The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Mesrop Arakelyan, presented the legislative draft on social assistance during an extraordinary session of parliament.
He said that all citizens who have permanent residence in Artsakh have returned, and approximately 5,000 people from the occupied territories have moved to Artsakh. “At the moment, gas supply, electricity supply, and wireless communications have been entirely restored in Artsakh. Moreover, one of the communication operators is providing connection without roaming in Artsakh.”
The minister said that there has been a decrease in income in Artsakh’s budget by about 50 billion AMD, which is natural. The Armenian government will provide those funds in their entirety. The minister stressed that benefits and the salaries of state employees continue to be paid in Artsakh. “Armenia continues to remain the guarantor of Artsakh’s socioeconomic security.”
Presenting the draft, the minister said that the efficiency of governing the social system will increase and benefits will be provided in a smoother and more effective manner with the legislation. Four services in the social sector will be combined according to the legislation. Bright Armenia deputy Srbuhi Grigoryan asked if any jobs will be eliminated. The minister said that there are 1,800 positions, all of which will be filled. However, there will be some changes in the functions of certain positions, and employees will be hired according to a competitive procedure.
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Grigoryan also asked how many homeless people were provided with living spaces under this government because her research suggested that no one was given anything. The minister said that the work in this direction was, truly, ineffective, and he said that the issue of construction will soon become more effective.
Bright Armenia deputy Taron Simonyan asked if even one house was built in Artsakh. He said that it would be better for them to provide the citizens of Artsakh with homes instead of money. Mesrop Arakelyan said, “You’ve said that Azerbaijan is building roads and an airport. Did you know that Azerbaijan is still unable to provide Shushi with electricity? But the rest of Artsakh has 24 hours of electricity, even though the entire country was shelled and the electricity system was completely destroyed.” The minister said that he does not differentiate between the social projects of Armenia and Artsakh. Taron Simonyan said that Arakelyan is one of the few people in government who does not differentiate.
Hripsime Jebejyan
