Fund of combat against corruption: "50-60% of Azerbaijani population gives bribes to settle their problems"

About 50-60% of Azerbaijani population give bribe to settle their problems, said Vasif Mosvumov, chief executive of the Fund of combat against corruption, speaking of the state of combat against corruption in Azerbaijan and results of activity this year.

According to him, unfortunately, the level of corruption in the country has not dropped through the past two years.

"On the whole, a greater part of the population still give bribes to settle their problems and to get rid of bureaucracy and redtape. This is a fault of both a citizen and an official, the first solves his problems by giving bribes, while the second obliges him to do it and at the same time get money. Both sides win at the same time, while the loser is the state, as its basic regulations are being violated".

According to him, polls are held among the population and the population complaints more about bribery in land issues, especially in municipalities.

"We often face cases when a land, belonging to a citizen, is taken away and sold to other person. It is necessary to take into account that land is the most important source of people's income in the regions. There are cases when documents are compiled incorrectly, but there are also cases of unfounded redtape", said Movrusov,

He noted that the combat against corruption had been held on the state level since 2004. In this connection, several standard legislative documents were adopted in the country and the National Strategy of Combat against corruption is being implemented. A program of e-government, whose successful application takes years, is being implemented in Azerbaijan for combating corruption. But he said it does not mean that Azerbaijan will manage to reduce the corruption level significantly, as the conducted work is not sufficient for effective combat with corruption.

"For this purpose it is necessary to conduct a complex work in the society, including in the system of state regulation, economy and civil society. It would be naive to think that by dismissing several officials or holding several events we will be able to avert corruption level in Azerbaijan. These measures should continue", concluded the chief executive of the fund.

/Day.Az/