President Ilham Aliyev holds videoconference with ministers of MLSP and economy

  17 April 2020    Read: 2307
 President Ilham Aliyev holds videoconference with ministers of MLSP and economy

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has held a meeting with the participation of Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population (MLSP) Sahil Babayev and Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov via videoconference.

President Ilham Aliyev: For two months, state should pay 190 manats a month not to 200,000, but 600,000 people

For two months, the state should pay 190 manats a month not to 200,000, but 600,000 people, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev during a meeting.

“Of course, we need to address the problems of low-income families more broadly. To date, we envisaged that the quarantine regime would last until 20 April. But it will be extended. The number of people seeking help has increased significantly. These appeals and applications are widely analyzed and maximum transparency should be ensured. At the initial stage, the plan was that 200,000 people would receive assistance from the state in the amount of 190 manats. I believe that, given the general situation and in order to strengthen social protection of people, we must bring the number of people of this category to 600,000. So for two months, the state should pay 190 manats a month not to 200,000, but 600,000 people,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that people in this category are representatives of the poor. “At the same time, they are people who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus and those who are employed unofficially.”

“The state also takes care of their problems, although I have repeatedly addressed them, saying that unofficial employment must end because it will create problems for you. You will not be able to get the unemployment insurance, unemployment benefits, pensions, medical insurance. Recently, as a result of the activities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Ministry of Economy and other relevant agencies, tens of thousands of new employment agreements have been concluded. I do hope that after this difficult situation is over, people still working in the shadow economy will take this into account and understand that the only way forward is to get out of the shadow. I am urging entrepreneurs: put an end to unofficial employment. I urge employees once again: do not work without an employment contract, demand one for yourself. If an entrepreneur does not want to conclude an employment contract with you, immediately inform the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Ministry of Economy and the Presidential Administration. We will punish these entrepreneurs,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state pointed out that in the current circumstances when the state has mobilized all its resources, to deceive it, to evade taxes and to think only of one’s own material interests is nothing short of a betrayal.

“There can be no other name for this. Therefore, I am instructing you that in April-May, for two months, 600,000 people should receive 190 manats per month from the state. I am asking citizens who will receive these funds to open a bank account to receive the second payment. The first payment will be made this month, so some people may not have the opportunity to open a bank account. But the second payment will be made in May. Until that time, each of 600,000 people must open a bank account and receive a second payment by a bank transfer. This is our request. This is our demand. Therefore, your ministry is now facing very serious tasks in connection with this issue. You have to provide these payments in a short time,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev: We will provide 90,000 unemployed people with public jobs

We will provide 90,000 unemployed people with public jobs, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

“In connection with the opening of paid public jobs, based on the experience of previous years, we planned to open 37,000 jobs at the beginning of the year. I must also note that this program has been implemented for three to four years. Some people involved in these jobs at the initial stage subsequently switched to other jobs with higher salaries. Therefore, we planned this program in the range of about 30,000-40,000. However, due to the pandemic and given the inevitable increase in unemployment, I gave an order to bring this figure to 50,000 at the initial stage. But now I believe we should increase it to a higher figure – 90,000 paid public jobs should be created this year. This area also requires very serious control. We have already discussed this issue. The mechanism is more transparent today,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state pointed out that unfortunately, control here was at a zero level at the initial stage and local executive authorities often abused it and appropriated the funds intended for the poor.

“This is utmost dishonesty. It is because of this and other crimes that three heads of the executive authority have already been arrested and their dirty deeds have been documented and disclosed to the public. They have disgraced themselves and their ancestors, they have caused great damage to their loved ones, to the state. We allocated these funds so that people who can’t find work or have low working capacity get paid at least the minimum wage, bring home a little money. We raised the minimum wage to 250 manats, but they appropriated it, kept people’s cards, withdrew money from them and enriched themselves. This is a crime and moral ugliness. You cannot call this otherwise,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that therefore, all relevant authorities should henceforth pay very serious attention to this issue.

“I am asking citizens too well: if someone’s name is recorded but they don’t receive a salary, let them inform us. Thus, we will provide 90,000 unemployed people with public jobs. As for the self-employment program, we talked about this issue last time, and I think that attracting 12,000 people to this program this year is a very good indicator. On our initiative, the World Bank also joined this program. At the same time, Azerbaijani banks joined it for the first time. I do hope that Azerbaijani banks will help more people from this category next year. I also asked you to increase the number of people receiving targeted social assistance,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev: Main priorities for us during pandemic are people's health, their social protection and growth of economic activity in accordance with situation

Main priorities for us during the pandemic are people's health, their social protection and the growth of economic activity in accordance with the situation, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

“When discussing the results of the first quarter on 14 April, I issued a number of instructions. Of course, all of them must be fulfilled and you should regularly inform me about their implementation. Additional instructions will be given today, as the pandemic continues. Despite the fact that the situation in Azerbaijan is under control, we need to take measures in accordance with the situation. The priority issue for us - I have already said this but I want to say it again – is the health of our people, their life and social protection. At the same time, under these conditions, we should pay more attention to the economy, of course, because everyone should know that if we do not have strong economic opportunities, we will not be able to successfully pursue social policies, especially during the pandemic, as this disease and its consequences require major financial resources. Therefore, I want to say again that the main priorities for us during the pandemic are people's health, their social protection and the growth of economic activity in accordance with the situation,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state pointed out that everyone needs to know that this great disaster has put the whole world to a serious test.

“To date, more than 140,000 people have died in the world. This disease defies all boundaries. Whereas at the initial stage it was imported into Azerbaijan from outside, then the process of internal infection began. However, I must note that as a result of tough preventive measures, we are keeping the situation under control. In a sense, the statistics of the last three to four days provides the basis for some optimism. I should note that in recent days the dynamics between the number of infected and those who have recovered is already positive. In other words, more people recover than get infected. This is mainly due to the measures taken. I want to say again: if we had not taken preventive measures in a timely manner, then there wouldn’t be a thousand patients in Azerbaijan, but perhaps 10,000, 20,000, maybe even more,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that Azerbaijan is currently studying the experience of developed countries.

“The healthcare system in these countries has always been an example for many states. However, it is possible to say that the health system of countries with great potential is now in crisis. And this is natural, because the spread of the disease is so high, the disease spreads so quickly that the health system of no country, including Azerbaijan, can cope with it. Therefore, our main goal was to prevent the increase in infections that was observed, to break the chain of infections. All measures taken were aimed at overcoming this situation with small losses, helping our people, protecting them from this disaster and ensuring their social protection. I believe that the restrictive measures we have taken so far, their gradual tightening, as well as the provision of social protection for people working in areas affected by the pandemic, are a good reflection of our correct policy. I want to say again that in the last three to four days there has been a positive trend. We will continue to keep the situation under control in order to see how long this dynamics will continue, whether it is stable and what additional measures should be taken, because the world has faced a great challenge and we see that countries often struggle against this evil alone,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev: National accord in the country has grown to an unprecedented level

National accord in the country has grown to an unprecedented level, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev during a meeting held through videoconference with the participation of Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Sahil Babayev and Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, AzVision.az reports.

“Of course, Azerbaijan as a responsible and reliable member of the world community has taken very important steps to strengthen solidarity in this area both domestically and internationally. I can say that national accord in the country has grown to an unprecedented level,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that this once again shows the greatness of our people, demonstrates that we as a people and as a state show maximum solidarity on difficult days, help each other, in particular, provide assistance to low-income families.

“Naturally, first of all, the state, entrepreneurs, public organizations, individuals – we once again demonstrate the best qualities inherent in our people. As you know, the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, in which Azerbaijan is currently the chairing country, has become the first organization in the world to conduct a summit in a video conference format. This summit once again demonstrated our solidarity and unity. It showed that we stand by each other on difficult days,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state said that the thousands of letters he has received in recent days indicate that the Azerbaijani people appreciate the work being done by the state.

“Of course, this inspires us even more. This suggests that although people's lives were complicated by the quarantine regime that affected people’s normal life and created problems for many, the vast majority of our people, while aware of this situation, support the state. We must continue to be active in the fight against this disaster, take preventive measures and try to overcome this difficult situation with small losses,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev: I believe that extension of quarantine regime is the only right decision

“As for the quarantine regime, as you know, it was envisaged until 20 April. However, in the unanimous opinion of experts, the quarantine regime needs to be extended. I believe that this will be the right step because there are only the first manifestations of positive dynamics so far. We must make it sustainable. Therefore, I believe that the Task Force will announce this in the near future. I believe that the extension of the quarantine regime is the only right decision. Given this, we, of course, must further enhance the social protection of our people. The Azerbaijani people are well aware that we immediately began to seriously deal with this issue,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that a significant part of the salaries of those working in areas hard hit by the pandemic is being paid by the state.

“There are more than 300,000 people in this category. At the same time, the state has allocated large financial resources to facilitate the financial situation of about 300,000 representatives of micro-business. Thus, about 600,000 people belonging only to this category are receiving financial support from the state. Public sector wages are paid in full. Currently, the vast majority of about one million people do not work, but the state pays them their wages. So this once again demonstrates the humane essence of the Azerbaijani state. This shows – I repeatedly said this long before the coronavirus – that our policy is centered on the people of Azerbaijan. The difficult situation of these days once again shows that our words are complemented with our deeds and we always practice what we preach,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state pointed out that however, taking into account the fact that the quarantine regime will be extended, we need to play on an exit in advance.

“I am giving you instructions on this issue: we tightened the quarantine regime in a phased manner and we should relax it in the same phased manner. How will this happen? The government, including ministries, should work on this issue and submit proposals. We must already plan on where this relaxation should begin with because I hope that during the extended quarantine regime a certain relaxation is not excluded. Nevertheless, we need to take action in accordance with the situation,” said President Ilham Aliyev.


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