Where are you Mr. Ibrahim Mammadov?

Baku/05.05.21/Turan: Press Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ibrahim Mammadov, evades his direct responsibilities - working with the press. Mr. Mamedov does not answer phone calls, and leaves media inquiries unanswered. The same happened with the questions of the Turan agency about the “AstraZeneka” vaccine and the vaccination process. For a long time the agency    failed to   get answers from the State Agency for Compulsory Health Insurance (SACHI), and decided to ask questions to the press secretary. The inquiry to Mammadov was not accidental. On February 27, 2020, the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers was established to fight the coronavirus and its consequences.

The official website about COVID-19 begins to function, informing about the state of affairs in the fight against the virus in Azerbaijan, statistics on infections, recommendations for the population, as well as a chat with the operator for additional information.

For a long time Mammadov conducted briefings at the headquarters and organized information work. He did not answer phone calls, and the agency was had to contact him in writing on April 1:

In accordance with Article 50 of the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Access to Information", and "On the Mass Media" ask you to answer the following questions:

1. When, and with whom did “AstraZeneka” sign an agreement on the supply of vaccines to Azerbaijan?

2. What volume and at what price “AstraZeneka” vaccine will be delivered to the country?

3. Will the implementation of the agreement on the supply of the “AstraZeneka” vaccine be suspended or continued due to the termination of its use in a number of countries around the world?

4. Is there a list of laboratories and clinics accredited by the Operations Headquarters that conduct the PSR test?

Can a citizen get tested anywhere; is there a list of clinics the results of which are approved and considered reliable?

5. AZAL requires testing of passengers traveling abroad and on its website lists clinics where testing is required, and many of these clinics are private. Is it okay for AZAL to independently appoint a clinic for PSR testing?

For example, Turkish Airlines accepts PSR responses from all clinics approved by the Turkish Ministry of Health.

According to the law, Mammadov had to answer questions promptly, no later than 24 hours, and if necessary for clarification - 48 hours.

In any case, he had to inform the agency that he was preparing an answer or refusing to answer, and justify the reason in accordance with the law (state secret, blah blah).

What does a spokesperson do? A week later (April 8), the Cabinet of Ministers forwarded the agency's letter to the Ministry of Health for them to respond. The Ministry of Health sends the directive to GAOMS on May 3. A copy of the directive was sent to Turan agency on May 5.

Result: more than a month passed since through the fault of Mammadov the agency has not been able to receive answers to the questions and cannot fulfill its professional duties and clarify the situation of public interest.

It seems that the dispatch from the Ministry of Health did not come by accident. On May 4, the director of Turan agency Mehman Aliyev sent a letter to Prime Minister Ali Asadov, where he pointed out the inaction of the government spokesperson.

“I have no right to give advice to the prime minister on what to do, but from the point of view of the interests of the government, where information work is an important part of state policy, I can say that the activities of the press secretary need to be adjusted,” Mehman Aliyev said. —0—