The law titled “On Conflict of Interests” is currently under scrutiny by experts from the Administration of the President (AP) of Uzbekistan. Chairperson of the Senate Tanzila Narbayeva disclosed this information during an interview with the BBC News Uzbek service in London.
MPs of the Legislative Chamber passed the law in October 2022. The Senate further approved it on June 1, 2023 and forwarded to the AP, but the document has not been signed yet. According to the legislation, the law approved by the Legislative Chamber undergoes the Senate’s consideration for approval or rejection within 60 days. Following the Senate’s approval, the document is sent to the president for a signed decision to be taken within 30 days.
“We know that the head of state has to sign this law within 60 days or send it back. Unfortunately, we don’t know at what stage he is at now. Can you provide more information on this?” journalist Ibrat Safo inquired.
Tanzila Narbayeva assured the adoption of the law. “It requires a lot of time. There are separate groups of experts in the Administration of the President. They too are forming their opinion, having analyzed current trends in Uzbekistan, lawmakers' conclusions and the international landscape. Our president has two options — either return or sign the document. We are waiting for it now,” she shared.
The head of the upper house of parliament expressed her dissatisfaction with anti-corruption efforts.
“As long as there is corruption, no one is satisfied with the work executed in this field. We realize that there is still much to be done in this regard, as the issue of corruption is raised in discussions within the state, in the media, by bloggers, activists of social institutions,” the senator commented.
The Senate’s leader noted an increase in corruption factors in four areas: health care, education, construction and public procurement system, citing the analysis of the National Anti-Corruption Council, which she chairs.
“In the first place, we want to transform all these sectors into corruption-free systems using such control systems as digitalization, openness, compliance control and development of internal regulation,” Tanzila Narbayeva outlined.
Akmal Burkhanov, the director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, stated the agency’s identification of thousands of cases involving conflicts of interest in the civil service. However, he mentioned that the absence of a legal framework presents a challenge in addressing such situations.
One recent case is that Davronjon Adilov, director of the New Tashkent Construction Directorate and deputy minister of construction and housing and utilities, entered into a direct contract with Gold Step Invest to build a transportation interchange between the capital and New Tashkent. His relative may be a co-founder of the company. The project is estimated at 350 billion soums.
In a recent case, Davronjon Adilov, the director of the New Tashkent Construction Directorate and deputy minister of construction, housing and utilities, reportedly engaged in a direct contract with Gold Step Invest to construct a transportation interchange between the capital city and New Tashkent. His relative is suspected to be a co-founder of the company. The project’s estimated value is 350 billion soums.
Gazeta.uz sent a request to the Anti-Corruption Agency regarding a possible conflict of interest in late December. The agency replied stating it was studying the matter, but has not followed up yet.
