President briefed on activities of Audit Chamber led by Alihan Smailov
In the first half of 2025, Kazakhstan's government has taken significant strides to enhance fiscal oversight, with a focus on key sectors of public finance and service delivery. The major areas under scrutiny were secondary education, healthcare, digital development, energy, and elite sports.
The audits, which covered a total of 20 trillion tenge - seven times more than the same period in 2024 - led to over 60 recommendations and 450 formal directives being issued to government bodies and relevant institutions. Moreover, materials on 20 cases of detected violations were referred to law enforcement agencies.
To further strengthen budget oversight, the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAP) has initiated several legislative changes. The SAP was granted the legal authority to audit extra-budgetary funds, extending its oversight beyond the traditional state budget. Additionally, the commission responsible for monitoring the use of Kazakhstan’s National Fund was restructured to enhance transparency and tighten control over fund expenditures.
In a bid to increase accountability, especially for heating companies and their leadership, new measures were introduced to ensure better preparedness for the heating season. State oversight of retail gas prices was also expanded to cover all market participants, aiming to prevent price manipulations.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the need for further improvement in the national audit system, calling for greater transparency, reduced misuse of funds, and the integration of modern digital technologies to optimize control over public finances. The SAP was specifically tasked with applying digital solutions to enhance audit processes and public finance management.
The following table summarises the key areas, legislative initiatives, and targeted outcomes:
| **Audit Areas** | **Legislative Initiatives** | **Targeted Outcomes** | |------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | Secondary Education | SAP audits extra-budgetary funds | Transparent, accountable spending | | Healthcare (Pharma) | National Fund oversight restructured | Stricter control over sovereign wealth | | Digital Development | Heating companies held accountable | Reliable winter services | | Energy (Electricity) | Broader gas price controls | Fair pricing, reduced manipulation | | Elite Sports | Emphasis on digital transformation | Efficient, traceable public finance management |
These measures reflect a concerted effort by Kazakhstan’s government to modernize fiscal oversight, combat inefficiency and misuse, and ensure that public resources deliver maximum benefit to citizens.
The meeting between Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Alihan Smailov, the Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber, was reported by Liter.kz. President Tokayev instructed to continue the phased development of the state audit system, focusing on its efficiency and transparency.
- As a result of the significant strides taken by Kazakhstan's government in the first half of 2025 to improve fiscal oversight, various policy-and-legislation changes have been initiated, such as auditing extra-budgetary funds and restructuring the commission responsible for monitoring the use of Kazakhstan’s National Fund.
- To ensure a more accountable and efficient public finance management system, the Supreme Audit Chamber in Kazakhstan is tasked with applying modern digital technologies and implementing digital solutions, as emphasized by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, particularly in key areas like secondary education, healthcare (pharma), digital development, energy (electricity), and elite sports, as reflected in the ongoing modernization of fiscal oversight.
