After the Yerevan City Council session, Mayor Hayk Marutyan spoke to reporters about bonuses give to the municipality
Aravot asked about how, according to several news outlets, Taron Margaryan gave his deputies far less bonuses than Marutyan did. For example, Margaryan gave his deputy a 478,000 AMD bonus, meanwhile Marutyan gave his a 956,000 AMD bonus.
Hayk Marutyan responded that, after taxes, his bonus was only 600,000 AMD. However, regarding the former authorities’ working style, Marutyan said, “Besides the year-end bonuses, the former authorities gave out approximately 287 million AMD in bonuses throughout the year, which was kept secret from the public. Even more, in place of those bonuses, orders were published, stating that this order was given this much in bonuses, but something else was written under that order entirely. And that is how they lied to the public.”
Hayk Marutyan assured that, under Taron Margaryan, the amount of money given in bonuses in 2017 was higher than in 2018. “The former authorities only showed the people what they thought the people should know, and nothing more.”
Aravot observed that several public figures tell those who received large bonuses to donate that money to a good cause, such as to orphanages. Marutyan said, “No one can be forced to do anything in their personal lives.”
Nelly Babayan
