Azernews.Az

By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan is pursuing a state strategy to fight corruption and bribery in the country.

Aliyev made the remarks while receiving the newly-appointed heads of executive authorities in Ismayilli and Neftchala districts on March 5.

“The fight against corruption and bribery is taking place in Azerbaijan in the most serious way, and the manifestations of this [fight] is obvious. This is a conscious policy and will be further continued. Everyone is equal before the law, there is no impunity for anyone, no one has special privileges, nobody’s past service will be taken into account. Everyone has already received a decent respect from the state for their past service. These must be the guiding principles for anyone willing to hold a government position, especially the position of the head of district executive authorities,” the president said.

Aliyev touched upon the recent comprehensive investigative measures taken against illegal actions by certain Azerbaijani local executive authorities that damage the rights of citizens and the state’s interests. He spoke about systematic bribery and corruption in Neftchala district, saying that it wreaked havoc almost on all agencies in the district.

“Unfortunately, there are people who still do not understand… Unfortunately, certain high-ranking officials do not justify the trust of the people and the state.”

“There must be zero tolerance towards corruption and bribery,” the president said, adding that investigation has been launched into the corruption cases in Neftchala district.

“In other words, I would like to reiterate that this is the peak of moral degradation and it should serve as a message to everyone. It is not exception that such chief executives like him and other heads of central and local executive bodies act similarly. Each of them will be investigated. No one has impunity,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev stressed that newly appointed chief executives are representatives of young generation, which is the manifestation of the state’s staff reshuffle reforms.

Addressing the newly appointed district heads - Nahid Baghirov and Mirhasan Seyidov, the president said: “We must boost the role of young people; open-minded people must be assigned to important positions… Things will depend on your activities in those districts, where you will lead. If you do not justify the great trust shown to you, it will cause frustration in the society. People will think that new people with fresh ideas and modern approaches act the same way [as their predecessors]. Therefore, I ask you once again that your main task is to act in the right way and to fight against any destructive situations”.

The head of the stated highlighted that situation must be analyzed in the districts and the issues that concern people must be seriously investigated and suggestions should be made to address them: “If the work is done properly, the potential of the districts can be quite great”.

Furthermore, Aliyev spoke about the economic capacity of the districts. He reminded that the first industrial site among the country’s districts was launched in Neftchala and for its future development there should prospective proposals.

He reminded that Neftchala has potential for fishing industry and said that despite being Caspian Sea littoral country, Azerbaijan is not able to supply itself with fish products and depends on imports.

“Fishing can be an important area of our non-oil sector and must be treated as an export-oriented area. Thus, it is necessary to work hard to attract investors in this area,” the president stressed.

The president also spoke about Neftchala’s tourism potential. “I think there is a need for tourism infrastructure there as well. Of course, agriculture is an important area in every district of Azerbaijan, and it is a labor-intensive. This area should also be considered”.

As for Ismayilli, Aliyev specially mentioned its tourism and agricultural potential due to its nature. He spoke about the significance of historical sites – Lahij and Basgal, which are distinguished for their tourism capacity.

“I have signed a relevant order to protect the historical heritage of Basgal, another historical village in our country. This is a high appreciation by the president for the history, and rich cultural heritage of this village. It is very rare when the president signs an order on the development of a certain village. The key factors for the future development of the Basgal village are to preserve our history and expand our tourism opportunities,” he noted.

Aliyev said that the main tasks before the chief executives are to mobilize the region's potential, to provide economic growth, to take practical steps to create jobs and to succeed attracting investment in the districts.

“Simply, local executive authorities must not wait for future investments. They must be active, find investors, attract them. In some cases, the investor wants to invest in some areas, but, unfortunately, there are artificial obstacles to it or local executive authorities make unfounded and illegal demands. Therefore, it is necessary to fight these situations very seriously. Socio-political environment in the regions should be transparent, public relations should be built on a sound basis and problems that concern people should be addressed,” Aliyev said.

“In short, I believe there are great opportunities in the agricultural and processing industries, and you have to work hard to bring results to these districts in the near future. Specially, these factors will play a key role in your activity - citizen satisfaction, regional development, economic and social performance and investment attraction”, the president underlined.

“I am convinced that you will justify this high confidence and work in a way that both citizens and I will be satisfied with your work. To accomplish this, you must carry out the tasks. These tasks are also very simple - to be with citizens, to be among the people, to live with the people's concerns, to fight against bribery and corruption, to contribute to the socio-economic development of the districts. If you do these properly, the state will be pleased with your work, as well as citizens,” Aliyev said in an address to the new heads of Ismayilli and Neftchala districts.

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