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Transitions Online: Azerbaijani Government Diverted Money Allocated

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  • Transitions Online: Azerbaijani Government Diverted Money Allocated

    TRANSITIONS ONLINE: AZERBAIJANI GOVERNMENT DIVERTED MONEY ALLOCATED FOR SOCIAL PROJECTS TO ORGANIZE THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

    Panorama.am
    04/05/2012

    The biggest problem faced by the people in the village of Kemerli in
    the northwest of Azerbaijan is the water. Every day, villagers must
    fetch water from an artesian well, one of the few sources of water.

    According to a World Bank report, water supply is a problem across
    Azerbaijan, much of the country's distribution system is more than 50
    years old and reaching the end of its usability, writes the journalist
    Shahla Sultanova in her article, published in "Transition Online"
    (TOL) journal.

    "The water is not drinkable. It's salty. We carry that salty water
    in containers for everyday use, mainly for cleaning. It's hard. While
    the men are working, women and children have to walk to the well and
    carry big containers back. We buy containers of drinking water every
    day. It costs a lot of money," said one of the villagers of Kemerli,
    Hikmet Hasanov.

    According to World Bank report, the subsequent state of many water
    pipe networks and the associated problems such as intermittent supplies
    and heavy leakages affect the quality and reliability of services and
    pose risks to public health. In June 2011, Azerbaijan's government
    took action on the issue, earmarking $320 million to renovate water
    and sanitation systems in 18 of the country's 64 administrative
    regions. However, a few months later, a new cabinet order diverted more
    than a fifth of the water allocation to construction of Crystal Hall in
    Baku, which will host this year's Eurovision Song Contest later in May.

    "Instead of providing people with water, the government reduces
    water-supply expenditures and uses them for public relations. It has
    access to many resources. Why [take] money from water-supply projects?

    There are many regions in the country that suffer from lack of water
    in summertime. It's a danger to health," said Azerbaijani economist
    and co-founder of Republicanist Alternative Movement Natig Jafarly.

    Apparently, water is not the only resource being drained to pay
    for the fruits of Azerbaijani singing duo's 2011 Eurovision victory,
    which brought the 2012 contest to Baku, the publication writes. Cabinet
    order No. 258S reduced by $63.6 million a fund for increasing salaries
    and pensions and put that money into concert hall. Orders No.202s
    and No.233s shifted $108 million from the country's reserve fund and
    other projects for apparently Eurovision-related expenses.

    A "Transitions Online" review of spending orders by the president
    and cabinet ministers shows that just in terms of money explicitly
    allocated for Eurovision, Azerbaijan's hosting of the contest will be
    the most expensive in the event's history. Direct orders - those that
    specifically mention Eurovision - amount to $75.7 million, of which
    $63.6 million for organization of the event, $10.8 million to state
    television for financial guarantees to the European Broadcasting Union
    and $1.3 million for travel by the national performers in the contest.

    But the real cost of Baku's Eurovision could actually be several times
    higher than the official estimate. Several government spending orders
    worth hundreds of millions of dollars appear to indirectly support the
    event's organization - allocating money, for example, for construction
    of an athletic and concert complex; beautification of Flag Square,
    where Crystal Hall was built; renovation of Baku's Tofig Bahramov
    Stadium, etc. TOL's examination of 11 spending orders indicates a total
    cost to the state for Eurovision and related items of $721 million,
    of which $645 million is in indirect expenses. That does not include
    allocated $62 million for organization of international events.

    Other cost estimates differ. Gubad Ibadoglu, head of the Economic
    Research Center think tank in Baku, calculates the cost at around
    $620 million manats but says with all so-called indirect expenditures
    factored in, it could end up close to $1,240 billion. "An unbelievable
    amount of money is being spent to host the contest," said Ibadoglu,
    adding that it's too high. In his turn, economist Nazim Mammadov
    said that those numbers are exaggerated in the media, because cabinet
    ministers didn't clearly explain the projects and costs.

    But Zohrab Ismayil, head of the Public Association for Assistance
    to Free Economy, dismisses that argument. "Crystal Hall was built to
    host Eurovision. Flag Square is being renovated and work is going on
    24 hours a day because Crystal Hall is located there. Baku-Alat road
    is taking people from downtown to the hall. Tofig Bahramov Stadium is
    'plan B' as required by the European Broadcasting Union. The minister
    of sport told local media about 50 buses that they purchased for the
    song contest. The expenditures should not be categorized as direct
    or indirect. They are all directly related to the organization of
    Eurovision," Ismayil said.



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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