Sadyr Japarov. Photo: knews.kg
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has warned government officials that a large-scale audit of public spending will begin in September. Writing on his official Facebook page, the president announced that the review will focus in particular on funds allocated for road construction and modernization.
Japarov said a commission of independent experts will be formed to assess the performance of civil servants. Each official will be required to report how much money they received, what projects were carried out, how much was spent—and how much was stolen.
“I will personally oversee the process,” the president wrote, promising that those found guilty of corruption will have to repay the embezzled funds tenfold and face imprisonment. “No matter who you are, there will be no mercy. Forget the days of impunity. If you don’t like your government salary, go into business and earn your millions there.”
Japarov stressed that he was elected by the people with a clear mandate: the state treasury is sacred and must not be looted—neither by officials themselves nor by those they enable. He said he appointed his team on that same condition, yet some continue to repeat the corrupt habits of their predecessors.
“We allocated one billion soms each this year for Tokmok and Kara-Balta,” he said. “With two billion, we could have turned those cities into prosperous urban centers. We genuinely intended to allocate another billion next year for further development. But unfortunately, local officials and contractors have sunk into corruption.”
Japarov also emphasized that Kyrgyzstan’s current wealth from natural resources is finite. Eventually, he warned, these resources will run out, making it critical to develop other sectors such as tourism and manufacturing.
“We don’t have much time. Let’s work as fast as possible to put these sectors in order and lay a solid foundation for our country’s future,” he concluded.
