Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan traveled to Tavush Marz of Armenia on August 10. The Head of Government held meetings with the residents of Berd, Aygehovit, Voskepar and Noyemberyan, during which he touched upon the problems and the Government’s steps to solve them. The Premier answered a number of questions of interest to the local population.
“I am glad to see you smiling; it is the most important thing. I have come to tell you why I am sure that our country’s all problems will be solved; why am I sure that our country will be happy, free and powerful. We have found the key to solving all the issues.
What is that key? You know, for over 20 years, the people in Armenia wanted political changes, but changes did not take place. The year 2018 came in, and we had the change. We have solved a problem that used to be deemed as unsolvable for the past 23-24 years. Why did this problem go unaddressed for more than 20 years, and what caused it to be solved? During the past 20-24 years, the leader of the opposition was supposed to make political changes, but every time the power changed in the country and an opposition leader came to power, the citizens of Armenia were disappointed by that leader. The change came when the majority of Armenian citizens and the Armenian people realized that the revolution should be done not by one leader but by the people themselves so that each one should consider himself a leader of the revolution,” Nikol Pashinyan said, noting that he said it not in a bid to assess the past three months’ events, but to show everyone the key to resolving the country’s problems.
“You may have noticed that I have never said that my political team and I were going to do a revolution. I have said we will create the opportunity for people to decide whether they wanted to live in the old Armenia or in a new Armenia.
Why are we living in this new Armenia? Not for my political team has decided so, but because you have decided to. You have come to realize that it is up to you to decide everything. No one should doubt that the Government will do its job fully and positively, but it is important that each of us perceive that he himself decides everything.
Our team is just providing the opportunity for people to make their homeland thrive. We will have a truly powerful State only when each of us does what he is supposed to; when each of us can understand that if our country is in a poor condition, then it may have been the fault of every one of us. I am convinced that we should continue to do the work that we have started together,” the Prime Minister said.
Nikol Pashinyan assured that the Government will do its best to create favorable conditions for our compatriots abroad. He called on them to come to the homeland and develop the country.
“I am convinced that many people are getting money from their friends abroad, but I would like to make it clear that the philosophy of charity has to be changed. People are sending in millions of dollars to help their friends in Armenia. They used to do so as they believed that it was not safe to do business in Armenia. I am now stating that the old Armenia does not exist any more; I guarantee that no one can create a threat to any investor. We guarantee the security of investments; we guarantee that no one can “come in;” we guarantee that any businessman is free to operate within the legal framework. Therefore, there is no need to wait,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister urged everyone to substitute the philosophy of charity with the logic of work because Armenians are hard-working people. “I know that today’s opportunities are limited, there are many problems that still go unaddressed, but I want to ask you to get rid of pessimism; do not trust anyone who may say that we will never succeed, and that we are doomed to failure. Be assured, everything is right and true, what you see is a reality. The reality is that you have won, and the reality is that you will win, and the reality is that you should live in your homeland as proud, dignified and happy citizens,” the Premier said.
At the same time, the Head of Government noticed that emigration has stopped in Armenia since May. “Each month since this May, more people have been coming to Armenia than leaving it. Let us not only keep up this pace, but double and triple it. We have no place to go from our homeland, and we have to repatriate those who have left because there is no better place in the world than the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia is the place where people are free, proud, dignified and happy,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
Speaking about his government’s 100-day activity, the Prime Minister pointed out that a fierce struggle against corruption started during that period, and which is to be continued. Nikol Pashinyan stressed that in a short period of time, electricity and gas tariffs dropped for vulnerable households. Prices for a number of goods decreased owing to the fight against monopolies. The amended funded pension system resulted in higher wages for 207,000 citizens of Armenia. All fines and penalties for agricultural loans were remitted, interest rates for mortgage loans went down, and so on.
“A 9.6% economic activity index was stated in June, but people do not yet feel its impact. Our task is to change the model of growth so that the citizens of Armenia could benefit from its results,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
Nikol Pashinyan next met with the leaders of Berd and Noyemberyan regions. Addressing them, the Head of Government noted that the logic of relief should be replaced by the logic of joint work.
“The Government is set to do more than in the past. Today, we have some 10-15 billion drams that we are going to earmark as a subvention to co-finance various programs, but the communities are not prepared to spend those funds because they do not have their own money, or specific programs. Our communities are obviously short of money, but two questions nay arise here. First, we should ask ourselves whether the existing resources are spent efficiently, and whether the budgets are formed in a fair and objective manner. If we want the budget to grow, we should spend it equitably. We will not tolerate looting, and I call for constructive work,” Nikol Pashinyan said, noting that what he said primarily refers to the Prime Minister himself. At the same time, the Premier pointed out that the Government is now discussing the possibility of investing the above-mentioned funds without distributing funds in different community financial projects, taking into account their poor efficiency.
The community leaders raised various problems related to road construction, inter-community transport, community enlargement, and other burning issues. Issues related to the government’s personnel policy, road safety, agricultural subsidies, cultural activity, public sector optimization, increased public revenue and investment were discussed during the meetings.
The Head of Government was briefed on the gasification program in Voskepar village as implemented with funds donated by a local philanthropist. Thanking him for valuable contribution, Nikol Pashinyan urged him to switch over from the philosophy of charity to that of work and, in that context, suggested considering the possibility of implementing projects aimed at creating new jobs in the community.