Lawyer Yerzhan Yesimkhanov said on his Instagram that the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan did not pay the French company Conseil Sante for consulting services rendered back in 2019. The ministry responded that it was “not satisfied with the work done by this company”. This is reported by the media of Kazakhstan.
Background
Lawyer Yerzhan Yesimkhanov published a post on his Instagram, in which he said that the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan does not return money to the French company for consulting services rendered.
“At the end of 2018, our Ministry of Health hired to consult on the development of health infrastructure and improvement of primary health care. By the end of 2019, all services were completed and all reports were submitted to the Ministry of Health. The project was supervised by the World Bank, with an entire ministry acting on our side, so the French had no concerns about not being paid,” the lawyer wrote.
Yesimkhanov added that then the COVID-19 pandemic began and “everyone involved in health care was out of the ordinary for a while,” but when “the covid ended, the Ministry of Health was in no hurry to pay for the work done.
According to the lawyer, Kazakhstan’s image suffers because of this. Besides, if the Ministry of Health does not pay for the services, Conseil Sante will apply to arbitration court and win, and then “Kazakhstan will be gargled in foreign media as a place where foreign companies are screwed”.
The link to the post is available there
Health Minister Azhar Giniyat said that “there is no scandal as such” and that “the company’s work needs to be improved”.
“The Ministry of Health today is not satisfied with the work done by this company and is working together to have the company finalize the service it provided to the ministry in those years. We aim to resolve this issue at the global level, I think we will come to a consensus and the finalized document will be considered by the ministry,” the minister responded.
According to Giniyat, when the contract was signed, the companies paid an upfront fee and the remaining amount will be paid after the work is completed.
“When the contract was made, there was a certain prepayment paid. Now, according to the act of completed work, as they will sign, the two parties will agree that the work has been done, then the remaining amount will be paid. But today the work should be finished,” explained the head of the Ministry of Health.
The minister could not name the cost of the contract, but noted that the Ministry of Health can provide an answer if you contact the press service of the department.
Reference
Conseil Sante is a consulting company dealing with international health projects. The company provides consulting services for the sustainable development of beneficiary countries. Since its foundation in 1987, Conseil Sante has realized more than 350 projects worldwide. The company has been part of the SOFRECO group since 1997. According to the company, in 2019 its turnover exceeded 8 million euros.
