The audit commission conducted a state audit of the effectiveness of funds allocated for the development of engineering and communication infrastructure on the outskirts of Astana. The list includes relevant budget programmes totalling 21.4 billion tenge.
As reported by BES.media, the commission audited the activities of the department of transport and road transport infrastructure development and the department of communal services of Astana.
The state audit established financial violations totalling 1.4 billion tenge, unspent budget amounting to 3 billion tenge, and also identified inefficient use of 5 billion tenge.
It is noted that funds allocated for a specific project often cannot be spent in time, meaning the project has to be adjusted and, consequently, the contract amount changed.
For example, the project for the construction, reconstruction of roads and engineering networks in residential areas was valued at 2 billion tenge, but the actual cost at the end of the year was 969 million tenge.
These funds were then reallocated: 532 million tenge was directed to design and survey work, 242 million tenge went towards the construction of Bukhar Zhyrau Street, 47 million tenge for a project implementation in the 'South-East' residential area, and 249 million tenge was returned to the budget.
Similarly, surpluses from the project 'Construction, reconstruction of roads and engineering networks in the 'Zheleznodorozhny' residential area' amounting to 384 million tenge were returned to the state.
The commission assessed 13 suspended investment projects, the implementation of which began back in 2011.
The main reasons for the suspension of projects are cited as:
- ineffective planning without the use of priority criteria;
- improper fulfilment of obligations by contractor organisations;
- insufficient funding;
- failure to ensure timely purchase of land plots.
An example cited is the construction of a two-kilometre street in Astana. While the project was valued at 6.5 billion in 2020, the untimely launch of the project in 2022 led to its cost increasing to 9.9 billion tenge.
The commission also identified another trend: contractors receive funds without confirmation of the volume of work completed.
It was in this way that the transport department, in December 2023, without confirmation of the completed volume of work on the project, unjustifiably paid the contractor 364 million tenge.
Moreover, it emerged that the department used laboratory tests from third-party organisations without the relevant accreditation, which also led to losses for the budget.
Ultimately, the state audit identified about 70 procedural violations, 6 systemic deficiencies and determined that the total economic losses for the state amounted to 711 million tenge.