The director of the agency, Akmal Burkhanov, noted that in 2023, the number of individuals prosecuted for corruption-related crimes decreased to 879 people, or by 12% compared to 2022, and the number of crimes also decreased by 11%, highlighting that "the amount of damage caused by corruption activities has also decreased by 29%".
"As a result of the internal control structures established in 117 ministries and agencies, embezzlement was detected in 4,349 control activities, amounting to 342.6 billion UZS, with the gathered information being sent to law enforcement agencies. It prevented the illegal expenditure of 953.4 billion UZS," he says.
Additionally, the agency's head emphasizes that 566 officials, previously convicted of corruption, have been re-employed and engaged in corruption again.
A recent international media forum took place in the capital. It was attended by international experts, specialists, and media representatives, who discussed the importance of public and journalists' activity in combating corruption.
“Do journalists have enough professional skills to conduct journalistic investigations? Are their knowledge and skills sufficient for collaborating with government agencies and analyzing the related information? Do state organs provide information in a timely manner? Are journalists free from the influence of not only state organs but also their editorial boards and media outlet management?” - ambassador Antti Karttunen, moderator of the session titled "The Role of Mass Media in Ensuring the Transparency and Openness of Government Activities," addressed these questions to the speakers.
These questions are not only relevant to us but also to all countries worldwide building democratic societies, and they represent urgent issues awaiting solutions.
“Today, we cannot say that the open data provided by state bodies are convenient. Most of them use PDF format, which we cannot reprocess,” – says Inese Taurina, Executive Director of "Transparency International LATVIA." - This issue is inherently linked to the open sources of our government institutions.
The statistics provided above demonstrate the work done by the agency over the year, while the experiences gained by the participants of this media forum, including ministry and local government information service staff and journalists, could lead to a decrease in embezzlement of state funds and illegal budget expenditures if applied in practice. Perhaps the creation of a permanent platform for information and experience exchange among forum participants could contribute to accelerating reforms.
