The budget draft of the territorial administration bodies of 2017 was discussed at the joint session of the Standing Committees on Territorial Administration and Local Self-Government and Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs. During the discussion Hrant Bagratyan again touched upon the numbers of the Statistical Service and the response of Stepan Mnatskanyan. In his words, yesterday Vardan Aramyan said that the economy of Armenia grows as much as the economy of Georgia:
– The economy of RA from 2009 to 2015 overall has grown 8.5 percent, the economy of Georgia has grown 29.6 percent, the global economy has grown on average 16.9 percent. As you see, the interpretations of Minister of Finance Aramyan were unacceptable yesterday”.
He assured that only last year’s last number mentioned by the minister was correct. He said that Statistical Service has presented distorted numbers for decades:
Yesterday he was saying, “well, I write what they give me”. According to him, I said the number of Euronest also incorrectly. I have brought to you the respective page of the Euronest where it is said that the small and the average in RA is 27 percent and his letter where it is written 58 percent.
Bagratyan handed out the copies to Gagik Minasyan and others in order to prove that he was right.
His problem is already with the international organizations. Not that every time they take people from the international organization to eat kebab, barbecue, belch, and in the end they get the number what they want. Do you understand?
Touching upon the budget of marzes (provinces), Hrant Bagratyan said:
The Constitution says that LSG Bodies should get as much budget as they need to solve the problems they have. he said, “Please be kind, give money to decentralize the economy. the budget of LSG Bodies is 140 milliard, only 34 percent is the land tax and dues. It is clear that with property tax, local tax 140 milliard will not be accumulated so that the head of the village, the mayor do not go to the government and say “give me money”, the dependence should abolish so that the Constitution will work, so that each governor be interested in working harder. the government give one more, the other less, it is not clear who worked well, who did not.
Concerning the data presented by the Minister of Finance Atom Janjughazyan said:
Those indicators, which the Minister of Finance said, should not cast any doubt.
As for the number mentioned by Stepan Mnatsakanyan, he said:
I do not want to express an opinion about your attitude and the relations between you and Statistical Service.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
