The General Prosecutor's Office of Kazakhstan reported on March 14, 2024, about the measures taken to ensure legality in the sphere of public procurement and budget spending. According to the main supervisory body, over a quarter of the country's budget is spent on public procurement.
In 2023, more than 2,500 violations were identified at all stages - from planning to acceptance of goods, works, and services. About 1,400 supervisory acts were issued, resulting in the recovery of 10 billion tenge to the state budget.
Examples of violations in public procurement were highlighted, such as unreasonable requirements for potential suppliers in Taraz and the intended purchase of block-modular boiler houses by certain district akimats in the Akmola region without the development of project estimates.
Illegal tenders were canceled and conducted in compliance with legislation. Additionally, criminal cases related to embezzlement of budget funds during the construction of external power supply networks were investigated by special prosecutors.
In October 30, 2023, officials involved were sentenced to imprisonment. Furthermore, checks were conducted by the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan and local executive bodies at the end of last year to identify systemic problems in public procurement.
Issues such as ambiguous application of procurement legislation norms, prolonged consideration of objections to internal state audit bodies' acts, and other violations were uncovered. A roadmap has been developed to improve the public procurement system, including legislative enhancements, based on the findings. On March 4, 2024, Kazakhstan announced the introduction of new elements of desk control in public procurement.
