Preparing a report on corruption earthquake

Since May 7, 2012, when the Gakh-Zagatala devastating earthquake happened, more than 6 months have passed. During this period, due to the earthquake, the state budget has allocated 300 million manat.

Powers under the charge of the funds were provided by the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MOE). However, despite the fact that since then has been a long time, the situation in Zagatala still remains dismal. According to official figures, the earthquake in Sheki, Gakh, Zagatala, Balakan seriously damaged 5,939 homes and hundreds of social facilities. 3,200 houses have been demolished, as it was decided instead to build new homes. But more than six months, most of those affected by the disaster have lived in tents, and a single house has not yet been built and put into operation. And winter is, as they say, at the threshold... 

These provisions are contained in the Report of the Staff of the Civil Society Kura of the work done by the state in the aftermath of the earthquake, the existing problems in this area of ??activity and MOE, and contracting companies.

During the preparation of the Report of the representatives of the Civil Society Kura conducted monitoring in Gakh-Zagatala. At the same time, together with the study of these questions was compiled classification funds allocated from the state budget to eliminate the effects of the earthquake. The report used information obtained from the local people from working in the disaster zone contracting companies, their employees, as well as the source of the MOE, who wished to remain anonymous.

In the report entitled "Natural or corrupt earthquake", along with sharp criticism of the fact that over the past six months in the area of ??the earthquake have been built and put into operation in a single house, a comparison with the volume of work carried out during the first 6 months floods in Kura in 2010.

The document states: "... despite the large cost in the area of ??the earthquake still no house is ready for use. Meanwhile, for the first 6 months after the spill of the Kura in spring 2010, near the villages of Telishli, Imishli and Yeni Novruzlu, Saatli were built and put into operation two large settlements, and in the region - a total of about 1000 (thousands) houses. The difference is obvious. So what happened in Zagatala and other areas that, with budget allocations of people deprived of their right to a normal life and forced to languish in tents collapsed, old, wrecked huts? What lies behind this openly hostile attitude to the people? To find answers to these questions, take a look at the real picture of Gakh-Zagatala and find out how the funds allocated for its accomplishment were spent really..."

The report, compiled by the Staff of the Civil Society Kura, found evidence of lawlessness, poor performance and a well-established system of corruption. It is intended that the funds provided in connection with the Gakh-Zagatala earthquake, are not used for disaster relief, but for completely different, mostly personal and political purposes in different regions of the country, away from the epicenter of the earthquake. When the document identified the company involved in the work in the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the earthquake without a tender. It refers to their past performance, web-sites, including those of the Company Azer Trans, which MOE granted more powers and privileges of the principles of management structures, non-targeted spending of funds allocated to the earthquake, etc.

The report investigated the sources, real and inflated prices, quality, etc. procured for construction materials. It also conducted an investigation of misuse of the public funds allocated to the district Gakh-Zagatala due to the earthquake: building of social facilities, offices, buildings, residences, etc. in the Zira settlement of Baku, in Geok Gel, Zod, Agdash, Khizi, Lankaran, the village of Basgal in Ismayilli and other places for Heydar Aliyev Fund, as well as senior officials working in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Presidential Administration, etc., and on specific lists. Confirmed by hard evidence was misuse and misappropriation of the funds allocated from the state budget to address the consequences of the earthquake. Along with this, based on the tables provided by contractors, the report noted how much material was stolen during the construction of each house (the table is attached to the document).

The report also includes the following topics:

- Absence at the MOE and contracting companies of reporting transparency or openness to the public;

- Misleading the head of state and the public, providing false information regarding the construction of houses and especially schools in the region disaster;

- Mechanisms of money laundering and misuse of funds allocated to the earthquake;

- Maintenance of building houses for inflated market prices, and the primary sources of procurement, real prices of building materials, the trajectory of embezzlement;

- Removal experts from the construction work, the attraction instead of cheap labor, untrained;

- Monopolization of contractors and their management on the basis of family-related interests and principles;

- The degree of kinship and the share of the MOE in leadership brought to the construction companies;

- Dodge construction companies to pay taxes and other benefits;

- The role and share of Gilan Holding in purchasing materials for construction;

- A comparative analysis of work done after last year's earthquake in the Turkish city of Van and after the Kura spill and the Gakh-Zagatala earthquake;

- Ignoring by MOE of the information requests of civil society institutions and the evasion of cooperation with them.

In the coming days, the report prepared by the Staff of the Civil Society Kura will be presented to interested organizations and the public. There's also a translation into English and distributed by international organizations. -0 -