A regular Cabinet meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.
Before discussing the agenda, the Head of Government issued a statement on transition to an emergency mode of work.
“The elections were held in an atmosphere of much greater tolerance. Our team received a vote of confidence in the implementation of changes in our country. I address the following appeal to all members of our team: in the part of the regime of work, we need to make appropriate efforts, show responsibility in all actions, we announce an emergency regime. I am glad that our regime is becoming more difficult,” the Prime Minister said.
Then the Prime Minister instructed the heads of government departments on the report on the implementation of the activities and priority tasks approved by the Government program, the new intraregional route network and road construction, the Analytical Center for Territorial Administration, and the conduct of anti-hail actions. Touching upon the visit of the Turkmen delegation scheduled for the near future, the Prime Minister told Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Ashot Manukyan to summarize all the materials.
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“I have information that they are working very hard. Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specify the terms of the visit and the composition of the Turkmen delegation and get ready,”
The Prime Minister also informed that next week visits will begin to the ministries, where the tasks and forthcoming work of the departments will be presented. Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan touched upon the economic events and noted that the Government is going to increase the state capital expenditures by AMD50bln.
“Last year, when we presented the State budget bill for 2017 to the National Assembly and society, we stated many times that the capital expenditures envisaged by the budget for 2017, naturally, are not our ambition. And if the economic situation is better than expected, and as a result of our efforts, tax collection will be much more than budgeted for in 2017, we will reallocate additional funds to capital expenditures.
Why? Because 3.2% economic growth, several times it was noted that this is not the ambition of our team, the ambition of our team is much greater economic growth. In the medium term, we are claiming much higher rates of economic growth. Therefore, it is very important that we redirect the additional funds primarily to capital expenditures.
We with the Vice Prime Minister in several stages with international donor organizations, and with our partners conducted discussions to give preference to those programs with external financing that are of a capital nature and can give a quick economic effect. This exercise is completed: in the amount of about USD 98 million we have identified those programs that can be implemented this year, but we must also take into account the phenomenon when we take USD 98 million from financial institutions and make expenses, this also has a certain effect on the country’s indebtedness and the deficit.
On the other hand, since we said that the stabilization of the debt indicator in the medium term is our top priority, it is important that we manage effectively to achieve this goal. Here we also have good news, namely our indicator of tax collection in the first quarter. We over-fulfilled the program adequate of 1 trillion 135 billion drams, which was meant for quarterly implementation, that is, the program exceeded the target by 11.5 billion drams.
This means that if we manage to keep this line of behavior, and we believe that our colleagues from the State Revenue Committee are quite aggressive, so that the reforms are carried out in the field of tax and customs administration, we will have a much higher figure available.
We can raise tax revenues by about 50 billion a year, and at the same time realize the same capital expenditures so that in 2018 we will be able to make the economic growth indicator more targeted. Of course, we must also take into account certain risks: we accept that we set a very have high rate for our colleagues from the State Revenue Committee and will do everything to ensure that the reforms you commissioned to our colleagues from the State Revenue Committee will be implemented. The Ministry of Finance will try to help them to be implemented very quickly. If we increase the annual program of planned taxes by about 50 billion drams and as a result we will have difficulties in reaching the target of 1 trillion 187 billion, naturally, in the process we will adjust the expenditure indicator, so that we do not have excessive growth of debt and, at the same time, we did not face a higher deficit.
In this case, Mr. Prime Minister, I will ask your instructions to all agencies that participated in the discussions with the Vice Prime Minister so that they can quickly submit budget proposals within a week, because to implement these capital expenditures, a legal basis is needed and this legal basis is the introduction of a change in Decree 1313-N. The Ministry of Finance, on your instructions, will sum up all of them, making a change to the budget for 2017, which on the one hand will allow these capital expenditures to begin in 2017, and on the other hand – to balance the budget. “
Karen Karapetyan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, noted: “We estimate the work of the State Revenue Committee in the first quarter as good, which enabled us to take such actions. Secondly, we resorted to this step deliberately and will deliberately discuss it at the next government meeting after the elections, so that no one could accuse us that we are engaged in populism. This decision was made before the elections. Thirdly, we are very much aware that we have set quite a difficult task before the State Revenue Committee. It is absolutely unprecedented. If the plan is over-fulfilled, we change the plan. Fourth, we are looking forward to the second round the Program of Reforms from the State Revenue Committee, and we will provide all kinds of support. Fifthly, we are very much aware of the task that was set, and at the end of the year, when we evaluate, we will take into account all these changes.”
The Government adopted a unified decree, according to which the government will refrain from submitting an application for the recognition of companies included in the privatization program as bankrupt, as well as organizations, in accordance with government resolutions in the process of liquidation.
In response to Karen Karapetyan’s question, Arman Sahakyan, the head of State Property Management Department of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, said that all enterprises had submitted reports on State capital. The Department will present proposals on them.
The Prime Minister also recalled the assignment regarding expectations of alienation. “I expect a reform program from you. As a result of its implementation, I expect that the Department will become a good agency in the commercial sense that will manage our property, will clearly observe our managers, shares, our property,” Karen Karapetyan emphasized, adding that expects the Central Bank to be collaborative on the capital market. “You leave the status of an official, become an aggressive agency,” the Head of Government noted.
The government approved the draft law of the Republic of Armenia on Making Amendments to the RA Law on the Police, which will fix the right of the police to record DNA identification. In order to regulate the notification and information processes of the state administration and local self-government bodies, organizations, the population in the event of emergencies in the territory of the Republic of Armenia or the threat of their occurrence, an armed attack on the republic, its immediate danger, or in the declaration of war and in a state of martial law, the Government adopted a relevant decision.
The Government next decided that the working day of April 17 will be moved to Saturday, May 6. The purpose of the decision is to give citizens of Armenia the opportunity to visit the graves of the deceased on the following day of the commemoration of the April 16 Easter.
The Government approved a list of international organizations that carry out accreditation in the field of organic agriculture.
