Uzbekistan Re-Evaluates 8,992 Hokim Assistants to Fight Poverty

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan will review its allocation mechanisms for business credits, subsidies, and compensation while conducting a comprehensive performance evaluation of all 8,992 hokim assistants in mahallas, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced during a government meeting on 3 September 2026.

Under the new policy, conditions for delivering loans, subsidies, and financial compensation will no longer be fixed by presidential decrees. Instead, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in coordination with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, will update funding mechanisms on a quarterly basis to reflect regional characteristics and economic potential.

The administrative structure governing local implementation will undergo significant restructuring. District headquarters must transition hokim assistants to a project-based operational model. To execute this shift, all 8,992 hokim assistants will be designated as acting appointees pending a formal performance review. Proactive and effective staff will be reappointed, while individuals who fail to meet performance standards will be replaced.

A dedicated training center utilizing international experts will be established within two months to instruct hokim assistants in developing and managing commercial projects. Additionally, regional headquarters will send the two top-performing hokim assistants from each district to China, Japan, and Türkiye annually for advanced professional development. High-performing personnel will receive a specialized qualification tier and a salary bonus of up to 50 percent. Similar training and international internship opportunities will extend to local mahalla bankers.

The General Prosecutor's Office has been instructed to remove administrative barriers that prevent local assistants and bankers from taking independent decisions and assuming operational responsibility.

The government is also decentralizing the execution of entrepreneurship infrastructure projects. To eliminate delays caused by regional-level administration, authority as project owner will transfer directly to district authorities, with funding routed locally. Additional funds exceeding local allocations by two to three times will be dispatched from the national budget for infrastructure projects in high-priority mahallas. District headquarters leaders will oversee project design and development, with authorization to engage private sector contractors for design, construction, and quality management, while retaining primary responsibility for project delivery.