President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber, Alikhan Smailov, to continue enhancing the state audit system. He emphasized the significance of implementing modern digital solutions to ensure effective oversight of budgetary fund utilization, as reported by the Akorda press service.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was presented with a report on the results of the Supreme Audit Chamber's activities for 2024 and the plans for the current period.
akorda.kz
Last year, 27 audit activities were conducted across 214 entities, covering financial resources amounting to approximately 11 trillion tenge. As a result, violations totaling 862 billion tenge were identified. Following the audits, 135 billion tenge was returned to the budget, which is five times more than the amount reimbursed in 2023. Systemic deficiencies were noted in the pricing of construction projects, financing of manufacturing industry projects, and agricultural subsidies. To address these violations, the Supreme Audit Chamber has sent recommendations to the government and directives to the responsible state bodies.
“Alikhan Smailov reported that more than 40 audit activities are planned for this year. By the instruction of the head of state, audits will be conducted on the budget execution of the cities of Astana and Almaty, as well as the North Kazakhstan, Kostanay, and Zhambyl regions, along with the ‘Samruk-Kazyna’ fund, the national company ‘Kazatomprom,’ the Kazakhstan Electric Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), the National Bank, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations,” the Akorda statement indicates.
The audits will encompass the fields of science, defense, law enforcement, sports, social welfare, and forestry.
Earlier, the Supreme Audit Chamber reported on the outcomes of the state audit conducted in the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, the Digital Government Support Center, JSC "National Information Technologies," the Innovation Technology Park, and Astana Hub. Financial violations totaling 1.1 billion tenge were established. Ineffective budgeting and asset planning amounted to 2.2 billion tenge, while ineffective utilization totaled 46.5 billion tenge.
Additionally, the Supreme Audit Chamber identified violations amounting to 5.3 billion tenge in the management of public debt in the Karaganda region, and violations in the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) that could lead to losses of up to 34 billion tenge. The state audit also revealed several high-risk areas and sectors vulnerable to shadow operations. For instance, according to the Financial Monitoring Committee, citizens of three Central Asian countries earned 136 billion tenge in Kazakhstan over three years. However, according to the National Bank, during the same period, they transferred a total of 1 trillion tenge back to their home countries.