Operations carried out by the State Security Service (SSS) in the fight against corruption and official crimes continue. This time, the target was Islam Rzayev, who was dismissed from the post of head of the Balakan District Executive Power. With the arrest of Islam Rzayev, the number of executive heads who have ended up behind bars has risen to 7.
Operations related to corruption offenses and official crimes have so far mainly covered regions far from the capital. Interestingly, Baku's districts have always remained outside similar measures.
It should be noted that there are 12 districts in Baku: Binagadi, Khatai, Sabunchu, Nizami, Narimanov, Nasimi, Garadagh, Sabail, Khazar, Yasamal, Pirallahi, Surakhani.
So why do the Executive Powers of the aforementioned districts of Baku remain outside operations related to corruption offenses and official crimes? Is this due to the good performance of the Executive Powers of those districts, or will their turn also come?
Elshad Musayev, a member of the Milli Majlis, told Modern.az that the fight against bribery and corruption should be accelerated:
“I said in one of my previous interviews that our people miss the "black masks" (referring to special forces in anti-corruption operations). Therefore, I believe the fight against bribery and corruption should be accelerated. Because corruption, bribery, and monopoly eat away at the country from within. Therefore, the harsh face of the law must be shown to officials involved in illegal activities.
I think the events in Balakan are the next stage of the anti-corruption operations. This process must be continued. If we do not prevent corruption, illegality, and chaos in the country, we cannot achieve progress in economic and other areas. The executive heads of several districts consider themselves above the law and report to no one. You look at a person, they have no significant wealth when they come to office, but then they acquire so much property during their tenure. The district itself is poor, but you see that the executive head's wealth is overflowing. There are local executive representatives, you see a thousand kinds of problems in their areas, but the number of their villas increases day by day. I believe this process should be continued.”
According to the deputy, there are several reasons why the operations carried out do not serve as a lesson for executive heads:
“The main reason for this is related to the system. The management system in the country must change, and there must be accountability. Local government bodies should be formed through democratic elections, and they should also report. At the same time, the bodies that control them do not work well themselves. For example, the courts. Executive heads work in the same place for years after their appointment – 10, 20 years. The control over them is also not good. I repeat, the system itself must be designed so that everyone can control each other. Otherwise, some of the executive heads in the regions, and there are still such people, perform a hundred kinds of tricks without fear or hesitation. They probably lean on someone. This is not how it should be.”
The deputy emphasized that anti-corruption operations should also be carried out in the Executive Powers in Baku:
“I believe that these operations should also be carried out in Baku itself. These operations started in the regions, but they will probably reach Baku as well. The situation in several places in Baku city is clearly deplorable.
By the way, people who have embezzled large amounts of state property and assets must return those funds to the budget.
There are those who squander budget funds and harm the country's economy. Strict measures must be taken against them so that we can develop our economy and increase our labor productivity. We have allocated 41% of the budget to social issues. Now this amount needs to be increased. There are many reasons why we cannot do this. One of those reasons is the people engaged in such destructive, corrosive activities in the regions. In fact, they halt the country's development.”