As previously reported, in early April 2017, as part of a study tour to the Republic of the Czech Republic organized by the joint project of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan and UNDP "Local Governance Support Program / Phase 2", representatives of ministries and agencies, governor’s offices of Jizzakh, Tashkent and Namangan provinces studied the experience of Czech Republic in the field of organizing the activities of local authorities.

In particular, during the talks and presentations by Czech experts, the members of the delegation got acquainted with the comprehensive development of the provinces, formation of state and local budgets, methodological base and mechanism for implementing the provinces’ medium-term budget and other issues of practical interest for Uzbekistan.

The legal basis for the introduction of the system of medium-term budgeting is Article 88 of the Budget Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which states: "The program of development of the disposer of budgetary funds is compiled by the disposer of budgetary funds for a period of not less than three years and includes the following:

• main directions of progress, goals and objectives throughout the sphere of activity of the disposer
• a set of interrelated legal, economic, social, organizational and technical measures aimed at achieving goals and objectives;
• system of time-matched and type-matched indicators of expected results that ensure the achievement of goals and objectives.

The project of UNDP for piloting medium-term budgeting involves grant funds from the British Foreign Office.

Taking into account the success and effectiveness of the Czech Republic's medium-term budgeting practice, on April 28, 2017, a working meeting was held in Namangan province with the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Khokimiyats of Namangan province and Namangan city, provincial finance department and the UNDP project to discuss issues of practical introduction of advanced foreign experience.

It is planned to pilot the transition to medium-term budgeting in the city of Namangan for 2018-2020, which will allow planning the formation and expenditure of the budget, linking the city budget with the City Development Program. In the course of this work, manuals for employees of the finance department will be prepared, explaining the mechanism and process of developing and implementing medium-term budgeting.

During the meeting, Akmalhon Ortikov, the first deputy khokim (mayor) of Namangan province, suggested ensuring the preparation of budget application on the basis of analysis, forecasting and planning indicators, as well as specifying in the draft budget not only monetary sums, but also the contingent – the number of employees in the education sphere, healthcare and other sectors.

Khokim of the city of Namangan, Bahodor Bekhodjaev, adopted Decision No.453 dated April 20, 2017 on the introduction of medium-term budgeting. Therefore, a working group was established and an appropriate Action Plan was approved.

Representatives of the UNDP joint project discussed the distribution of tasks among the members of the working group, other issues on the development of the medium-term budget of Namangan city.

It should be noted that at present local budgets are planned only for one next year and this practice of transition to medium-term budgeting in Uzbekistan is being implemented for the first time. In the future, medium-term budgeting is expected to be widely spread in all provinces of the country.

Introduction of medium-term budgeting will result in improvement of the mechanism for planning the main directions and activities during the development of various sectors of this administrative unit, which will allow the khokimiyat to achieve greater goals and see the prospects for the advancement of the province in a broader time frame.

As a result of improvement of khokimiyats' activity in the field of planning and distribution of financial resources, further socio-economic development of the province is expected, as well as growth of gross provincial product, progress of entrepreneurship and attraction of investments, creation of new jobs, improvement of housing and communal services, improvement of territories. This, in turn, will lead to an improvement in the living standards of the local population, the growth of the well-being of citizens.

UNDP implements the Local Governance Support Programme/Phase-II together with the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to promote more effective, accountable and inclusive governance in Uzbekistan by enhancing local government performance, supporting accountability and transparency and increasing citizen participation in local governance. Jizzakh, Namangan and Tashkent are the pilot provinces.