A1 Plus | 18:27:54 | 17-11-2004 | Social |
GOVERNMENT TARGET MONEY FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES
Labour and social security minister Aghvan Vardanyan, speaking Wednesday
in National Assembly, said the ministry would be given 46,2 billion
drams from the 2005 state budget for the implementation of 26 programs,
the biggest of which is the Family Benefits Program focused on 135
thousand families.
These low-income families are to be paid12,000 drams while retirees’
pensions will rise slightly and won’t exceed 9,000 drams.
This controversy generated discord of MPs. Lawmakers say this won’t
promote poverty reduction.
The legislators also called into question the eligibility of the
families included in the list for receiving poverty benefits.
Labour and social security minister Aghvan Vardanyan said criteria
themselves are good enough, but they are being applied by people.
The ministry’s figures show 20 percent of the people included in the
list should not receive state benefits while 5 percent of those families
living in poverty remained out of the program.