Media Review for January 6

The website Moderator.az writes about the inability to manage the officials in office. As an example, the author cites “amateur activities” of Azersu OJSC and Azerigaz Production Association. This is the appeal of Azersu to the Tariff Council, as a result of which the cost for water and sewerage was raised by 100%. Moreover, the inept management of Azerigaz leads to a change of gas meters every time. Experts regard this as a betrayal of the interests of the people. Experts say that after the introduction of new meters, gas consumption has increased, and water meters show higher water consumption. Observations show that when 10 tons of water is introduced into a 10 ton water tank, at best 7 tons of water is collected in the tank. Thus, they steal 3 tons of water, experts say.

The website Yenisabah.az discusses with the expert Rashad Hasanov the question of why the population does not believe the given justifications for the price increase. The expert claims that this is a general distrust of the government's arguments. The population does not perceive all the assurances of the tariff council about the existing need to raise prices for the truth, since there is no preliminary public discussion of all price increases. We are talking about increasing the cost of gasoline, diesel, and utilities. According to the expert, until corruption in the utilities sector is eliminated, it will be impossible to achieve the optimal price level.

The website Bakipost.az is discussing the arrest of officials with expert Natig Jafarli. We are talking about the recent arrests of the former head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection Salim Muslimov and the head of the Baku Steel Company Rasim Mammadov. According to Natig Jafarli, the return of the funds they have plundered is more important than their arrest. A mechanism needs to be developed that is transparent and efficient. This also requires a reasoned decision of the courts. The facts of corruption of specific people should be seriously investigated and proven, the expert said. New legislative initiatives are also needed to completely eliminate corruption. -0-