TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 22. The Uzbek authorities will annually allocate grants and social contracts totaling 10 billion soums ( $806,000) for projects by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on anti-corruption initiatives, Trend reports via the National Database of Legislation.
This initiative is outlined in the Presidential Resolution “On Further Expanding the Participation of Civil Society Institutions and Supporting Research in the Field of Anti-Corruption.”
Funding will come from two sources:
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Savings accumulated during the year by the Public Fund for the Support of Civil Society Institutions under the Parliament;
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Off-budget funds from state bodies and organizations whose anti-corruption performance was rated as “unsatisfactory” by the Anti-Corruption Agency.
In addition to financial support, the new regulations expand the role of NGOs. They will be tasked with independently monitoring Uzbekistan’s implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption, using their own evaluation system as an alternative to the government’s.
Under contracts from the Anti-Corruption Agency, these organizations will also conduct sociological research. Their work will focus on identifying the causes and conditions that contribute to everyday corruption, as well as analyzing public attitudes and perceptions of corruption among citizens.
