The Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC) has published the results of an audit into the efficient use of budget funds and state assets in the North Kazakhstan Region.
According to the agency's press service, overall over the past five years, the region's gross regional product has increased by 69% since 2020. The unemployment rate fell by 0.4%, and the proportion of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum decreased by 2.3 percentage points. Meanwhile, the region's housing stock grew by 600,000 sq m.
At the same time, auditors note that the region faces demographic challenges: the natural population increase is declining, and net migration remains negative.
In the field of education, problematic issues persist, including three-shift and unsafe schools. A number of educational institutions operate without gyms or necessary subject-specific classrooms.
According to the audit, in healthcare, the wear and tear of medical facility buildings reaches approximately 74%, causing concern among experts and raising questions about the safety and accessibility of infrastructure.
Despite the increase in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises, this sector's contribution to the gross regional product has declined.
At the SAC meeting, the chair of the chamber, Alikhan Smailov, drew particular attention to a significant drop in the revenues of wholesale and retail trade enterprises. According to the State Revenue Committee, the revenues of companies operating in this sector fell by 100 billion tenge.
"It turns out the region's tax potential from trade has decreased. Consequently, fewer taxes have been paid, and the local budget has fewer opportunities to finance social infrastructure development projects and others," he noted.
At the same time, the audit revealed insufficient efficiency in the operation of the "Qyzyljar" Special Economic Zone. It is noted that the lack of necessary engineering infrastructure prevented the timely commissioning of some facilities.
Meanwhile, local authorities directed significant funds towards projects that auditors consider less of a priority, including the renovation of administrative buildings costing 7.3 billion tenge and the construction of a theatre for 7 billion tenge.
The auditors also had questions regarding the situation with providing water to the population. There remain 38 key villages in the region without a centralised water supply. Of the 79 constructed facilities, 22, costing around 10 billion tenge, have still not been handed over to operating organisations.
Problems were also identified in the implementation of transport policy: there is no comprehensive plan for the development of passenger transport, and road safety monitoring is not sufficiently comprehensive.
A separate area of the audit concerned the activities of JSC "SPK "Soltustik". Auditors found low efficiency in asset management and the implementation of investment projects. According to SAC representatives, the creation of certain joint ventures did not yield the expected results and led to losses of around 1 billion tenge.
"Significant losses are associated with the upkeep of non-core assets – 610 million tenge – and the use of funds from regional stabilisation funds – 298 million tenge. Additionally, accounting violations totalling over 24 billion tenge were identified," the statement said.
The SAC report also noted violations of public procurement legislation, including the conclusion of single-source contracts without tenders totalling around 5.5 billion tenge and non-compliance with restrictions on subcontracting work.
Based on the audit results, auditors reported financial violations amounting to around 28.3 billion tenge, as well as inefficient planning and use of budget funds totalling approximately 112.4 billion tenge.
Materials concerning 111 episodes have been sent for the initiation of administrative proceedings, and some materials will be forwarded to law enforcement agencies.