ASTANA — Kazakhstan has adopted a new regulation governing the return of National Fund resources if they are misused or remain unspent during the reporting year. This initiative was implemented following recommendations from the country’s Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC).
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The SAC had previously conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of targeted transfers allocated from the National Fund between 2019 and 2021. Based on its findings, the chamber recommended the government to establish clear rules for the return of funds used for unauthorized purposes. It also advised the government to amend existing legislation to specify the timeframe and procedure for returning unused resources. Additionally, a mechanism was proposed to ensure the return of funds disbursed as budget loans and bond borrowings, preventing their repeated use once their original purpose had been fulfilled.
In response to these recommendations, amendments were introduced to the country’s Budget Code, and a new government resolution was adopted on July 2. This resolution updates the framework for managing and utilizing the National Fund, reported the Supreme Audit Chamber’s press service on Aug. 4.
The Ministry of Finance also introduced several orders for this year to support the implementation of these reforms. These include rules for executing the budget and managing treasury operations, procedures for treasury accounting and execution, guidelines for the unified budget classification, and regulations concerning the distribution of budget revenues among different levels of government, National Fund accounts, extra-budgetary funds, and the budgets of member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev continues to place strong emphasis on the efficient and transparent use of the National Fund’s resources. In line with his directive, the commission for monitoring the use of National Fund resources was reactivated this year. Now operating under the Supreme Audit Chamber, the commission has been restructured and its format updated to meet the current priorities set by the President.
