A Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. Before proceeding to the discussion of the agenda, the Head of Government issued a number of instructions.
Referring to the family vulnerability assessment system, the Prime Minister stated in part, “After looking into the currently applicable family vulnerability assessment system, we realized that it is not effective in terms of targeting and clarity largely due to the lack of comprehensive information. To get things right, we consider it necessary to examine and take into consideration all information related to beneficiaries’ banking transactions and property rights.”
The Head of Government instructed the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and proposed the Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia to discuss within a month’s time the possibility of providing information on the banking transactions carried out by those individuals registered in the family vulnerability assessment system and submit a relevant proposal to the Government Staff of the Republic of Armenia.
The Minister of Territorial Administration and Development, the Marz Governors, the Head of State Committee on Immovable Property Cadastre by the Government and the Mayor of Yerevan were told to summarize and update within two months all relevant data available in the database of the State Committee on Immovable Property Cadastre by the Government and forward them to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs so that the latter could apply them in the vulnerability assessment process.
“We want to know everything about the families registered in the vulnerability assessment system – banking, real estate transactions and so on – so that we would no longer assist those who do not need it,” the Prime Minister said.
Referring to the development and implementation of the digital agenda, the Premier gave the Chief of Government Staff 15 days to prepare and submit a package of proposals on establishment of a specialized entity for coordination of the efforts aimed at the formulation of State policy in developing electronic systems for central and local self-government authorities, including its organizational-legal framework and a relevant legal act. “We must have a center that will streamline our entire policy,” Karen Karapetyan underscored.
The Executive approved the 2017-2025 Marz development strategies as developed on the basis of the Regional Development Strategy of the Republic of Armenia for 2016-2025. The strategies seek the following key objectives: employment, development of human capital and enhanced competitiveness in the provinces. From the strategic point of view, the outcome of the results will be assessed with two general but definite and measurable indicators:
a. By 2025, per capita GDP will exceed 60 per cent of the average national GDP per capita. Only 30 percent of the population in the provinces is allowed to be under the mark of less than 70 percent of average national GDP per capita.
b. By 2025, the number of intermediate-professional and higher-education graduates, non-formal farmers and active businesses in all provinces will increase by at least 10 percent by 2025 as compared to 2014.
Highlighting the importance of of Marz development strategies, Karen Karapetyan said that they should become working instruments. The Prime Minister instructed the ministers and the heads of government departments to start implementing the strategies in their respective areas as soon as possible by organizing joint discussions with the governors. “This document is important because we are making a record of the current situation, including weaknesses, problems, advantages and opportunities. We have clearly formulated what we want to achieve,” the Premier noted, adding that the whole process of strategy implementation will be monitored.
The meeting next discussed and approved the 2018-2020 Government Medium Term Expenditure Program. If necessary, after being finalized, it will be submitted to the Government Staff for consideration. The Head of Government pointed out in this connection: “The program envisages a fairly ambitious growth of own revenues and a very tough expenditure management. We plan to funnel the savings towards boosting economic growth. We are setting marks that will be hard enough to achieve: tax-GDP ratio, external debt stability and deficit. This will call for highly coordinated effort.”
In order to meet the requirements set by the RA Tax Code, the Government established the order and form of publication of taxpayer lists by the tax authority. This will streamline the process of posting tax code-stipulated information on the Tax Authority’s official website. It is specifically envisaged to publish detailed information on evasive taxpayers, as well as on those having contributed large amounts to the State budget.
Highlighting the decision, the Prime Minister emphasized that reporting and transparency are extremely important in this process. “We will go in that direction.”
The meeting endorsed the government’s legislative initiative on making draft amendments to the Law on Freedom of Assembly. The amendments seek to harmonize the restrictions on freedom of assembly with the goals set out in the Constitution. The Cabinet approved the government’s findings on Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Program Implementation Report for 2016 and the 2017 Monetary Policy Program.
The Executive passed another decision, according to which the property built within the framework of the State-supported housing program aimed at addressing the housing needs of homeless families in the disaster zone will be handed over to the beneficiaries. In particular, the construction of 258 dwelling houses has been completed, but was not handed over to the beneficiaries due to the developer’s bankruptcy. The above-stated 258 apartments need to be handed over to the beneficiaries in order to comply with the Government’s commitment.
To remind, this issue was raised during a Prime Minister-chaired consultation held on July 1, 2017 in Lori Marz.