Armenian leader slams PM

Armenian leader slams PM

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has criticized structures regulating state purchases. Sargsyan made harsh orders to resolve the problem of Armenians arriving from Syria.

The president promised to repeat such activities, noting that many violations have been uncovered by the Control Service for state purchases. Sargsyan ordered the heads of ministries and other structures to explain to their employees that further violations will be punished with dismissals. In response, the prime minister said, "Your evaluations, Mister President, are sobering, they make us all introduce major changes to our work and we will doubtlessly make them”.

The president’s council for slamming the government was viewed skeptically by society or as a PR step for the upcoming presidential polls and the resignation of government. But emphasis was put on the prime minister’s possible responses after the president’s criticism.

The Republican Party of Armenia says that the president is forcing the PM to take further steps to limit the despotism of the oligarchy. Unable to fight the oligarchs using political instruments, the president probably hopes that the prime minister will use economic ones. In any case, the president’s criticism had a sobering effect on the government, which has not taken a single step to strengthen the Armenian economy in the last four years. In fact, the president accused the prime minister of bribe-taking and money-wasting and now the latter has nothing to do but announce the names of people responsible for the violations. But the prime minister continues to remain silent and does not plan to give names. The political class of Armenia is not used to responsibility for words and actions, an open fight with bribery by giving out names is unlikely. Thus, the well-staged slamming seems like the first explanation of developments.

This version is strengthened by the fact that similar reproaches and accusations of violations and the existence of political and economic monopolies of the government have been numerous. But action has never been taken afterwards. This is because most of the bribers among the oligarchs are sitting in parliament or some other branches of power. The Control Chamber traditionally unmasks such thefts from the budget, but there is never a punishment for such violations.

Lack of political, social, legal institutions in Armenia and a poverty level of 38% demonstrate that the republic cannot be called a social state. Apart from the president’s evaluation, the public would like to see solutions. These solutions form a logic, especially taking into account the fact that the government has been facing a budget deficit in the last few months. This is why mass media are filled with rumours that the government is trying to receive a loan worth a billion from Russia.

The appearance of the will to punish oligarchs and their interests is not surprising. The oligarchs have become the foundation of the shameful political and economic system of Armenia since 1998. But after the resignation of Robert Kocharyan, some oligarchs got out of governmental control, which was a major blow. The government strikes at disobedient rich people from time to time. But President Sargsyan cannot establish full control over them. The president would like the premier to shake them a little, for example, by accusing them of economic crimes. But Sargsyan has either failed or never wanted to take the mining industry and other large markets under control in four years. The prime minister should either shake up a few oligarchs or admit that it is impossible.

This is why the president’s meeting casts doubts as to whether the government will be dismissed before the presidential polls. Dissolution of the government was logical earlier, but it may now happen much earlier than February 2013. The PM’s resignation could satisfy and inspire many to support the president in February.

The president’s criticism may also be considered a step towards Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia. But it may also be viewed at a different angle, because the president did not dismiss the government and was satisfied with promises of improvement. Thus, the president has taken responsibility for the government and made it clear that he does not plan to make a scapegoat out of the premier. Changing the PM would become a new pillar in the pyramid of power, especially taking into account the fact that replacing Sargsyan with Kocharyan as Prime minister would hardly cause a socio-economic effect. Keeping the prime minister in power benefits Prosperous Armenia. Tsarukyan is avoiding any criticism of the president.

The problem of Armenia is not lack of criticism of the government. Criticism is acceptable. Some functionaries unfavourable in the government are losing their positions and resigning. But their resignation does not change the system. People willing to replace a certain official (minister or prime minister) should think about what they would gain. Economic development has never been a topic of public discussions in Armenia. Agriculture, IT, tourism are the main priorities officially, but in reality, the economy exists only thanks to sales of natural resources and financial operations. Banks are the most profitable area in Armenia. Non-ferrous metals are the main exports. The fact that the government has little part in this profitable sphere proves that it is prone to bribery.

The banksthat  the authorities are so proud of are not far behind the mining operations. They speculate on currencies, financial operations and high-interest loans. Despite the population’s reduction of income, banks have sustainably high profits, even against the background of the global recession. The real owners of the shares of the 21 commercial banks in Armenia are usually unknown to the public.

Bribes in the mining industry and banking have become unofficial priorities of “economic development” in Armenia, while the concept of economic development of the social state should be based on the spheres that are increasing the income of as many people as possible. This concerns agriculture, light industry, information technologies, tourism and the IT industry. Opening the Armenian economy to investments requires non-interference in people’s affairs. This is what the president should have discussed with the prime minister, because bribes are a symptom, not the root of the problem.

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for VK

 

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