Audit Chamber Stands by Findings Amid Dispute with Health Ministry

The Supreme Audit Chamber responded to the Ministry of Health's claims concerning its report, Orda.kz reports.

The audit had uncovered a total of 203 million tenge in financial violations, 24.9 billion in inefficient use of budget funds, and 3.8 billion in poor planning.

In addition, potential losses and lost profits totaling 36.6 billion tenge were recorded. 79 systemic deficiencies were identified,  the Chamber noted.

Chief Auditor Alikhan Smailov presented the report to parliament.

The Ministry of Health partially disagreed with the findings. Vice Minister Ardak Amangeldiyev even hinted at legal action, accusing the auditors of insufficient evidence. 

However, the ministry later abandoned plans to sue and reached a compromise.

Auditors told Orda.kz that "all key problems identified during the audit are not being disputed by the Ministry of Health."

The ministry objected to two points. The first involved 4.6 billion tenge spent over 16 years to develop the drug "Iodine and Potassium Iodide," which was never approved for use.

At the same time, the fact itself remains important: a significant amount of budget funds was spent ineffectively. In addition, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the implementation of scientific developments in medicine. The drug is not used in clinics, which indicates shortcomings in this area, the auditors said.

The second dispute concerns outpatient drug provision.

The audit found flawed forecasts for patient numbers, leading to planning errors. The Ministry said this issue had already been addressed in an earlier audit of the Medical Insurance Fund and shouldn't be counted twice.

However, previously only the Fund was audited, not the Ministry of Health. The current audit revealed a problem specifically in planning on the part of the Ministry as the budget administrator.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova