President orders poverty reduction by half across 28 regions

In Uzbekistan, 237,000 families have been lifted out of poverty this year thanks to increased funding and improved conditions provided to neighborhoods. However, in 28 small districts, insufficient measures are being taken to combat unemployment. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated this today, October 14, during a videoconference dedicated to improving the neighborhood system and ensuring effective organization of work at the local level.

The President instructed officials responsible for the neighborhood system to immediately form a working group and visit these 28 districts to develop measures aimed at halving unemployment, poverty, and crime rates by next year.

It is known that neighborhoods have been granted the authority to auction off up to 2,000 square meters of vacant state property. For example, the Shodlik neighborhood in Samarkand city generated 5 billion soums for its budget through the sale of a 1,500-square-meter building.

’’You see, if the seven-member teams in other neighborhoods also take initiative, many issues can be resolved by selling around 3,000 such properties,’’ the President said.

From now on, neighborhood chairpersons and deputy governors will be authorized to auction off up to 5,000 square meters of vacant state property. Seventy percent of the proceeds from these sales will remain within the neighborhood and be directed toward infrastructure development.

The meeting also addressed the expansion of entrepreneurial projects in neighborhoods. Thanks to the opportunities created, 7,000 neighborhoods have specialized in 15 areas, including fruit and vegetable cultivation, floriculture, beekeeping, tailoring, furniture production, trade, and services. As a result, 50 percent of households in 3,326 neighborhoods are now engaged in these activities, enabling 1.5 million families to earn stable incomes.

Neighborhood bankers and deputy governors have been provided with 6.5 trillion soums in resources this year to implement an average of 40 microprojects in each neighborhood. However, it was noted that despite the substantial funding, not all local leaders and ’’seven-member’’ teams are performing equally effectively. In 2,356 neighborhoods across the country, the level of specialization remains significantly low. 

Officials were instructed to ensure that every neighborhood completes its specialization process. They were also tasked with meeting residents to determine the most suitable areas of specialization based on local potential and to develop microprojects capable of employing at least 200,000 people. Starting next year, preferential financial resources will be allocated to 2,682 neighborhoods specializing in fruit and vegetable cultivation, primarily to support projects in storage, processing, and packaging.