Tasks are defined for accelerating reforms next year

On December 2, 2019, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on the issues of accelerating reforms in priority areas, identifying and ensuring the implementation of target parameters for 2020.

In the current environment of increasing competition in the global market, ensuring stability and increasing the competitiveness of the economy is the highest priority and an important condition for meeting the requirements of the times.

This issue is under constant attention of the President of Uzbekistan. Dozens of decrees and resolutions have been adopted on liberalizing the economy, creating healthy competition, expanding localization, improving energy efficiency and other important areas, unprecedented opportunities are created for business entities.

However, the ongoing reforms are not fully embodied in real life. At the meeting, shortcomings allowed in various fields were indicated, the activities of the respective leaders were criticized.

So, the ongoing work on reducing losses in the energy system, to properly account for the electricity supplied and to reduce receivables is not sufficient.

The Head of the state noted the lack of a fair system for accounting of natural gas at production, transportation and distribution stages. Especially interruptions in the supply of gas and electricity to the population are becoming a cause of just discontent among people.

In general, according to the World Bank estimates, the state’s share in the economy of Uzbekistan remains high and currently stands at 50-55 percent.

The President noted that full implementation of about 10 resolutions adopted over the past three years regarding reforming the cadastral sphere has not been ensured. For example, the system of land allocation through an online auction has not yet been launched, the work on digitizing cadastral data has not been finalized. A new form of land law and transparent mechanisms for its provision are still not developed.

Outdated standards and norms remain in the construction industry, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Due attention is not paid to training specialists capable of applying new innovative solutions.

Examination of design estimates, issuance and approval of building permits are still conducted in paper format. There is no electronic interaction between the participating organizations.

Problems in the sphere of transport were also listed at the meeting. For example, due to high tariffs for cargo transportation, production costs are not reduced. Work on providing the population with convenient and affordable transportation services is at an unsatisfactory level.

Lack of attention to the implementation of international educational standards was also noted. The President emphasized that the criteria for assessing the qualifications of faculty do not meet modern requirements.

Similar shortcomings can be observed in the areas of finance, taxes, the digital economy, anti-corruption and other areas.

In this regard, working groups have been formed that are responsible for developing effective measures to identify and eliminate systemic problems in 13 “stalled” areas by critically evaluating the implementation of decisions taken over the past three years.

The Head of the state set tasks for these working groups that must be completed by December 20 this year.

First of all, it is necessary to conduct a complete inventory of the documents adopted over the past three years for each industry and critically examine the status of their implementation. This is due to the fact that the procedures defined by some acts are not actually applied. According to the World Bank experts, only 24 out of the 97 reforms launched in the business sector in Uzbekistan have been fully implemented.

The President instructed to critically analyze the work for achieving the targets specified in the acts, identifying the obstacles to this and solve them in the context of each sphere, area and region.

Responsible persons have been instructed to develop a roadmap of measures for 2020, indicating responsible executors, specific terms and sources of financing. These documents will reflect the forthcoming work in the context of industries and regions, as well as the goals that will need to be achieved next year.

The necessity of organizing project offices in each direction was noted in order to accelerate reforms and ensure qualitative implementation of the roadmaps. The main task of these offices will be to develop and implement specific mechanisms for achieving the goals.

The expediency of involving the general public, entrepreneurs, experts of international financial institutions, and foreign experts in this process was noted.

The President noted that reducing production costs and reducing the cost of production, thereby increasing its competitiveness should be the main task in 2020.

Industry leaders were instructed to focus on investment performance.

The Head of the state instructed to introduce a monitoring system to ensure the unconditional implementation of reforms, according to which the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan will discuss the work carried out by the working groups every two weeks, identified problems and proposals for their elimination.

The head responsible for the sphere will monthly submit information on the results of the work done to the Cabinet of Ministers on the example of a specific region. In relation to managers who have not ensured the achievement of target indicators, the issue of their personal responsibility will be considered.

Information of the leaders of the working groups and responsible persons assigned to them, on the issues discussed at the meeting, was heard.

UzA