debt as of 1 January 2024, 60.4% is due to be repaid between 2030 and 2043.
The auditors also emphasised that against the backdrop of increasing losses at LLP «Теплотранзит Караганда», the risk of the enterprise defaulting on its loan agreements is rising.
Instances were also identified of distributing net profit in favour of the shares of participants in LLP «Қарағанды Су» and borrowing budget loans while simultaneously replenishing bank deposits.
Furthermore, the audit commission identified ineffective management of financial resources at JSC FC «Shakhter», which led to an increase in accounts payable, including for wages, taxes and other mandatory payments.
Overall, based on the audit results, the total amount of identified violations amounted to nearly 5.3 billion tenge. The auditors sent the necessary recommendations to the LEBs and issued orders to eliminate the violations.
Earlier, the Audit Commission of Almaty conducted an audit of the management of state debts and obligations of the city akimat for 2023, the results of which identified problems in the planning, use and repayment of budget funds.