Eyub Huseynov: "The avalanche-like price hike will influence not only underground but also other transport fares"

-How would you comment on the planned rise in the fare by the Baku underground by 11 times up to 55 qepiks by the Baku underground?

-I am sure that we will experience regular rise in prices on everything, beginning from foodstuffs and up to the fare in public transport. In this connection, the information about the 11-fold rise in fares in the underground, is quite real, considering changes, we expect to face.

Naturally, such price hike will affect our consumers negatively. Have you ever seen anyone, who "substantiate" the need to raise prices on these or those goods or services in Azerbaijan, worried about such "unimportant thing" as a fate of consumers?

Unfortunately, I think there will be "analysts" who will try to "substantiate" the next rise in prices, which will occur soon, the way they did following the well-known decision of the Tariff Council of January 8 of 2007.

-Does it mean that the price hike will be avalanche-like and our citizens should be ready to the rise in fare of other kinds of transport?

-Quite right. The avalanche-like price hike will concern not only fares in underground but also in all other kinds of transport, as in conditions of monopolization of almost all segments of local economy the "all for one, one for all" slogan dominates over the market of transportations, which is also monopolizied.

Unfortunately, the victims of this "musketry union" will be our citizens, but not the cardinal guardians.

-Are the wages of state employees and pensions of our citizens expected to rise the same-fold as the underground fares?

-Certainly, there will be a certain rise in pensions and salaries of the state employees in Azerbaijan. But it is not harmonized and does not catch up with the rapidly galloping price hike. In the result, the effect of such rise, which is more a tip to a person, who is doomed to struggle for existence, will be graded and the number of citizens, whose welfare will be affected, will rise.

Moreover, we should not forget that regular rise in salary is not a cure of the rapid rise in prices on all goods and services. On the contrary, it may lead to the rise in money supply and to uncontrolled inflation processes on the one hand and prove that the government does not strive to apply and execute a balanced consumer policy. Unfortunately, our numerous calls on the government to turn their face to consumers, not to entrepreneurs, remain a voice crying in the wilderness.

-Do you think this may threaten with boiling over the discontent among population of the country, which may cause have great sociopolitical problems for the Azerbaijani leadership?

-Potentially, such threat of social explosion, can not be rejected. But unfortunately the comprehensive analysis of present day realities in Azerbaijan demonstrates that mass discontent will not lead to any positive changes in the existing relations between the government and consumers, as the Azerbaijani authorities have prepared for such developments long before.

/Day.Az/