Once again, I want to recall my conversation with Glendale Mayor Zareh Sinanyan. He urged us, Armenians, not to think that over there, in Glendale, everything is ideal. The bureaucracy over there also hinders business due to formal argumentations, and sometimes there is a need to apply to the members of the City Council for interference so that these bureaucrats would display a “creative” approach and support business under the law. The situation in Armenia, to put it mildly, is also not ideal. Simply, there are some “nuances”.
Bureaucracy hinders business not for striving to keep the letter of the law rather than followed by the purpose of taking bribes and entering into share with the business. Whereas the other state agencies intervene, because they already have big businesses and do not want anyone to fall “under their feet”, they also possess numerous leverages to move all possible competitors from arena. Yesterday, during the meeting organized by the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition of the Republic of Armenia (SCPEC), a few number of “roofless” businesses (natural, not large, because they all have “roofs”) still left in Armenia were complaining about various things. The “Gazprom-Armenia,” taking the advantage of its monopolistic position, has put down fantastic bills to one of them for the gas, which the company has not consumed.
The other complains that airfare ticket from Europe to Georgia are 5 times cheaper than from Europe to Armenia, and as a result, it is not possible to bring tourists to our country. One of them also says that the public institutions are signing agreements only with the major businesses, which I think is normal, because only from the major businesses you can get “kickbacks.” SCPEC answers to all of such concerns that they are beyond the jurisdiction of its Commission. The problems, in short, are evident. When you ask the economists what are the solutions, the answer is approximately as follows, there must be a political will. It certainly sounds nice, however, it seems to me that the country is ruled and the problems are solved not by the “will” rather than by the laws and the mechanisms. In Armenia, over 20 years, the problems were resolved and are still on by illegalities and criminal mechanisms. The situation will not be changed by someone’s “political will”, because any person, eventually, uses its will for its own interests. However, I still do not lose my hope to listen to any professional offer “out of will”.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
