Transparency (Open Budget Index) 51/100
The Government of Kazakhstan provides the public with limited budget information.
Public Participation 27/100
The Government of Kazakhstan is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 70/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Kazakhstan is adequate.
By auditor 59/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in Kazakhstan is limited.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Kazakhstan should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish in a timely manner a Citizens Budget.1
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive’s Budget Proposal by, for example, presenting more information on expenditures, revenue, and debt for prior years.
Improving Participation
Kazakhstan should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e., public hearings, surveys, focus groups) for capturing a range of public perspectives on budget matters.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Kazakhstan should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Establish a specialized budget research office for the legislature.
- In both law and practice, ensure the legislature is consulted prior to the spending of contingency funds that were not identified in the Enacted Budget.
- Require legislative or judicial approval to remove the head of the supreme audit institution.