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Uzbekistan enters a new stage of combating corruption
Abstract
The results of the implementation of the Strategy of actions on the five priority directions of the development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021 and the implementation of the tasks assigned to the Agency in the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022–2026, which is its logical continuation, are provided.
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In our time, the situation is changing every minute. In this process, setting the right priorities and making an acceptable decision is one of the most difficult tasks.
As a result of its choice of a policy of openness, Uzbekistan, along with all countries, is also moving towards changes and becoming a direct participant in this process.
The tasks set out in the Strategy of actions for the five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2017–2021, formed on the basis of the opinion and reasoning of the people, their demands on the state, which initiated the reforms carried out in our country, were fulfilled. The tasks that the state has determined together with its people, it also fulfilled together with the people.
As part of the implementation of 320 clauses set out in the Strategy of actions, about 300 laws, more than 4 000 resolutions and decrees of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan were adopted, which aimed at fundamentally reforming all spheres of state and public life. It is noticeable that every citizen began to feel these efforts, changes in their life.
As an integral continuation of these reforms, as a logical continuation of the Strategy of actions, the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022–2026 was adopted.
Our people took an active part in the development of this document and expressed their suggestions and comments.
The Development Strategy sets out the “100 Goals of Human Dignity” in seven priority areas.
The fight against corruption is also separately identified among these priority goals. The initiated reforms in this regard will also be consistently continued and the task shall be to bring them to a new level. In particular, the State Program outlines the tasks of transforming public administration based on the principle of “directing to the service of citizens”, introducing a compact, professional, fair, highly efficient system of public administration, introducing standards of integrity in civil service, identifying areas and sectors prone to corruption, increasing efficiency system of elimination of corruption factors, formation of an intolerant attitude towards corruption in society.
In particular, goal no. 10: When organizing a public civil service system based on modern standards, the task shall be to eliminate corruption factors in the public service, selection of personnel on a competitive basis and improvement of the legal framework for assessing their effectiveness.
It is known that most cases of corruption occur in the process of recruitment and promotion through the ranks. Therefore, we must complete the work we have begun to ensure the transparency of the recruitment system and the transparency of all processes.
A consistent continuation of this direction is the goal number 83 – the introduction of standards of integrity in the civil service.
Since the civil servant is one of the main subjects of corruption, it will be necessary to instill in their integrity, limit their relations with citizens and make them more transparent.
In this regard, our main task shall be to create effective mechanisms for preventing conflicts of interest in the civil service. To do this, first of all, we must fill in the gaps in the legislation and ensure the openness of any process related to decision-making in the civil service, and expand public participation.
In this regard, it is important to further expand the volume of open information on important social issues and ensure unhindered access to this information.
In this process, the agency paid attention to two directions, namely the first – the further expansion of the volume of open data, the second – the creation of mechanisms for unhindered access to this information.
Within the project a system is being created to assess the level of openness of all state bodies and organizations according to 8 indicators covering 84 assessment criteria, and to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of measures taken in this direction. At the same time, it is planned to introduce a procedure for certification of open data arrays, introduce a system for studying and evaluating the effectiveness of the feedback system, and developing standard forms of information to be disclosed by the territorial government body.
Undoubtedly, preventive measures, for example, mechanisms for preventing corruption in the context of areas and industries are important in the fight against corruption, as well as the widespread involvement of the population in this process. These issues are reflected in goal 84 of the strategy.
It is noted that in order to ensure the fulfillment of this task, it is necessary to introduce modern information technologies, including artificial intelligence in the fight against corruption. It is known that our agency has established cooperation with international organizations and other countries. During our trip to Europe in 2021, we learned that such technologies are very effective.
Another important aspect of this goal is to establish cooperation with civil society institutions in the fight against corruption, support for the implementation of public control.
It is no coincidence that special attention is paid to this. Because if we do not form layers of citizens, mass media, non-governmental non-profit organizations uncompromising to corruption, the reforms that trying to implement will not be effective.
In this regard, we need to involve more media representatives in this process and
improve their knowledge and skills in this area.
At the same time, the introduction of a system of continuous improvement of knowledge of the population and civil servants in the field of combating corruption is indicated.
We considered it expedient to approach this process on the basis of modern methods. In other words, together with partner organizations, we have begun work on the implementation of the “Virtual anti-corruption academy”.
The academy will take the form of an online platform and will include special courses for both civil servants and the public. In particular, the organization of courses in the form of basic (private sector, citizens and youth) and special in-depth (administrators, employee, employee of the anti-corruption internal control unit (human resource), internal audit service, personnel department, internal security service, etc.) courses is planned.
At the same time, these courses will be opened to everyone, providing an opportunity for any citizen to strengthen their knowledge of corruption and pass the exam. This will allow the introduction of a comprehensive system of increasing legal knowledge and awareness of the population and civil servants in this area, and special certificates will be awarded to successful graduates.
As you can see, all of the above tasks are important for the full implementation of the Strategy in such areas as enhancing human dignity and further developing a free civil society, turning the principles of justice and the rule of law into the most basic and necessary conditions for development.
Today, the main task facing us is that when we implement these goals in life, we will have to implement them in such a way that conditions are created for people to feel them all in their lives.