Is the spending of funds allocated for the restoration of Karabakh transparent?

The Ministry of Finance has published a review and information on the (operational) execution of the state budget for January-September 2024. The report also indicates the amount spent on the restoration of the liberated territories.

In the first nine months of 2024, 64.6% of the annual planned 4 billion 855.8 million manats, or 3 billion 137.6 million manats, was spent on the reconstruction and restoration of territories liberated from occupation.

From the funds earmarked in the state budget for public capital investments, 61.4% or 1 billion 728.9 million manats was used.

Next year, 4 billion manats will be allocated for the reconstruction and restoration of the territories liberated from occupation. This is reflected in the draft law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025."

Is the spending on the restoration of Karabakh transparent?

This issue is discussed by economist Akif Nasirli in the program "Complex Question."

According to him, it is difficult to determine how accurate the figures presented by the Ministry of Finance are. This is because conducting research on the matter is extremely challenging, especially when even access to Karabakh as a tourist is restricted.

Nevertheless, the information coming from the directions where these funds have been spent raises concerns about certain questionable aspects of the expenditures. For example, there are reports of low-quality housing construction and the use of the most expensive methodologies, among other issues. All of this leads to suspicions of significant elements of corruption.

“State financing, even in the most democratic countries, has always been a source of corruption, and in the case of Azerbaijan, it is even more pronounced,” he said.

Nasirli did not rule out that the government’s plan for the restoration of the liberated territories has the right to exist, and in some cases, he said, such an approach has yielded results. However, in his opinion, the focus should have been primarily on intensive demining. Only after clearing the areas should the locations of future settlements be determined, followed by the creation of infrastructure and communications, and the allocation of land to settlers, and so on.