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We’ve all grown used to the fact that when the president visits a region, local officials transform into “magicians,” trying to accomplish in a few days what they had neglected for years. This pretense has become a favorite tactic to create the illusion of progress for both the president and the public, all while avoiding job loss. Worse still, this facade of superficial improvements has long been a part of Uzbekistan’s government system. Almost every week, we witness local officials in different regions scrambling to create the illusion of busy activity ahead of the president’s visit. But this facade is not about improving the lives of the people; it’s about wasted public funds and shattered hopes. A recent case in Almalyk, where the newly laid asphalt collapsed just one day after the president’s visit, is a prime example of this.
When the president plans to visit a particular region, it sends a signal to local governments: urgently clean up appearances, regardless of the actual situation. We’ve all seen the rush to plant trees, repaint buildings, and lay down asphalt in the rain or snow just to make it seem like everything is “fine” by the time the president arrives. But this is all temporary glitz that crumbles at the first sign of trouble, as was the case in Almalyk.
After the president’s visit, residents were shocked to see the freshly laid asphalt collapsing just one day later. One of the locals in the “Potrebitel.uz” community noted that the roads fell apart after the first rain on October 15th. All the effort and budget spent went down the drain because the work was rushed and of poor quality.
This situation is not limited to roadworks. In the Yangiyul district, ahead of a recent presidential visit, officials “plowed” fields and scattered drip irrigation system components across them. However, it turned out that these systems were not even connected and were simply placed to create the illusion of innovation. Who benefits from such deception? The answer is clear: only the officials trying to hide their failures behind a pretty facade.
The problem of this pretense isn’t just isolated cases of poor management. It’s a systemic issue that leads to the squandering of enormous public funds. Money that could have been spent on real improvements to people’s lives is wasted on temporary fixes that literally fall apart the next day. All of this is done to deceive higher authorities and prolong the officials’ time in power.
What’s most striking is how easily these “improvements” can be exposed. In the age of the internet and social media, people quickly share their observations and complaints. The pretense might fool the country’s leadership, but the public has long stopped believing in these staged displays.
The root of the problem lies in the lack of accountability and real oversight. When officials are not held personally responsible for the results of their work, they tend to seek short-term, visible outcomes that create the illusion of success. Instead of focusing on systemic development, they waste budgets on cosmetic repairs, knowing that if something goes wrong, there will be little consequence for them.
The first step in combating this pretense is to increase accountability and transparency in the actions of officials. Mechanisms need to be implemented to track the quality of completed work, and independent commissions should be established to assess the effectiveness of public spending. But most importantly, there needs to be real oversight and accountability for the final results.
The second step is to involve citizens in decision-making processes and allow them to monitor the work of officials. An active civil society and the ability to openly discuss issues will help expose cases of pretense and inefficiency.
As long as pretense remains part of the state system, real changes in the country will not happen. Officials will continue to spend money on “pretty pictures” instead of addressing pressing issues. But people no longer want to be mere spectators in this show, and the sooner we begin to fight this practice, the better it will be for everyone.
The article may contain inaccuracies as it is translated by AI. For more details, please refer to the Russian version of the article. If you notice any inaccuracies, you can send corrections via the Telegram bot: Uzvaibik_bot.
