President Aliyev receives new district heads via video meeting [UPDATE]

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan will continue its fight against corruption and bribery among officials.

The president made the remarks on May 21, following the arrest of two former district heads.

Receiving the new heads of Aghstafa and Imishli districts, Seymour Orujov and Elchin Rzayev via a video conference format, the president said:

“The heads of the executive powers of Agstafa and Imishli districts have been arrested. The public was informed about it. Now an investigation is underway and law enforcement will determine everything. The public has already been informed. These violations committed by the heads of the executive authorities in Agstafa and Imishli districts also existed in other districts, and several heads of executive authorities have already been investigated. This once again shows that the fight against corruption, bribery and looting in Azerbaijan is not in words, but in deeds, and this fight will continue. The activities of both local and central executive bodies are now being investigated, and all violations will be revealed,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev has urged the newly appointed heads of district executive powers to fight ruthlessly against bribery and corruption.

“The fight against corruption and bribery in Azerbaijan must be ruthless. I have expressed my views on this issue, and I want to reiterate that for the successful development of Azerbaijan, for the sustainable development of our country, unpleasant situations must be eliminated. You must also seriously fight against all the unpleasant situations in the districts you lead”.

The president said that the district heads will have government and public’s support in fight against corruption.

“You will have great support from the state in this area, but also involve the general public in this work. Because public control is a very important factor in the fight against unpleasant situations. I am glad that the mechanisms of public control have been improving recently. First of all, you need to analyze the situation and solve the problems that concern people. Inform the relevant central executive bodies about the issues you are unable to resolve so that these issues can be resolved promptly”.

Noting the Fourth State Program of socio-economic development of the regions, Aliyev noted that such work must be done in the regions, that work is waiting for its solution, people are suffering. “Therefore, when analyzing the situation, you must first identify the issues that concern citizens”, he added.

The president also urged local officials to be responsible in their work and to be engaged with locals.

 “In many cases, the head of the executive power does not leave his office. All heads of executive power, including you, must meet with people in all villages, hear from people about the problems that concern them, and then make a decision”, the president added.

“There is an issue that cannot be solved simply because of nonchalance, indifference and irresponsibility. There is an issue that does not require large funds or great suffering. They just don't care. They believe that they should lead there like a master, hurt people, and ensure their own interests. People who live with such a mindset have no place among us. Their place is elsewhere”.

President Aliyev also urged the newly appointed heads to visit all the villages, learn all the problems from the citizens and solve them.

“I want to reiterate that problems that cannot be solved at the local level must be immediately reported to the relevant central executive bodies”, the president said.

“Today, Azerbaijan is renewing, modernizing and depends on new personnel. Much depends on your actions, and people's trust, mood, and belief in justice often depend on the work of local leaders. You need to work in such a way that people believe in you, support you and are satisfied with your work”, Aliyev added.

Furthermore, the president emphasized that the activities of the newly appointed heads of Aghstafa and Imishli district executive powers will be monitored and controlled. “You must work to fulfill all the tasks given by me, to ensure the successful development of Agstafa and Imishli districts”, he noted.

Aliyev noted that the work in the regions is always under his control. “My numerous visits are also aimed at seeing the work done, getting acquainted and hearing from people about the problems that concern them, and we will solve them”.

The president also spoke about progress made in Azerbaijan in social, economic spheres in recent years.

He reminded that according to the Davos World Economic Forum Report, Azerbaijan ranks second in the world for the access to electricity, and ranks 30th ranks in terms of road quality.

“Today, Azerbaijan is one of the few countries where the vast majority of gasification projects has been completed, the level of gasification is 96 per cent. Drinking water projects are being implemented in all cities, either already completed or nearing completion. All this is the work done by the state, the investments”.

As the main task of the newly appointed district executive powers, Aliyev underlined that the socio-economic development of the regions must be ensured, at the same time, all work must be done fairly.

Touching upon the measures taken in order to fight against the pandemic, the president emphasized that the state must also help people who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19.

“In the current situation, the successful development of the country will be ensured, first of all, at the expense of the non-oil sector, and, of course, the development of entrepreneurship is of greater importance”, Aliyev said.

In this regard, the president urged the heads of district executive powers to attract investors and to convince local entrepreneurs to invest in the districts, create jobs and thus contribute to the development of the districts.

Noting that agricultural development remains a priority for the country, President Aliyev stressed that local executive powers must work with relevant government agencies to develop agriculture, provide people with jobs, increase productivity and ensure all the factors that contribute to the development of agriculture, including the issue of equitable distribution of irrigation water.

The president highlighted the fact that 90,000 paid public jobs must be created in 2020 and urged new heads of Aghstafa and Imisli district executive powers to seriously analyze all issues related to this.

“In short, your activity must be reflected in the socio-economic development of the regions you lead. I want to say openly that at least 90 per cent of the work done in the regions over the past 17 years has been done on my initiative as part of state programs”, Aliyev said.

“As part of state programs, 16,000 kilometres of roads have been built, and almost the entire electricity sector has been rebuilt. We have reached about 100 per cent gasification, more than 3,500 schools, more than 700 medical centres, about 50 Olympic Sports Centers, many Youth Houses, palaces of culture and other social facilities have been built”, he added.