Presidential decrees of December 2022 and January 2023 launched a sweeping downsizing of Uzbekistan's state apparatus: the number of executive bodies was cut from 61 to 28, ministries from 25 to 21, and staffing positions were reduced by 17,500. However, the rapid pace and scale of the reform necessitated additional adjustments during implementation.
Only about a week passed between the publication of Decree PF-269 and the start of reorganization. Over three years, 60 amendments were made to the decree. Since 2023, a new trend emerged: while the total number of bodies in the registry remained nearly unchanged, the number of independent bodies began to grow – from 26 in January 2023 to 42 by April 2026.
According to expert Behzodkhon Alikhonov, the core issue for continuing the reform is not simply reducing the number of bodies, but understanding why the system is again creating independent decision-making centers and how to eliminate the mechanism of re-fragmentation. He proposes a matrix of 22 enlarged state bodies, a compact government apparatus, reducing internal hierarchy in ministries from 15 to 9 levels, and legal mechanisms to prevent fragmentation.
In 2023–2026, 16 republican-level state bodies and at least 39 subordinate structures – funds, centers, and other organizations – were established. At first glance, this may seem like a natural state response to new tasks, but without a functional filter, such logic gradually leads to a return of the old system.
Several probable causes of fragmentation are identified: demonstration of activity (a new structure quickly shows that a problem is being solved), administrative weight (an independent body is perceived as a stronger organizational position), raising priority at the institutional level, and lack of a functional filter. The risk of this model is declining accountability: if a decision goes through 4–5 stages of coordination, none bears full responsibility for the final result.
Expert proposals for the next reform stage focus on reforming the rules: creation and abolition of ministries should be based only on law, introduction of delayed launch (a transition period of at least 6 months), limiting the frequency of structural changes (no more than once a year), a minimum term for ministers (three years), and a moratorium on reorganization after the reform begins (two years).
It is also proposed to reform the Cabinet of Ministers apparatus – abolish the institution of deputy prime ministers and their secretariats, cut the apparatus by 35%, and transform it into a compact Government Chancellery. Bodies 'under the President' and 'under the Presidential Administration' should be created only for supra-sectoral tasks.
The proposed matrix includes 22 super-agencies: Ministry of External Relations (merging 4 bodies), Ministry of Finance (4), State Revenue Committee (2), Ministry of Market Reforms and Privatization (6), Ministry of Social Protection (4), Ministry of Agrarian Development and Food (3), Ministry of Education and Science (4), Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports (6), Ministry of Ecology and Water Resources (5), Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (4), and others. In each block, independent control and inspection bodies are separated.
Source: www.gazeta.uz