In 2024, the Accounts Chamber of the Kyrgyz Republic conducted an audit of the execution of the republican budget in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, as well as its structural subdivisions and subordinate enterprises.
According to the press service of the Accounts Chamber, during the audit, financial violations were discovered, totaling 2,251.5 million soms. Of this amount, 2,081.1 million soms are subject to recovery, and 1,668.4 million soms have already been reimbursed. The majority of the recovered funds, specifically 1,667.2 million soms, were rectified through accounting, while 1.2 million soms were returned to the budget in cash.
The largest number of violations was related to the unwarranted fulfillment of legislative requirements in the area of accounting, recognition, and depreciation of fixed assets. The total amount of these violations was 1,768.7 million soms and was caused, among other things, by untimely capitalization of costs, including capital repairs. This creates risks of distortions in the actual value of assets and reduces the accuracy of financial reporting.
Insufficient and untimely measures for the collection of payments, penalties, and fines were also identified, leading to violations amounting to 245.6 million soms. Despite the existence of penalties for contractors for delays in work performance, the control mechanisms proved ineffective.
Auditors also recorded excessive expenses for the payment of salaries and other rewards to employees amounting to 150.2 million soms. These violations were mainly caused by the incorrect application of regulatory acts and internal provisions.
Serious violations were also noted in the use of budget funds for capital investments and construction, with a total amount of 61.1 million soms. In particular, for some projects, the volumes of construction and installation works were unjustifiably inflated by 22.6 million soms, and defects amounting to 38.4 million soms were also discovered.
Furthermore, as a result of the audit, procedural violations in the area of public procurement were identified, as well as problems in forming the list of investment projects financed from the republican budget in the form of capital investments, and insufficient funding of the Road Fund.
In response to the identified deficiencies and violations, written directives and recommendations were sent to the relevant state bodies and the audited entity for full compensation of damages and prevention of similar situations in the future. The identified facts also require legal assessment, and the issue of accountability of the responsible officials should be considered in the established manner.
