On the Transparent Spending of Allocations from the State Budget and the Coronavirus Response Fund in the Response to COVID-19. Monitoring Report

Abstract

This monitoring report examines the spending of public funds allocated for the fight against coronavirus and monitors the level of transparency and accountability of government agencies in the Republic of Azerbaijan since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.In accordance with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s March 19, 2020 order, “On several measures to reduce the negative impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and of the accompanying sharp fluctuations in world energy and stock markets, on the economy, macroeconomic stability, employment, and businesses of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” separate studies and transparency assessments of spending were carried out on each focus area identified by the Action Plan, which had been formulated and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers based on the proposals of 4 working groups.This report makes detailed assessments of expenditures, as well as of the actions (or inaction) of state agencies on the matter of efficient and transparent spending in the targeted areas which were allocated funds from the state budget — 1) the provision of state guarantees on bank loans to businesses operating in sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and subsidizing interest rates on new loans and on existing loan portfolios, 2) the partial payment of employee salaries in sectors affected by the pandemic, 3) pandemic-related state financial support for individual (micro) entrepreneurs, and 4) state support for low-income families and the unemployed.The report also covers the establishment of the Coronavirus Response Fund, the procurement and expenditure of funds, the Fund’s accountability requirements, the principles of the establishment of a Public Oversight Board to oversee expenditures, the powers and independence of the Board, the approval of orders from government agencies, the shortcomings of single-source procurement, and the risks of the method for determining the probable prices of goods.At the end of the report, the results of monitoring have been summarized, the findings listed, and proposals based on the results presented for submission to government agencies. The last section of the report contains the texts of information requests submitted to government agencies during the monitoring period and the responses received.