Azerbaijani President: State official should serve as an example in society for every citizen

Fight against corruption and bribery is actively underway in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said addressing a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on the results of socio-economic development in the first quarter of 2013 and the upcoming challenges.
“This fight is underway comprehensively. Corruption and bribery is one of the biggest challenges for society, and it is our deepest wound. We must not only learn, but also apply the experience of developed countries in this field. I have repeatedly expressed my thoughts in this regard, and I want once again say that mere punishment, administrative measures are insufficient to achieve our goal. Of course, there must be punishment as well, and law enforcement authorities should continue their efforts in this direction. Administrative measures are also taken and will be taken,” President Aliyev underlined.
However, expanding and applying of institutional measures, conducting and continuing of systemic reforms will provide even better opportunities in the fight against corruption and bribery, he said. “We should narrow the existing ground for corruption and bribery. The “e-services” and “e-government” projects are a very important step in this direction,” President Aliyev said.
He said that official-citizen contacts in this direction should be minimized. “Again we should at most apply the experience of developed countries. Therefore, more attention will be paid to the development of ICT sector in Azerbaijan. Very serious steps were taken in this direction in the last few months. Among them I would like to note the activity of ASAN Xidmet. This service is expanding its activities. Thousands of people have already turned to ASAN Xidmet. I think that by the summer of this year, it will cover all districts of Baku. At the same time, big cities- Sumgait and Ganja will also be covered. The next year, I believe, the service should cover all other regions,” he said
Along with this, state officials’ responsibility should also increase, he said. “State officials serve and should serve the people. I expressed my thoughts on these issues. State officials should serve as an example for every citizen in the society. They should serve as an example of modesty, accuracy, and service to the motherland. State officials should be the chosen people. Their professionalism and moral qualities should be at top level. Official-citizen relations should be based on respect,” President Aliyev underlined.
He said principles of social justice should be fully applied in the society. It is required by our basic law – the Constitution.