Audit of Science Funding in Kazakhstan Reveals Inefficient Spending

The Supreme Audit Chamber announced the results of an audit of how budget money is spent on science,  Orda.kz reports.

The auditors concluded that despite an increase in funding for the industry to 219 billion tenge, the funds are being used ineffectively.

• Lack of applied research: Scientific developments are poorly implemented in the real sector of the economy
  
• Poor planning: The plans of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education do not reflect all the goals of state policy
• Problems also exist in the interaction between the Science Committee and other state bodies
  
• Conflicts of interest:. Members of national scientific councils participated in several funded projects simultaneously, without responsibility for such decisions
  
• Delays in competitions: Scientific competitions were announced late — in some cases by more than 500 days
  
• Weak oversight: Projects that received critical comments still obtained funding
  
• Commercialization failed: Forty-two Science Foundation projects did not achieve planned sales, and another eight never even began production
  
• Misuse of funds: In university technology parks and engineering centers, cases of price gouging and misallocation of money were identified

Based on the audit results, financial violations amounted to 1.7 billion tenge. Ineffective planning of funds is estimated at 24.2 billion tenge, ineffective use - at 42.5 billion tenge,
reported the department.

The results of the audit will be forwarded to law enforcement agencies. Recommendations for correcting the situation will also be sent to the government and the Ministry of Science.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov