Shirak Marz continues to be the poorest region in Armenia, where 46 percent of the population is poor. This is proved by the National Statistical Service (NSS) in its 2013 annual report on “Social Snapshot and Poverty in Armenia”. NSS also presented the index of poverty throughout the country, according to which, in 2013, the poverty was 32% as compared with 32.4 % in the previous year. President of the Gyumri “Asparez” Club, Levon Barseghyan, however, thinks that the mentioned 0.4 % is not a reduction, but these poor citizens’ emigration. “Shirak marz was as poor as before,” says Mr. Barseghyan.
To our question that the NSS experts prove that social transfers are restraining factors for the increase of level of poverty in our country, otherwise the index would be higher, and given that the “migrants” are mostly from Shirak Marz, so whether the affiliation to the EaEU would possibly mitigate the social situation in the region, Mr. Barseghyan said, “Our membership to the EaEU does not promote the growth of well-being in anyway. Those who find work abroad become adapted at a course of time, and even refuse the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, take their families with them and it does not have a measurable influence on the level of poverty. In those years, when Serzh Sargsyan’s regime came to replace Robert Kocharyan’s regime, the poverty became from 25 % to 33-32 %.”
Levon Barseghyan said that if the National Assembly ratifies the “disgraceful agreement” of accession to the EaEU, then it is expected that the price for a number of products would go up. “The price rise cannot contribute to poverty reduction. And if they say that our citizens’ condition will be improved by joining the EaEU, then the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies are obligated to present estimates and projections by what percent the poverty will be reduced, but there is no such prediction. As to the amounts accumulated from customs duties to be collected in the EaEU, a certain percentage of which will be directed to the budget of our country, Mr. Barseghyan believes that there should be clear calculations pertaining to them, and as to how much these amounts would contribute to our well-being.
Levon Barseghyan, reminding the 5-year program of the “Millennium Challenges – Armenia” ratified in 2006, which provided a grant of 235 million dollars to our country for the development of rural roads and irrigation network, said, “The ultimate goal of this program was to reduce the rural poverty by 6%. Due to March 1, the 60 million dollars was cut, but the remaining part was consumes. 3 years have passed and it is time to evaluate its effectiveness, but so far the government does not represent, ultimately, how many percent is the rural poverty reduced thanks to this program. Or, the installed a couple of pipelines, built a couple of roads, spent millions of dollars on a couple of workshops for farmers about farming and that’s it. But, this was not what it pursued. The objective was the reduction of rural poverty.”
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According to Mr. Barseghyan’s calculations, Serzh Sargsyan’s team “annually causes 1.3-1.4% migration to Armenia, over 6 years Armenia’s population fell by 8 percent.” “It seems that leaving the Lars Pass open is the ultimate goal of Armenia’s authorities, well, we understand that apricots and tomatoes should be reached Moscow unspoiled so that the oligarchy would live better, but this does not mean developing economy and reducing poverty. Plus, the monopolies, their personal interests and so on,” noted Levon Barseghyan in the conversation with us.
Lusine BUDAGHYAN
