The NGO led by Niyamaddin Ordukhanli, Secretary General of the Justice, Law, Democracy Party and NGO chairman, held the third, follow-up meeting of the project financially supported by the State Agency for Support to Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the Hovsan Municipality of Surakhani district. Making a statement to the press regarding this, Ordukhanli noted that more than one hundred thousand people live in the territory of the Hovsan municipality, which operates within the Surakhani district: “This was our third meeting. This time, the event took place in the administrative building of the Hovsan municipality. The main focus of the project is dedicated to the ‘Analysis of legislative acts in the field of municipalities.’ This meeting of ours was also organized at a very high level. Of course, first and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the head of the Surakhani district executive power, honorable Adil muallim, for creating these conditions for our organization. In addition to the honorable Seymur Rasulov, chairman of the Hovsan municipality, deputy chairmen, municipal members, and municipal employees, local residents also participated in the event we held. I also thank Seymur muallim for his efforts in organizing the event. At the meeting attended by 25 people, I provided extensive and detailed information mainly about the direction of our project. We touched upon the importance of establishing relationships between the municipal leadership, municipal employees, municipal members, and municipal tax collectors with citizens at a very high level. We also discussed the significant importance of the analysis of legislative acts in the field of municipalities. Today, municipalities should pay more attention to the execution of legal acts. The decisions they make must be directly based on the law. Municipalities should not make decisions outside the law. Adopted municipal acts should not go beyond the law. Unfortunately, in some cases, a few municipalities commit violations of the law, and in the end, those municipalities are held accountable before the law, and legal liabilities arise. Such projects also have an educational character so that municipalities should be careful in the decisions they make. Decisions must be made in a collegial form. The successful activity of the Hovsan municipality attracted our special attention. I can note that the work done in the settlement and, mainly, the collection of property and land taxes from citizens are at a high level. Municipal chairman Seymur muallim noted that the head of the Surakhani district executive power, Adil Aliyev, also has great support for the work done in the Hovsan settlement. He stated that the district leadership frequently visits the settlement and holds meetings, shows special attention to martyrs’ families, veterans, and disabled veterans, makes appeals to relevant state agencies for the solution of existing problems in the settlement, and we carry out joint work towards solving the existing problems within the settlement.” According to the NGO chairman, the main direction of the project is that, along with the meetings held with municipalities, 5 programs about the project will also be filmed on a television channel operating in our country. The participation of members of parliament, municipal chairmen, officials, and well-known experts is planned in the programs. According to Niyamaddin Ordukhanli, the level of municipal powers in our country was also widely discussed: “The municipal institution created in Azerbaijan since 1999 has been established. The local self-government body is a very important institution. Local self-government in Azerbaijan has a 26-year history. Initially, 2,700 municipalities were operating. However, now these municipalities have been merged and reduced to 685. The Garachukhur municipality is also one of the first created municipalities. For the development of our state, it is essential that the powers and capabilities of the municipal institution be expanded. The main activity of our organization is also in this direction. The formation of municipal budgets is formed by collected taxes. We must involve citizens in municipal collection. We must further increase awareness-raising work. In accordance with the project, information about the meeting we held with municipalities operating in the Surakhani district and the work done in the district will be disseminated on internet television. Also, extensive information about the held meeting will be provided in the country’s media and social networks.” At the end of the project, reports will be submitted to the State Agency for NGOs and other state agencies regarding the events held.
