Interior Ministry is most expensive authority in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Interior Ministry has turned out to be the most expensive state authority by direct and indirect capital expenditures, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the results of the maintenance cost rating of Kazakhstan's ministries and authorities made by Rating.kz in cooperating with KazPotrebNadzor. The rating is based on the 2013 direct capital expenses of the state authorities set forth in the State Budget for 2013-2015 adopted on November 23, 2012. The most expensive public authorities are the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan (over 5.43 billion tenge or $36.2 million), the Finance Ministry of Kazakhstan (over 1.75 billion tenge or $11.7 million) and the Justice Ministry of Kazakhstan (over 1.69 billion tenge or $11.3 million). The least amount of direct capital expenditures have been set aside for the National Space Agency (over 6.4 million tenge or $43 thousand) and the Sports and Physical Culture Agency (over 12.3 million tenge or $82 thousand). Upkeep costs of some of the ministries and agencies have grown compared to 2012. The capital expenditures of the Justice Ministry of Kazakhstan made over 1 billion tenge ($6.7 million) in 2013 and increased by 504 million tenge ($3.4 million) in 2013. The costs of the Finance Ministry of Kazakhstan made 1.5 billion tenge ($10 million) in 2012 and increased by 173 million tenge ($1.2 million) in 2013. As for indirect capital expenditures on upkeep of the structures reporting to the ministries and agencies, the Interior Minister of Kazakhstan is also ranked first. The amount of the budget funds allocated for the Ministry in 2013 is over 22.9 billion tenge ($152.7 million). The Defense Ministry is ranked second with over 16.8 billion tenge ($112 million) allocated for indirect capital expenditures. The third place has been given to the Healthcare Ministry (over 6.7 billion tenge or $44.7 million). It is followed by the Emergency Situations Ministry (over 5 billion tenge or $33 million) and Ministry of Education and Science (over 3.4 billion tenge or $22.7 million). The authors of the rating note that the upkeep costs of the Kazakhstan ministries and authorities look relatively low comparing to the general costs set forth in the Kazakhstan state budget for 2013. "But on the other hand the expenses are listed and submitted to the parliament for approval without any substantiation attached. Besides, Kazakhstan citizens, being the taxpayers, have no access to the information concerning the final use to the money allocated from the budget to the ministries and agencies," the research says. According to the authors, results of numerous checks made by the Accounts Commission of Kazakhstan show that the executive system has a very low level of the financial discipline. "This is mainly expressed in irrational and off-target use of budget funds, including the capital expenditures. By the way, according to the Finance Ministry, as of August 1, 2012, the leader of the rating by upkeep costs - the Interior Ministry - failed to use 7.2 billion tenge ($48 million), on top of everything else aimed for covering the capital expenditures of the interior troops and bodies, as well as the correctional facilities. In this relation it is possible that some state authorities solve the issues of their own material-technical equipment at the cost of the funds aimed for the subordinate structures," the rating states.