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The Kyrgyz presidential administration is developing new mechanisms to penalize officials for repeated disciplinary offenses, including salary reductions and forfeiture of bonuses. The initiative, aimed at improving accountability in the civil service, was announced by Azamat Osmonov, Head of the Department of Control of Execution of Decisions of the President and Cabinet of Ministers. According to Osmonov, 56 civil servants were disciplined in 2024 for misconduct. Among them: 7 officials, including akims (local governors), their deputies, and senior government officials, were dismissed. 27 officials, including one minister, received reprimands. 22 officials faced additional disciplinary actions. The presidential administration and the Cabinet of Ministers are set to convene a board meeting to review the performance of state agency heads for 2024. “Unfortunately, current regulations allow the same official to be reprimanded repeatedly without serious consequences. We intend to change this practice: if an official has already been disciplined, a repeated offense should lead to dismissal,” Osmonov stated. In addition to stricter dismissal policies, the government is considering financial penalties as an alternative punishment. “We are introducing the monetization of disciplinary measures: after receiving a reprimand, an official will be ineligible for bonuses, and their salary will be reduced. This should create additional motivation to comply with discipline,” Osmonov explained. The proposed mechanism is currently under development and will be integrated into the Code of Administrative Violations. Kyrgyzstan already enforces financial penalties for civil servants who fail to meet deadlines for addressing citizens' appeals. The current fine stands at 100 calculation indices (a fixed monetary unit used for penalties and state fees). “We will further refine this approach by drafting new legal regulations to enhance officials' accountability and improve the quality of work within state institutions,” Osmonov added.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has instructed the government to establish individual key performance indicators (KPIs) for each minister and khokim (local governor) to accelerate digitalization reforms. According to presidential spokesperson Sherzod Asadov, officials will not only be assigned specific KPIs but will also be required to meet strict deadlines for task completion. As an example, Mirziyoyev directed the State Committee for Tourism to develop a unified digital platform integrating hotel reservations, airline and rail tickets, museum and theater visits, and services for guides and interpreters. Another priority is expediting the issuance of electronic visas - the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice have been tasked with reducing processing time to three days. The president emphasized that competitiveness in the service sector is directly linked to the level of digitalization across industries. However, not all agencies are meeting their targets. For instance, the Ministry of Transport has failed to launch an online ticketing system for all types of passenger transport, despite more than six months of efforts. Similarly, the Cadastral Agency has been slow in developing a unified register of real estate addresses. “Any leader who postpones digitalization acts against our policy of openness,” Mirziyoyev stated. A key topic at the meeting was the optimization of state services. The president noted that, over the past three years, some functions have been transferred to the private sector, including conducting exams and awarding qualification categories to realtors and appraisers, issuing certificates to tour guides, and performing mandatory technical inspections of specialized and agricultural equipment. This privatization trend will continue. By March 1 this year, 11 additional state services are expected to be handed over to private enterprises, followed by 18 more by October 1.
As outlined in a press release on the IFC website, a new online e-system for businesses in Tajikistan developed with IFC support is being launched to help the government increase transparency, reduce its administrative burden, and improve the country's investment climate, the IFC (a member of the World Bank Group) said on December 11th. The IFC has been working with Tajikistan's State Committee on Investment and State Property Management for almost two years to help develop the new e-Services for Business System with support from the government of Switzerland. The new portal consists of: an e-Registry database comprising all existing licenses and permission documents with details of their issuance; an e-Inspection system to enable the planning and conduction of inspections and report results online; and an e-Permit platform to apply for licenses and permission documents. The new online system will help increase the transparency of activities and services provided by state authorities and minimize costs for the private sector to access information, apply for licenses and permits, provide feedback, and report on problems in the work of inspection and licensing bodies. "Simplifying administrative procedures and reducing the state impact on business activities by - among other things - reducing the number of inspections is essential to improve business confidence and attract investment," said Khurshedai Qodir, Deputy Chairperson of the State Committee on Investment and State Property Management. The portal will also enable the committee to have valuable real-time data on the number of inspections conducted and licenses and permits requested and issued. It will also enable monitoring of the extent to which state bodies comply with legal requirements in carrying out their duties. "Developing Tajikistan's private sector without improving the conditions it operates in is practically impossible," said Farukh Sultonov, IFC Country Officer in Tajikistan. "Accessible administrative systems are key to help public authorities cut bureaucracy, reduce costs and time for the private sector, and strengthen the country's investment climate."
