NA RPA faction MP Khosrov Harutyunyan sees politicized assessments in the outcome of the 2015 global survey on Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. “I cannot comment on what reasons they have stated that Armenia ranks the 95-98 by the level of corruption among 168 countries. I am skeptical about this index. In many cases, the experts of such organizations, when they are conducting a survey, it becomes non-professional as they are guided by the public opinion: People say that. Systematic reforms are implemented in Armenia, may be it was necessary to do it faster, it’s a different story. Of course, there is still corruption, to say that the fight is very effective, no, but we are fighting against corruption, in my opinion, not only by arresting and detaining a this-or-that person but also with the help of making systemic changes. In other words, the system should be such that no favorable conditions are created for the officials to corrupt,” said the MP to Aravot.am.
According to him, the activities of the authorities to ease the corruption risks should be appraised, “Whether Armenia is making steps over the last years or not, I can say, yes, it does. For example, revolutionary changes took place in the tax administration last year and the previous year, which had significantly reduced the risk of corruption. Taxpayer – tax authorities necessary contact has been eliminated, the tax reports have become transparent. These are steps that significantly reduce the corruption. Corruption is reduced also in different types of police functions, starting from the registration of vehicles up to the activities of the Passport Department. We have major improvements in the cadaster and notary services, to say that Armenia does not make any steps to reduce the corruption risks, to eliminate the cases of corruption, is wrong. It’s another question whether these measures are sufficient or not.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
