During a Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan-chaired consultation held in Sisian town of Syunik Marz, the process of development of Marz and community development programs and current activities were discussed.
Presenting the socioeconomic situation and macroeconomic indicators of the province, Governor of Syunik Marz Vahe Hakobyan noted that during the year, they managed to complete the work envisaged under the program of Marz administration and the region’s 2014-2017 program of activities. The necessary assistance has been provided to 72 communities in the development and adoption of development programs.
In 2016, two administrative-territorial changes were implemented in Syunik Marz, which resulted in the formation of five large communities – Tatev, Goris, Lori, Meghri and Gorayk. In 2017, 3 new communities were established – Kapan, Kajaran and Sisian, which will include 67 communities. According to Vahe Hakobyan, in 2017, a total of about 4.7 billion drams in local budget revenue was collected. Communities’ own revenues stood at about 1.6 billion drams. The actual collection of own revenues for the first six months of 2017 amounted to 697.5 million drams against the planned 614.7 million or 113.5 percent of the planned amount. As compared to the same period in 2016, AMD 10.2 million was collected, and its own revenues grew by 17.2%.
Nearly AMD 6.9 billion was spent in the sphere of construction last year, of which 23.8 percent from the State budget, and 76.2 percent from other funding sources. Donor organizations have implemented over 2.3 billion dram-worth investment projects in the agricultural sector to support farms, rehabilitate the irrigation network and the water supply system.
It was reported that in 2017, a total of 294.2 million drams was allocated for the implementation of emergency programs, under which construction works are being carried out in Kapan, Sisian, Spandaryan, Aravus and Meghri communities of the Marz. Investments worth over 24.5 billion drams in humanitarian and credit programs were implemented during last year, covering almost all the communities of the Marz.
With reference to the reported figures, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan noted that besides the indicators presented under Marz passports, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development will submit 11 indicators, which will assess the work of Marz administrations, the overall situation in the region based on the indicators recorded in the given province and will be compared to other Marz indicators.
The Premier underlined that currently there are financial and other disparities between the regions and communities with the same opportunities. Highlighting the need for digitization and stock-taking in different sectors, the Head of Government said the figures so collected will serve as a guideline in further activities.
“I do not rule out that a village mayor may even turn out unaware that for instance the average per-capita garbage collection fee is 200 drams in Armenia, which perhaps is not that much for a quality service provided. I am confident that we have a great deal of excessive costs and lots of high-quality services. You have a good deal f resources that can be handled more purposefully. Optimization does not set the task to reduce the costs, but we also see that we have a lot of non-consistent and coordinating jobs in our daily lives,” Karen Karapetyan said addressing community leaders.
Touching upon the efforts to attract investments, the head of government said: “Each of us must realize that his or her primary task is to attract investment, create a job, as this is the primary indicator of a change in social and economic life. In view of the above, you need to try to keep in touch with successful individuals born in Syunik. I mean not only businessmen but also doctors, scientists, economists, investors, and journalists.”
According to Karen Karapetyan, it is necessary to have a clear idea of local resources and potentialities, make consistent efforts to tap them and present investment opportunities to the investors properly. The Prime Minister underlined that there is great potential for development in Syunik. The government is pushing ahead with the launch of the Meghri Free Economic Zone. “We will create an exciting environment to tap the huge potential of cooperation with neighboring Iran for communities in your region,” the Head of Government emphasized.
The Prime Minister was informed about the situation in the fields of agriculture, healthcare, education, road construction, garbage disposal in Syunik marz and the efforts aimed at addressing the existing problems. In particular, information was provided about the establishment of intensive gardens, improvement of tourism infrastructure, activities of educational and healthcare systems and optimization.
Referring to the waste management issues, the Prime Minister noted that the local communities should review the tariffs for waste management, setting appropriate standards for different entities. The supervisor of the agricultural sector reported that there are currently 20,000 economic entities in the region, of which 2,700 farms. 85% of 43,000 ha arable land is being cultivated. Work was said underway to establish intensive gardens. 10 bids to that effect are under consideration at this point of time. A project on purchasing agricultural equipment worth 650 million drams is underway for the Sisian region.
Karen Karapetyan attached importance to the implementation of the program and instructed the Governor to submit a full investment program to provide the Marz with farming equipment. The meeting next touched upon the development of irrigation systems. The Premier suggested discussing the existing problems in all detail with the State Water Committee in order to find solutions to irrigation bottlenecks. The Head of Government advised that the Ministry of Agriculture had submitted 7 projects to the Government, which might dramatically improve efficiency in this area.
It was also reported that receipts in the paid healthcare system amounted to 175.3 million drams in the first half of the current year, which is about 50 million drams up the figure of 2016. It was noted that the said positive tendency is mainly due to the medical centers’ modernized management practices.
Coming to the issue of repair of the highways in the Marz, Prime Minister Karapetyan considered it necessary to find alternative solutions in this area taking into account the importance of the roads.
“We need to find non-standard solutions to problems, and we will provide support to similar programs in every possible way. This way the atmosphere and the overall climate will change in communities,” the Premier emphasized.
During the consultation, the Prime Minister was also presented various investment projects that will be further discussed in the Government. In conclusion, the meeting touched upon the activities envisaged by the investment program for the re-launch of the Kapan airport.
