A meeting of the faction of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan was held in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis. The deputies discussed the report of the Cabinet of Ministers on the implementation of the State Program for the Implementation of the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 in the Year of Human Care and Quality Education for the first half of 2023.
It was noted that within the framework of the implementation of the State Program, covering one hundred goals in 7 priority areas and 398 paragraphs, the Government carried out several activities to increase the level of development of the state and society to a new level. In particular, it was noted that targeted measures implemented in the social sphere are the basis for the transformations carried out in the lives of citizens from low-income strata, which are the central electorate of the party.
During the reporting period, the growth of the country’s gross domestic product amounted to 5.6 percent compared to last year, of which the share of industry is 5.6 percent, services – 6.4 percent, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries – 3.8 percent.
Since the total expenditures of the state budget amounted to 129.1 trillion UZS (an increase of 25.3% compared to the corresponding period last year), funds directed to the social sphere amounted to 65.1 trillion UZS. This figure is 20.4 percent higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year.
At the meeting, attention was focused on supporting the population, including women and youth, in social notebooks. Thus, over the past six months, 1 million 680 thousand needy women have been included in the “Women’s Notebook”, of which 771,358 (77.1 percent) received appropriate assistance, such as employment, starting a business, providing material and medical aid, repairing their homes and purchasing a new housing.
At the expense of the state, 149,811 out of the 295,684 boys and girls in the “Youth Notebook” were provided with funds to pay for the contract, self-employment, contributions for military service, driving courses, vocational training and treatment in the amount of 275 billion UZS.
The deputies noted that social reforms are crucial in ensuring the people's well-being and the country's stability and raised reasonable questions about the report.
As Shokhista Turgunova, a faction member, noted, according to paragraph 37 of the State Program, practical assistance to women in a difficult social situation, preparing them for a profession, has become one of the most urgent tasks today. However, when traveling to the regions or studying social networks, one gets the impression that the number of women in a difficult social situation is not decreasing, but increasing.
It was noted that even though the amount of assistance provided to low-income families, needy women, and youth, which is provided in large quantities, the practical effectiveness of work in this direction could be more noticeable. In the regions, especially in remote and hard-to-reach settlements, there are areas for improvement in bringing quality primary medical services closer to the population, material incentives for teachers, and increased targeting of assistance to citizens in need.
During the discussion, the faction members noted the need to ensure the timely and complete implementation of the State Program. For this, it is necessary to strengthen and exchange information between ministries and agencies, cooperation, and responsibility. It was emphasized that for the effective implementation of social reforms, it is necessary to expand parliamentary and deputy control over the activities of responsible ministries and agencies in this direction.
An appropriate decision was made at the meeting on the agenda issue based on the faction's position.