Uzbekistan to digitize 500 markets and service agencies to curb corruption

As it was previously reported, on July 29, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation outlining measures to combat and prevent petty corruption. He instructed authorities to put an end to the illegal distribution of land throughout the country.

At the meeting, the president noted that since the beginning of the year, 2,431 corruption cases had been identified nationwide – with around 90 percent occurring at the district level. According to him, public dissatisfaction persists with the performance of local administrations, banks, and cadastral services due to ongoing bureaucracy and loopholes that enable corruption. Prosecutor General Nigmatilla Yuldashev has been tasked with developing a system for evaluating the performance of state bodies not only based on how well they identify corruption, but also on how effectively they prevent it.

Compliance units within all ministries were found to have committed more than 15,000 violations. The Prosecutor General has also been instructed to propose measures for improving the performance of supervisory bodies.

In the last two years alone, 2,700 cases of unlawful land allocation were recorded, leading to the seizure of approximately 5,000 hectares. Employees of local administrations and cadastral departments were also implicated in these violations.

The president emphasized the importance of introducing digital tools, citing the example of the Chorsu market, where revenues doubled following reform. He ordered the digitization of operations at 500 markets, large shopping centers, and government agencies that provide paid services.

According to a report by the Uzbekistan 24 TV channel, the total damage from corruption identified since 2019 has increased 26-fold – from UZS 781 billion to UZS 20.3 trillion. Specifically, at Chorsu market (also known as Eski Juva), 1.4 hectares of illegal trade areas were dismantled, 932 new stalls were built, 76 surveillance cameras were installed, and 755 entrepreneurs were formally registered. As a result, profits nearly doubled – from UZS 1.5 billion to UZS 2.9 billion.