Uzbekistan to Strengthen Oversight of Public Procurement

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan’s Oliy Majlis has passed in its first reading a bill aimed at further improving the public procurement system. The legislation is designed to increase transparency in procurement processes, strengthen the accountability of public procuring entities and improve oversight mechanisms.

One of the proposed measures is the regular publication of information on goods sold and services provided, broken down by region. The data would make it possible to assess the state of public procurement across different regions, identify the most in-demand types of goods and services and increase the openness of procurement procedures.

The bill also provides for stronger parliamentary oversight of budget spending. The results of public procurement carried out by public procuring entities would be included in reports on the execution of the State Budget.

Such reports would separately disclose information on procurement conducted under direct contracts. This would allow lawmakers to systematically analyze budget expenditures, assess the procurement methods used and their results, and, when necessary, use parliamentary oversight mechanisms.

Another set of amendments concerns the protection of entrepreneurs’ rights. To ensure prompt local consideration of complaints arising during public procurement procedures, permanent territorial commissions are proposed to be established under the Commission for the Consideration of Complaints in the Sphere of Public Procurement.

The mechanism is expected to enable faster consideration of entrepreneurs’ appeals and resolution of disputes, while reducing the time and financial costs involved.

According to lawmakers, greater transparency of public procurement information, inclusion of direct-contract procurement data in parliamentary oversight and improvements to the complaints mechanism will help increase transparency and accountability across the system.

The proposed provisions are also expected to expand the competitive environment, encourage greater participation by entrepreneurs in public procurement and strengthen oversight of the efficient and targeted use of budget funds.