AKIPRESS.COM - The dismissal of Minister of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan Abdulla Kuldashev was due to growing bureaucracy and legal violations, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced during a meeting of the National Anti-Corruption Council on March 5, according to the presidential press service.

According to Mirziyoyev, Kuldashev and his deputies were removed from office because of increasing bureaucratic inefficiencies within the Ministry and violations of fire safety regulations in the issuance of construction permits and project approvals.

For instance, citizens seeking land allocations were required to make repeated visits to regional administration heads and navigate a maze of various agencies. The entire sector, the President noted, had become a hotbed of corruption.

Mirziyoyev identified the construction sector as one of the most corruption-prone and highlighted positive developments following the introduction of the Transparent Construction program.

"Previously, the number of contractors involved in projects under the investment program barely reached a thousand. Last year, over 4,000 contractors participated in the construction of 13,500 projects. In the past four years, the digitalization of the sector has saved 3.6 trillion soums ($280 million) in budget funds," the President stated.

Abdulla Kuldashev, who held the post of head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations since March 2022, was dismissed at the end of February 2025. This post was taken by former Deputy Prosecutor General Botir Kudratkhodjaev. Khurshid Sotiev and Nuriddin Kadirov were appointed as his assistants. Sotiev headed the Department for the Prevention of Emergency Situations, while Kadirov the Department of Spiritual and Educational Work and Personnel.