Eleven Points for Kyrgyzstan’s Future
Prosperity and Justice Agenda: Eleven Points for Kyrgyzstan’s Future
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Eleven Points for Kyrgyzstan’s Future
Each chapter is devoted to solving specific problems, such as: • Elimination of ‘propiska’ (household registra tion and internal passport) • Introducing public-private partnership • Reforming the education system • Minimizing trade tariffs
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Kyrgyzstan earned independence on August 31, 1991. Yet, for nearly 20 years the country’s economy has been aimlessly drifting, with occasional ups and downs and the living standard suffering. This arose from Kyrgyzstan’s failure to adopt a clear vision for reform. The vision would serve as a guide for setting policy priorities and each priority backed by a sequenced action agenda. This is the roadmap toward a competitive and prosperous economy. Armed with a free-market, liberal vision of reforming Kyrgyzstan the Central Asian Free Market Institute has prepared a policy handbook. The handbook consists of 11 chapters and has been developed by young researchers with the support of renowned local and foreign experts. The uniqueness of the project is that it has been created with the participation of government representatives, international consultants, independent experts and think tank policy makers. This helps to minimize the influence of subjective factors, while taking maximum accounts of different parties.
The reform measures suggested in this policy handbook create the conditions for productivity, innovation and prosperity. Thus, Kyrgyzstan’s prosperity is based on creating valuable products and services by firms in the private sector. Prosperity will be unlimited because it is based on innovativeness and productivity of companies. Creating the conditions for productivity and innovation should be the government’s central policy challenge, while companies are the actors in the economy. Kyrgyzstan’s government must offer the most productive environment for business. The core areas for the government to facilitate in and foster are: • Enabling the evolution of a vibrant private sector • Strengthening capabilities within the government and private sector • Fostering a world-class regulatory environment in which competition is the central principle Every two years we plan to update our Prosperity and Justice Agenda. This will include updating the existing chapters with new data and legislatives changes that have taken within the period as well as adding new chapters (i.e. reforming security forces). Our goal is to show the relevance of the free-market in solving Kyrgyzstan’s acute economic, social and political problems. Gradually, we want policy makers and the populace to understand that the only way to pros-
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to my colleagues at Central Asian Free Market University, Mirsulzhan Namazaliev, Gulmira Aidaralieva and Kamila Murzaeva, for reading the individual chapters and offering valuable advice. Special thanks to: • Tom G. Palmer- for support in organizing the chapters and constant prodding to finish • Manas Samatov- for coming to all our expert saloons and offering rigorous scrutiny that much improved the quality of discussion Enormous thanks to the authors of the individual chapters:
• • • • • •
Aikanysh Atakanova Askar Sydykov Mirbek Toktogaraev Evgeniy Badilovskiy Mirajidin Arynov Almaz Tchoroev
Thanks to Azamat Toktakunov we have a neatly designed and functioning website.
September 1, 2010 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Seyitbek Usmanov
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Eleven Points for Kyrgyzstan’s Future
CONTENTS
I.
Introduction
II.
Acknowledgments
III.
Table of Contents
IV.
Elimination of Propiska a. Free movement of people b. No need for an alternative to propiska
V.
Creating an Oasis of Commerce a. Minimizing import tariffs b. Optimizing administrative barriers to export and import
VI.
Reducing and Simplifying the Tax Burden a. One national tax and one local tax b. Easier administration and payment
VII.
Reform of the Judiciary a. Judges elected by local legislators b. Increase the number of local judges for decreasing burden
VIII.
Decentralization and Local Control of Government a. Decentralization to the level of rayon b. Clear delineation of national and local functions
IX.
Creating Educational Excellence a. Transparency in national education budget b. Introduction of school and university vouchers
X.
Respecting Freedom of Speech and Independent Media a. No state ownership in media: newspaper, TV and radio
XI.
Mitigating Religious Extremism a. Allowing religious parties to open parties b. To legalize formerly banned extremist parties
XII.
Reform of Judiciary System a. Election of local judges by local legis lative body b. Increase the number of local judges to decrease burden and improve quality of judges decisions
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