The state is run by corrupt officials Gubad Ibadoglu

Baku/20.04.22/Turan: The head of the Center for Economic Research, economics professor Gubad Ibadoglu accused the Azerbaijani government departments - the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, of illegally concealing information on financing the restoration of the liberated territories of Karabakh.

In an interview with Turan, Ibadoglu  said that he wrote to the indicated ministries with a request to provide him with information on the state of financing of reconstruction work in Karabakh. "This information is necessary for economics for research work." 

The letters he got letters from the ministries refused to provide information. The Ministry of Finance announces its intention to publish the requested data in budget documents, and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport notified the economist that it is transferring the available information to the Coordination Headquarters under the Presidential Administration.

"Both agencies hide information about the financing of reconstruction work in the liberated areas. Why? If there is no corruption in this area, then why is the information hidden?" asks Gubad Ibadoglu.

According to the Law on Corruption, the concealment by an official of information that should be open to the public is an act of corruption.

The scientist draws attention to the fact that the Ministry of Finance is headed by an official of the previous "convocation" (Finance Minister Samir Sharifov was appointed in 2006), and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport is headed by a young minister (Rashad Nuriyev since January 26, 2021). Despite the different official experience of these ministers, they with the same zeal hide socially significant information from independent economists.

The named ministries are the owners of information on the financing of the liberated regions. The Law "On the receipt of information", in Article 9, determines the municipalities and state bodies as the owners of information. The Article 10 of the same law says that the owner is obliged to provide information for free use and on equal terms, limited by the provisions of the same law.  The Article 24 requires the provision of information to the requesting party no later than seven working days.

The law even specifies the responsibility of the state body for refusal or delay in providing the requested information. However, the law is being violated everywhere. This can be confirmed by Turan journalists and our colleagues in other media, who daily request various information from state authorities, and very often receive refusals in various forms. We are told: wait, we will find out and we will answer; call tomorrow; send questions in writing; source of information on vacation (on a business trip, sick, did not go to work). Or simply the phones listed on the ministry's website do not answer. 

Ibadoglu believes that Azerbaijan is governed not by the methods of the rule of law, but by the personal interests and desires of corrupt officials. Government departments go to great lengths to cover up cases of corruption.

Let's add  to his words the facts of deception of the workers who built the "Smart Village" in the liberated Zangilan region, revealed by Turan. The workers were forced to leave their jobs and leave the area without being paid. Turan reported this in the article "The builders of the "Smart Village" in Zangelan are dissatisfied with the payment and living conditions" .

According to the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan, in January-June 2021, the Azerbaijani government spent 372.1 million manats as part of the program for the restoration of the liberated territories, including the Zangelan region. Over 6 months of 2021, AZN 10.8 million was allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture for the implementation of the Smart Village project in the territory of the village of Agali-2 in the Zangelan region. In October 2021, it was reported about the imminent delivery of this facility. But five months have passed - the "Smart Village" is still being built, and the general contractor of the work, the private company AS Group Investment, refused to inform Turan about the reason for the delay and the financial side of the protracted construction.