By Azerbaijan.US Editorial Board
When government agencies fail to solve citizens’ problems, one Azerbaijani lawmaker believes he’s found the answer – create another agency.
During Thursday’s parliamentary session, MP Fazil Mustafa proposed establishing a “Ministry of Problem Solving.”
The idea, he explained, was to help citizens navigate the bureaucratic maze of ministries and committees that often send them spinning “as if in a sky dance.”
It’s a quote that captures both the absurdity and exhaustion of bureaucracy in post-Soviet governance. Citizens shouldn’t have to orbit around public institutions just to get a document signed, yet many still do. The MP is right to point out the dysfunction. But the solution – another ministry – is where satire writes itself.
When bureaucracy breeds bureaucracy
A new “problem-solving” ministry sounds like a parody headline until you realize it’s a logical symptom of a system where inefficiency is institutionalized. If existing agencies fail to function, the reflex isn’t to reform them – it’s to invent a new structure layered on top. Bureaucracy becomes both the disease and the cure.
To his credit, Mustafa praised the ASAN Service, calling it “a model that freed citizens from corruption and endless waiting.” He’s right: ASAN remains one of Azerbaijan’s most successful public service innovations – a model many countries would envy.
But its success stemmed from simplification, not multiplication. ASAN worked because it merged functions, digitized paperwork, and minimized human interference.
Creating yet another ministry risks doing the opposite.
A mirror of public frustration
The very fact that such a proposal resonates publicly is telling. It reflects widespread frustration with inefficiency – people standing in line, passing forms from window to window, and waiting weeks for routine approvals. Citizens are tired. So are the few honest civil servants trapped in outdated procedures.
Mustafa’s sarcasm, intentional or not, exposes a truth: the state machine still wastes too much time on itself.
Fixing the fixers
If the government wants to “solve problems,” it doesn’t need a ministry for that. It needs accountability, interagency coordination, and a digital-first mindset across the board.
Problems aren’t solved by creating new bureaucrats – they’re solved when old bureaucrats start doing their jobs.
Until that happens, perhaps the Ministry of Problem Solving would have its hands full – starting with itself.
