"Initiative Budget" proposal submission phase concludes; several changes coming into force

The working commission reformed with a new composition

A working commission was formed based on a new composition to ensure transparency and fairness in the selection of projects. The new head of the working commission has been designated as the chairman of the regional people's deputies' district councils.

Moreover, representatives of district justice departments have been added to the commission to ensure that the decisions being made comply with the legislation. Citizens might wonder what this commission is about. Once all the projects have been input into the portal, the working commissions will review the projects from the perspective of public interest and the feasibility of their implementation in that region. Projects that align with public interest will not be discarded, but those driven by personal interests will be dismissed by the working commission. After the projects are declared winners, the commissions will submit their conclusions for funding to the local people's deputies' councils.

A list of goods and equipment formulated

Another change we made is that procurement related to projects will be carried out based on an electronic registry approved by the relevant ministries. To facilitate additional convenience for citizens, initiators can now form their projects by selecting the necessary goods from a pre-formulated list of goods and equipment provided on the portal. This prevents the purchase of equipment that does not serve the public interest.

Frankly speaking, we encountered some issues in the education sector. There were instances where projects included the purchase of goods not related to improving the educational process. For example, the procurement of expensive mobile communication devices was detected. We expressed our objections to the internal commission. To prevent such situations, we have now provided a list of goods and equipment for schools, kindergartens, healthcare facilities, or neighborhood buildings.

Subpar contractors to be blacklisted

Another innovation specifies that contractors who underperform in executing winning projects will be listed in the "Transparent Construction" system's dishonest executors registry. Every year, based on annual results, the ministry will compile a list of contractor organizations that have made mistakes throughout the year and whose work has been deemed unsatisfactory. Regularly erring contractors will be blacklisted. This will prevent delays and unsatisfactory completion of projects.