Economist Natig Jafarli has challenged a government claim that all 67 cities and districts in Azerbaijan will cover their own expenses in 2027, saying changes in budget accounting are being presented as regional development.
The draft 2027 state budget says no additional transfers are planned to cover local expenditures in any of the country’s 67 cities and districts. It projects 18.43 billion manats ($10.84 billion) in regional revenue and 735.57 million manats ($432.69 million) in local spending, according to Trend.
In a Facebook post, Jafarli said the government had included the claim in the budget document without explaining its methodology. He argued that the wording could create the impression that the regions had developed enough to sustain themselves and were no longer a burden on the central budget.
What Counts as Regional Self-Financing?
Jafarli questioned what the government means by self-financing when cities and districts do not operate separate tax-collection systems and taxes, duties and fines flow into the central budget.
He also asked whether the calculation includes salaries paid from the central budget to teachers, doctors, police officers, court employees and other public workers in the regions.
The same issue applies to infrastructure and emergency spending, he said. If the central government pays to build a bridge or cover disaster damage in a district, the basis for describing that district as financially self-sufficient remains unclear.
“You are trying to ‘solve’ problems on paper, change the classification and create an illusion,” Jafarli wrote, according to Vesti Baku.
Jafarli said he plans a series of posts and public appearances about the 2027 budget and intends to send additional questions to the government. He said he doubts officials will provide substantive responses because they prefer to communicate “in monologue mode.”
Source: Vesti Baku; Natig Jafarli; Trend