Mazhilis deputy Abzal Kuspan has reported receiving complaints about the former akim of the East Kazakhstan Region Danial Akhmetov.
On his Facebook page, the deputy stated that in one of the appeals, he was informed that in Semey and Oskemen, the street lighting modernisation project under a 3.6 billion tenge loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was implemented with violations.
It is noted that the project was personally lobbied by former EKR akim Danial Akhmetov, who negotiated with the bank and visited the EBRD's London office.
Furthermore, budget funds totalling 1.2 billion tenge were allocated for this work. The project's deadline expired back in 2023, yet its implementation has done nothing to solve the cities' lighting problems, if not made the issue even more acute. It is reported that both cities are currently suffering from a lack of street lighting, with thousands of lamps not working.
"At the same time, both regions are saddled with a multi-billion tenge debt to the EBRD. The nature of the violations during the project's implementation suggests, at the very least, inefficient use of these funds, and at worst, the existence of grey schemes for siphoning money off," the appeal to the deputy states.