The Specialised Economic Court of Shymkent upheld the city akimat's claim to invalidate contracts for a number of assets of Water Resources-Marketing LLP and ordered the return of the enterprises to state ownership.
According to the press service of the Shymkent akimat, the court hearings examined violations committed during the privatisation of the facility. In particular, it was noted that, according to the law, state enterprises or institutions are subject to privatisation as single property complexes.
Furthermore, it was reported that a government decree from 1996 prohibits the removal of facilities that ensure the city's vital functions from the single complex.
As a result, the court not only ordered the annulment of a number of decisions on sale and purchase agreements for the facilities, but also ordered the return of the facilities to state ownership.
“The court ruled to declare illegal the protocols concerning four water intakes - Akbai-Karasuisky, Badam-Sairamsky, Kyzylsaisky and Tassaissky, as well as the enterprises Unikanservice, which became the owner of the treatment facilities, and the motor transport workshop, which became part of TransVik”, the statement said.
Earlier, numerous violations in the management of Water Resources-Marketing LLP came to light. For example, authorised bodies discovered that a pressure main, intended to supply water to a private hydroelectric power station rather than for the city's needs, had been built using tariff revenues.
In addition, it was reported that the enterprise's funds and a loan from the European Bank were directed towards the construction of a reinforced concrete products workshop, unrelated to the activities of the water utility.
Also, money was collected from city residents for “technical maintenance” of pipelines that were not actually maintained. The annual amount of unjustified charges reached 59.8 million tenge.
Among other things, over the course of a year, the wear and tear indicator for the water supply networks was artificially inflated by 10.72% in order to obtain additional investment funds.
As reported by Vera.kz, lawyer Zhaniya Bodau, who represented the interests of the Shymkent akim in court, noted that the winners of the tenders were companies established by employees of the privatised enterprises. According to her, all the purchasing firms were set up before the tenders, and their founders knew in advance which assets they would buy.
“The prices were undervalued many times over. For example, the Akbai-Karasu water intake was sold for 5.5 million tenge when valued at 56 million tenge. Badam-Sairamsky was sold for 2 million tenge when valued at 38 million. Unikan-Service was sold for 5 million tenge with a real value of 206.117 million tenge. The land was not valued, which is a violation of the Regulation on Privatisation. In 1999, all the purchasing firms joined Water Resources-Marketing LLP. This proves that the privatisation was a scheme to siphon state assets for the benefit of a narrow group”, the lawyer stated.
It will be recalled that in December 2024, residents of Shymkent collected signatures for a petition demanding the return of the assets of Water Resources-Marketing LLP to state ownership and submitted it to the city akimat. The local authorities agreed with the petition's arguments at the time, noting that since this matter was not within the competence of the state body, the final decision would be made by the court.