The former building of the medical and social institution «Shapagat» in Uralsk was transferred to a trust management with the right of purchase to the company LLP «Republican Physics and Mathematics School (RPMS) No. 31». Subsequently, State Institution «Comprehensive School No. 23» of the Uralsk Education Department began renting the same premises for 3.7 million tenge per month to house its primary classes.
According to «Uralsk Week», the total rent for this building for 2022-2024 amounted to 64.5 million tenge. Auditors are baffled as to why the institution was transferred to a business entity if public funds are now being spent on renting it.
Member of the Audit Commission for the West Kazakhstan Region, Yesbol Kismetov, stated that the transfer of the two-storey building with a total area of 1,463.6 m² into trust management with the right of purchase was carried out based on a resolution of the Akimat of the West Kazakhstan Region. The initial purpose of transferring this property was to build a school on its premises.
«The Education Department of the West Kazakhstan Region presented only one condition as proposals for transferring the property into trust management, whereby the term of the trust management is 1 year, with the activity changing from a special social facility to a general education facility. No other proposals or requirements for tender participants were presented. Thus, the initial purpose of transferring the property into trust management was changed», the statement says.
In turn, an independent assessment report showed that the estimated value of the property was 286.9 million tenge. However, since the first two tenders were declared invalid due to a lack of bids, the value of the property was reduced to 71.7 million tenge.
Yesbol Kismetov also noted that the trustee did not fulfil the additional tender conditions regarding the installation of a football pitch of at least 1000 m², a volleyball and basketball court of at least 420 m², and training areas of at least 500 m² on the property.
«The additional conditions were unfeasible from the outset; their fulfilment is impossible without increasing the size of the property, as accommodating the sports facilities on the existing land would require widening the current plot from 35.5 metres to 43.1 metres, for which an additional plot would be needed. All this points to the poor preparation of the conditions for transferring the property into trust management», the auditor stated.
So, LLP «RPMS No. 31» has been the landlord of the said building since November 2022 and sublets the premises, for which it receives 2500 tenge per m². With a building area of 1463 m², this amounts to 3.7 million tenge per month.
At the same time, basement premises with an area of 492.9 m², which are not used for educational activities, are also being sublet. For example, Comprehensive School No. 23 paid the trustee - LLP «RPMS No. 31» - budget funds in the amount of 16 million tenge for the right to use the basements of this building.
«When we asked the school director: “Why are they renting a basement for a primary school?”, they could not answer. Overall, the situation has arisen where the state itself transferred the property into private hands and then began renting its own property from the trustee. We believe that the “Shapagat” building should not have been handed over to private hands, but rather it should have been repurposed independently into a general education facility», stated Yesbol Kismetov.
The member of the audit commission believes that if the authorities wanted the trustee to build a new school on the site, they should have imposed a requirement for the development of design and estimate documentation, passing state expert review, while clearly defining the capacity of the school and, of course, ensuring its actual construction.
«An analysis of the actions and outcomes of the transfer into trust management of the 2-storey building with a total area of 1,463.6 square metres, located at: West Kazakhstan Region, Uralsk city, Almatinskaya Street, 109/3a, indicates improper work by state bodies on this project and a lack of coordination in their actions, which led to an unprecedented situation where the state rents its own property from a private individual», the auditors concluded.
It is reported that the trust management period ends in August of this year, and LLP «RPMS No. 31» must manage to obtain general education facility status for the building, build the sports facilities, and purchase the building.