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11Strategy of Uzbekistan №02 (2021) / ISSN 2181-2535
Nilufar NODIRKHONOVA
Head of Department of the Development Strategy Center
Fighting corruption has become a priority of public policy in Uzbekistan. This can be see in the conceptual normative and legal documents adopted in recent years in
the field, as well using as an example the administrative reforms aimed at
In particular, the Action Strategy for the five priority areas of development of the
Republic of Uzbekistan for 2017-2021, adopted at the initiative of the President e Republic of Uzbekistan, is a key document in improving the effectiveness of
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the fight against corruption.
Improving the organizational and legal mechanisms of direct fight against corruption and increasing the effectiveness of anticorruption measures are identified as one of the important tasks in the priority area of Action Strategy which identifies the most important directions of the country's development, aimed at ensuring the rule of law and further reforming the judicial system.
First of all, the rise of the fight against corruption to a completely new level in terms of quality and quantity is the product of the political will of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In particular, it is no exaggeration to say that the views of the head of state on the need to «vaccinate society with honesty» are the cornerstone of this work. As the President said in his Address to the Oliy Majlis of the Republic
of Uzbekistan on January 24, 2020, «The scourge of corruption in our society in various forms hinders our development. If we do not prevent this evil, we will not be able to create a real business and investment climate, in general, no sector of society will develop.»
Secondly, measures are being taken to systematically improve the regulatory framework in the field. As a proof of our opinion, one can bring as an example the entry into force of the law on combating corruption, as well as the adoption of various legal acts. In particular, on January 3, 2017, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Law «On Combating Corruption.» The purpose of this Law is to regulate relations in the field of combating corruption, which, in addition to explaining the basic concepts such as «corruption», «corruption offenses», «conflict of interest», also outlines the basic principles of
combating corruption. The law also outlines the main directions of state policy in the fight against corruption, the system of competent authorities, citizens' self-government bodies, civil society institutions, the media and citizen participation in this area, measures to prevent corruption, ensuring the inevitability of punishment and measures such as ensuring international cooperation have been strengthened.
Third, a special state body has been established for the effective implementation of the measures, and the institutional framework of public policy in this area has been improved. In particular, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan «On additional measures to improve the system of combating corruption in the Republic of Uzbekistan» was adopted. According to the decree, the AntiCorruption Agency
Process
was established to formulate and implement state policy in the field of prevention and combating corruption, as well as state and other programs aimed at eliminating the systemic causes and conditions of corruption offenses and increasing the effectiveness of anticorruption measures. Foreign experience has been studied in detail, advancing international norms in defining the legal framework, tasks and functions, rights and obligations of the Agency. Its most favorable aspects are fully reflected in this decree of the President. The National AntiCorruption Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan and its regional councils have also been established. The main goal of these reforms is to eradicate the scourge of corruption.
Fourth, state programs covering all state and public organizations, as well as measures to be
taken at the national level are being adopted. In particular, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 2, 2017, the first State Program on Combating Corruption for 20172018 was adopted and specific measures were taken within its implementation.
Continuing these reforms, on May 27, 2019, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan «On measures to further improve the anti-corruption system in the Republic of Uzbekistan» approved the next State AntiCorruption Program for 2019-2020.
As one of the last steps in this direction one may use an example of the State Program on Combating Corruption for 20212022, approved by the Presidential Decree of July 6, 2021 «On measures to create an environment of intolerance to corruption, sharply reduce corruption in public administration
and expand public participation in this process.» It outlines 44 measures, clearly defining deadlines, responsible executors and implementation mechanism.
Fifth, ensuring openness and transparency of government agencies in the country on the basis of anticorruption measures is identified as a priority.
In particular, according to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated June 16, 2021 «On additional measures to ensure the transparency of government agencies and organizations, as well as effective implementation of public control», all public authorities, including the Accounts Chamber, the Central Bank, judicial and prosecutor's offices and their structural and territorial divisions, as well as business entities and state unitary enterprises with a state share in the charter capital
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Journal home page: https://journal.strategy.uz
k
STRATEGY OF ACTIONS
2017-2021
CASES CONSIDERED IN COURTS IN FAVOUR OF BUSINESS ENTITIES IN 2017-2020
©
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY CENTER
D 918.0 1015.7 1330.1 1899.7 5163.5
hn cm imc hn cm imc hn cm imc hn cm imc hn cm imc
®(BpIL
bn soums; bn soums; bn soums; bn soums; bn soums; Amount:
Number of cases:
40,960 42,478 31,948 29,583 144,969
Total
Source: Supreme Court
(authorized capital) of 50% or more and state unitary enterprises must approve the list of socially significant information to be placed as Open Data.
In addition, the portal «Openbudget» was launched to carry out public control over the regulation of budget expenditures, to inform about the facts of violations of budget legislation and to organize the procedure for making proposals to improve the budget process.
Sixth, another
important aspect of the fight against corruption is the optimization of government agencies, increasing their compactness in a systematic, step-by-step manner. In particular, on April 3, 2021, the President signed a decree to reduce the number of staff units of state power and state administration bodies. According to the resolution, the number of government employees has been optimized to 15
percent. As a result, a total of 5,288 staff were reduced in public authorities and their departments and divisions. The positions of 40 deputy heads of ministries and departments have also been reduced.
Seventh, one of the most important aspects of preventing and eliminating corruption is the widespread introduction of information and communication technologies in public administration to
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DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.24412/2181-2535-2021-2-32-37
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.24412/2181-2535-2021-2-32-37
NUMBER OF PUBLIC SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE POPULATION
# Services provided by government bodies
# Types of public services provided by Government Service Centres (GSCs)
# Number of public services provided by GSCs
# Number of mobile public services ® Share of electronic (online) services
11.3 mln
4.9 mln
170 thousand
8.2 mln
166433
reduce the «human factor» in public administration.
In order to eliminate administrative and bureaucratic barriers, simplify registration, licensing and permitting procedures, and increase their efficiency, a total of 201 public service centers have been established in all regions. In 2017, 37 types of public services were provided by these centers, in 2018 their number increased to 106, and in 2019 their number increased to 133. From 2020, 148
types of transparent, convenient and fast public services are being provided through the centers.
Eighth, the fight against corruption is carried out in conjunction with the implementation of international experience and relevant norms of law in the country legislation and practice.
In particular, the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Agency is an example of the implementation in the country of the
relevant articles of the UN Convention against Corruption, ratified by Uzbekistan, as well as the «Jakarta Principles» in international anticorruption practice.
Ninth, the creation of an uncompromising anti-corruption environment is being carried out with the broad participation of the public. In particular, the system of consideration of appeals of individuals and legal entities has been radically improved, the President's
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Public and Virtual Receptions, «Hotline» and «hotlines» and «virtual receptions» of each ministry and government agency have been established and to ensure the rights and freedoms of citizens at all levels there is implemented the practice of holding «mobile receptions» of senior officials.
Tenth, in the fight against corruption, the system of «compliance control» is being widely introduced in government agencies and businesses. In particular, in the framework of the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2019-2020 tasks were put forward for introduction of a «compliance control» system to combat corruption in organizations with a state share in the charter capital, monitoring its effectiveness and establishing a certification procedure in accordance with the relevant anticorruption standard (ISO 37001). Based on these tasks, the AntiCorruption Agency
is implementing activities to reduce the share of the shadow economy in 26 ministries and departments and to introduce a «compliance control» system of internal anticorruption control.
Of course, the scale of the work being done is commendable, but there are still issues that need to be addressed. According to the Anti-Corruption Agency, in the first six months of 2021, 1,676 criminal cases related to corruption cases against 2,544 officials were investigated and sent to court. According to the court, 592.5 billion soums material damage has been inflicted due to corruption-related criminal cases, of which 170.8 bn soums (28%) were collected and 421.7 bn soums will be collected by the Bureau of Enforcement under the Prosecutor General's Office.
In turn, in the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for
2020, published in January 2021, ranks Uzbekistan 146th out of 180 countries with 26 points, rising 7 places.
In 2019, Uzbekistan ranked 153rd with 25 points, while in 2018 it was 158th with 23 points. Uzbekistan has risen 12 places in two years, showing a significant positive trend in the fight against corruption in the Central Asian region. This, in turn, testifies to the effectiveness of anticorruption reforms in the country.
Journal home page: https://journal.strategy.uz
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DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.24412/2181-2535-2021-2-32-37
