Parliament demands accountability as billions in state employment aid go unused

According to Imomova, the government directed UZS 45.5 trillion from the state budget toward poverty alleviation programs in 2025, a figure representing 11.9% of total state expenditures. Despite the scale of funding, government agencies failed significantly in distributing resources to those in need. Imomova noted that only 63.9% of the UZS 485.6 billion allocated to the State Targeted Fund for Poverty Reduction was actually used. Furthermore, 75% of the capital intended for unemployment benefits and financial aid within the State Fund for Employment Support – totaling UZS 48.6 billion – went completely untouched.

The lawmaker placed special emphasis on the critically low absorption rate for social subsidies, which stood at a mere 27%. While local community leaders, known as governor assistants, had recommended 40,000 vulnerable women to receive target subsidies, only 7,000 actually benefited from the initiative. The remaining 33,000 women were left without the promised support to start businesses or secure sustainable livelihoods. Imomova questioned how state agencies could justify leaving billions unspent when thousands of vulnerable families were waiting for assistance.

Deputy Minister of Employment Alisher Murodov attempted to justify the shortcomings by pointing to structural changes in the payment mechanisms and ongoing digitization efforts. He explained that the ministry had discontinued 14 types of low-demand or ineffective subsidies, replacing them with interest-free loans and alternative financial instruments designed to encourage long-term entrepreneurship among low-income families. While admitting that the target indicator for female entrepreneurs was missed, Murodov argued that the changes aimed to optimize fund efficiency rather than cut support.

However, the ministry's explanation failed to satisfy parliamentary leadership. Legislative Chamber Speaker Nuriddin Ismoilov dismissed Murodov’s response as unsatisfactory, stressing that the ministry lacked clear answers on all three financial discrepancies raised. Ismoilov urged the ministry to take a self-critical approach and analyze the failures deeply to ensure that the bottleneck does not repeat.

Addressing the assembly, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov assured lawmakers that budget execution and monitoring would be significantly tightened throughout 2026. He stated that special attention is now being directed toward the disbursement of subsidies recommended by governor assistants for women, promising to deliver demonstrably better results by the time the six-month economic report is submitted.