Pavlodar Region: Officials Purchased Media Services at Inflated Prices

Orda.kz reports, citing the Pavlodar Region Prosecutor's Office press service, that a regional Department of Information and Public Development purchased media services several times higher than the base rates.

The Ministry of Culture and Information has approved the cost of information materials in the media as part of government procurement.

However, the Pavlodar Region Department of Information and Public Development had unreasonably purchased these services at significantly inflated prices.

For example, newspaper publications cost the budget 3.5 times more — 1,447 tenge per square centimeter — and online placement cost seven times more — 270 tenge per symbol. The highest markups were on television: 633,862 tenge, which exceeds the base price by 16 times.

After the prosecutor's office intervened, the prices were revised per the approved rates, saving 180 million tenge in budget finances. The guilty officials have been brought to strict disciplinary liability.

Original Author: Alina Pak