Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 1 November, the Ministry of Finance held a presentation of the next information publication “Budget for Citizens” on the draft State Budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020, prepared as part of the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to ensure transparency of budget data and active participation of citizens in the budget process”.

The event was attended by representatives of the media, bloggers, representatives of the Oliy Majlis Chamber, NGOs, IFIs, line ministries and departments.

As part of the event, the general public was provided with information about the forecast of the main macroeconomic indicators, the main directions of the fiscal policy for the next year, the parameters of the Consolidated Budget, as well as information regarding the State Debt of the Republic of Uzbekistan

In addition, clarifications are given about upcoming changes in budget policy, including:

- Starting from 2020, the State budget will be adopted in the form of the Law and a system of parliamentary appropriations will be introduced;

- Most importantly, the budget will be approved by ministries. This increases their authority and responsibility.

The introduction of a mechanism envisaging increased responsibility in the formation and execution of the local budget, as well as the independence of local Councils and public authorities. (i.e., the parameters of the republican budget and volumes of inter-budget transfers will be approved by the Chambers of the Oliy Majlis and the expenses of local budgets will be approved by the Jokarga Kenges of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Kengashes of People's Deputies of the regions and the city of Tashkent, districts and cities).

The maximum amount of external borrowings attracted (borrowed) on behalf of the Republic of Uzbekistan or under the guarantee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the implementation of state targeted programs and repaid from the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan will be approved.

It should be noted that when preparing the publication of the “Budget for Citizens”, special attention was paid to the format for providing information on the State budget. As before, budget information is presented in the form of infographics and tables, convenient for perception by a wide audience (for all citizens).

At the same time, on the pages of the next edition, readers will also be able to familiarize themselves with the main innovations in the budget process: starting from 2020, the State budget will be adopted in the form of the Law, a system of parliamentary allocations will be introduced, which entailed a revision of the budgetary powers of the main participants in the budget process - the Oliy Majlis , local representative bodies, as well as line ministries and departments.

The developers of the “Budget for Citizens” noted the addition of the next newsletter with a new section on proactive budgeting. Recall that starting in 2019, a mechanism for the participation of citizens in the distribution of budget funds was introduced, providing for the allocation of at least 10 percent of additional sources of budgets of districts (cities) to finance events formed on the basis of public opinion. So, by submitting proposals and participating in voting on the Open Budget information portal, citizens could independently determine the events for which, in their opinion, additional sources of local budget funds should be directed.

In the next edition of the Budget for Citizens, information is disclosed on the activities undertaken in the regions and cities in the framework of proactive budgeting: what exactly is the amount of budgetary funds and which activities it was directed to.

It should be to note that the publication of the “Budget for Citizens” harmoniously fit into the process of ensuring openness and transparency of budget data, and acts as an effective tool in improving budget literacy of the population, as well as citizen involvement in the budget process.

All interested persons will be able to familiarize themselves with the Budget for citizens in the state and Russian languages on the official website of the Ministry of Finance (www.mf.uz), as well as on the Open Budget information portal (www.openbudget.uz).

Along with the presentation of the information publication “Budget for Citizens” and the draft Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the State Budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020”, the expert of the International Monetary Fund Mark Kongiano spoke about the international experience in applying the annual budget to the seminar participants.