Mansurbek Olloyorov

 

Deputy of the President’s Advisor

Department on Legal Support and Complex Analysis

Office of the President, Republic of Uzbekistan

Transition Economy Program (’06)

 

 

 

 

 

Please tell us about your career path so far. What is your area of specialization and how did you come to work in this area?

After graduating from GRIPS in 2006, I continued my career as a specialist in the Ministry of Finance. In 2007、 I was promoted to the position of Head of Division and in 2008 I became Deputy Head of Budget Department. As a Deputy Head of Department, I took part in budget classification reforms with the aim to make it consistent with the International Monetary Fund standard (Government Finance Statistics).

 

In 2017, I was appointed as a chief inspector at the Chamber of Accounts. The Chamber of Accounts is a supreme audit organization and is responsible for controlling the budget preparation and execution process. In my first year, I was responsible for the preparation of the President Decree on Chamber of Accounts reform. Besides, I participated in the development of software for the activities of the Accounts Chamber.

 

A year later, in 2018, I moved to the President Administration, where I joined a team responsible for reform in Uzbekistan. In accordance with the proposition of the working group, the number of taxes was decreased, while the tax administration was simplified and unified. Tax privileges were reconsidered and tax exemptions abolished.

 

In 2019, we started reforms related to budget transparency and the introduction of an “open budget” system, where people can see where budget money is going. In 2020, the detailed budget was approved by the Parliament and medium-term budgeting was introduced.

 

Starting from 2019, our team began state-owned enterprise reforms. Our team took part in reforming energy, aviation transport, water and sewage services, and the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Transport were established.

 

In cooperation with the World Bank, the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture of Uzbekistan for 2020-2030, which main idea is reducing state participation in the agricultural sector, was approved by the President. Earlier this year, the President canceled a state order for the production of cotton and wheat, and the space for the private sector in agriculture was opened.

 

Also in 2020, we reformed the citizen registration system, the so-called “propiska” system (till 2020 people were not able to buy an apartment and live in the capital city – Tashkent without “propiska”).

 

You are currently serving as Deputy Head of Department on Legal Support and Comprehensive Analysis (deputy of the President’s Adviser) of the President Office. What are your main roles and responsibilities?

My main responsibilities are coordinating the process preparation of documents for reforming all spheres. Nowadays we are working on developing poverty eradication programs, health care reform, and education system reform.

 

In your current capacity, what do you see as the main opportunities and challenges for Uzbekistan over the course of the next five to ten years?

The main obstacle for realizing the reform strategy for the next five years is a shortage of highly motivated and professional public servants.

 

How do you maintain a balance between your work and the rest of your life? And what is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

Of course, it is very difficult to find time to do other things than work. Anyway, three times a week I go to the swimming pool and other times I spent my free time with my family.

 

If you could give one piece of advice to anyone considering studying at GRIPS what would it be?

Studying at GRIPS gives you great value. Please make the most of this opportunity.

 

How would you like to maintain involved with the School? What do you expect from GRIPS as an alumnus and do you have any suggestions on how to further utilize the GRIPS alumni network?

As many of our governments are facing similar problems, we could learn from each other’s experiences and solve problems together. We could pick up certain topics and ask GRIPS students to prepare interesting presentations for further discussion with GRIPS alumni and current students. The Zoom platform would be quite suitable for this.