Sardoba calls for changes

The Sardoba dam failure in Syrdarya of Uzbekistan is challenging

and tragic both for the government and for society as a whole.

 Substantial social and economic losses leave no doubt that the perpetrators will be found and punished. However, in addition to the "set an example to the rest" approach, which usually has a short memory, more critical what conclusions and changes we get out of this situation.

We believe that responsible authorities have their vision of change. However, in our opinion, the following important aspects should be included in the package of reforms.

Firstly, it is time to provide open access to information on all national and local projects. All data (budget, tenders, sources of financing, costs, contractors, subcontractors, etc.) related to the construction of educational institutions, hospitals and other social facilities, as well as national projects - from reservoirs to power plants - should be open. Any information may be disclosed, except for information related to national security, reflecting trade secrets or implying technological and scientific solutions.

Need to create a single web resource accessible to everyone. The idea of ​​an Azerbaijani rural development project can serve as the basis for such an initiative http://azrip.net/maps/index.html 

Secondly, the time has also come to introduce the practice of mandatory

public control over the construction of all social facilities and national

projects. The world has long and effectively practised allocating an average of 1% of the total budget of national and local projects for the CSO for the implementation of public control.

Just imagine, what a significant impact on the project we could have if 0.5 per cent of the total budget of the Sardoba reservoir construction project (as announced in the media, about $ 400 million) allocated for public oversight. It is about 2 million dollars - more than 200 non-governmental and the media would receive 100 million soums grants for conducting public oversight. As a result of such close attention of public structures, irresponsibility and negligence in the design and construction of such an important national project could be reduced several times.

Thirdly, it is necessary to introduce mechanisms for consultations and

public hearings with the residents of adjacent territories on the

construction of social and national projects. This, on the one hand, will serve the implementation of more optimal projects based on the proposals and recommendations of the population. On the other hand, it will allow citizens to get a complete picture of the objects.

Fourthly, national projects and constructions should have protocols introduced in case of emergencies, personnel and residents of adjacent territories should be well informed about emergency response measures. In the case of Sardoba: people needed to know in advance the algorithm of actions and behaviour in various possible variants of a human-made disaster. Thus, we need to introduce the practice of conducting specialised training for the adjacent territories population.

And finally, the government needs to stop the practice of acceptance of the projects of strategic importance without preliminary international expertise.

We need to ensure transparency of information and processes associated with the construction of national and local projects, regardless of whether the project is implemented at the expense of the State budget, sponsorship funds or extrabudgetary funds, as this is related to public safety.

The "these are not state funds, do not teach us how to build" approach of state structures, especially local government bodies, is inappropriate. It is necessary to determine the procedure and mechanisms for citizens to access open data, to conduct oversight on their initiative, and to send complaints on identified shortcomings.

It is becoming obvious that corruption in our society to be curbed if transparency and public participation are ensured. The scope and coverage of corruption cases recently raised by civic activists and the media are clear evidence of this.

Anti-corruption should not remain the mandate of exclusively state bodies; the media, civil society institutions and the public should be more widely involved in this crucial role.

In a short period of time, transformations unprecedented in importance and scale have been launched in Uzbekistan. Reforms, which yesterday seemed impossible for us, are already today's reality. Therefore, we believe that the transparency reform, which is so necessary now more than ever, will be carried out at the proper level.

https://t.me/mp_bekmurodov