Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the thirty-fifth plenary session of the Senate, the report of the Cabinet of Ministers on the execution of the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the first nine months of 2022 was considered.

It was noted that over this period, the economy of Uzbekistan has maintained steady growth rates, despite the complex processes taking place today in the world economy.

The volume of gross domestic product in our country in January-September 2022 increased by 5.8% compared to the same period of last year, and amounted to 627.47 trillion soums.

Thanks to the implementation of structural changes in the economy, wide attraction of investments, diversification of production and support for entrepreneurial activities, real incomes of the population amounted to 409.2 trillion soums and increased by 10.7% compared to the same period of last year.

As a result of the implementation of macroeconomic indicators and the ongoing effective fiscal policy, the revenues of the State budget for the reporting period, without state trust funds, amounted to 147.1 trillion soums and increased, compared to the same period of last year, by 31.1 trillion soums, or 26 .8%, and 6.5 trillion soums were left at the disposal of local budgets.

State budget expenditures for 9 months of this year without state trust funds amounted to 162.4 trillion soums, or 26.4% of GDP.

During the discussion, members of the Senate focused on the implementation of revenues and expenditures of the State budget for 9 months of 2022, targeted spending of allocated funds, the level of taxes and customs payments while fulfilling the established forecast of State budget revenues.

It was noted that in the course of the control measures carried out in the construction sector, errors and shortcomings in ensuring the efficiency of the use of public funds were identified, such as additions to the reports of construction and repair work that were not actually completed, an indication in the design and estimate documentation of building materials at inflated prices.

It was noted that there were some problems and errors in the targeted, timely and full use of funds allocated to finance activities provided for by state social development programs.

The meeting also focused on the analysis of the effectiveness of the internal audit service in the system of ministries and departments. In particular, it was noted that the work to prevent cases of illegal use of budgetary funds is still insufficiently organized.

The senators also emphasized that the report did not reflect the analysis of budget expenditures of ministries and departments and target indicators of development programs and the level of their effectiveness.

In addition, shortcomings are indicated in terms of expanding the revenue base of local budgets and the targeted use of income received in excess of the established forecast.

Specific examples show how cases of direct spending of additional funds from local budgets were allowed based only on decisions of khokimiyats, without decisions being made by local Kengashes of people’s deputies.

The senators also expressed their attitude towards taking into account public opinion through the Open Budget portal on the overfulfilled part of the local budget and stressed the need to ensure transparency and broad participation of citizens in this matter.

It was criticized that the report, along with the disclosure of positive work related to the public procurement process, did not indicate errors and omissions, existing problems and concrete proposals for their resolution.

Proposals were made to eliminate the mistakes made in ensuring the execution of revenues and expenditures of the State budget and the effective, targeted use of state targeted budget funds.

On the discussed issue, a resolution of the Senate was adopted, which reflects the identified shortcomings and proposals for solving problems.