Every Penny Spent on Fight against Coronavirus

Baku / 04.12.20 / Turan: The coronavirus pandemic is spreading rapidly. The daily number of infections has already exceeded 4,000. However, the government, which publishes daily statistics on the spread of the COVID-19 virus and its consequences, has never provided the public with information on how much money is being spent to combat this scourge.

In March, the Fund to Support the Fight Against Coronavirus was established by decree of President Ilham Aliyev. According to official data, 114 million 214.5 thousand manats were transferred to his account for individuals and legal entities. The foundation also has a Supervisory Board on a voluntary basis. However, it is not yet known how much money was spent from this fund.

Public funds are also being spent on the fight against coronavirus. By order of President Ilham Aliyev, millions of manats were allocated from the state budget for the construction of numerous mobile hospitals, their equipment and treatment of patients. Increases are made to the salaries of doctors and medical staff involved in the fight against coronavirus. Specialists from abroad are also invited, which is not so cheap. The state has borne the costs associated with quarantine measures in relation to those returning home from abroad. Many government agencies and individuals provide public protection and testing for the virus at government expense. These are probably large sums. However, here, too, transparency is not fully ensured.

The Turan news agency appealed to the press secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers Ibrahim Mammadov to obtain information on public funds spent on the fight against coronavirus. A government spokesman said he had no information on this. The agency sent a request to the government. But there is no answer yet.

The government of neighboring Armenia is more transparent in this matter. It recently announced that the state had spent $ 30.3 million by November 1 on measures to combat the coronavirus. The government informed the public about how these funds were spent in 9 areas.   ---------08B