ARMENIA’S PRIME MINISTER HAS NO NOTION OF ECONOMY: OPPOSITION MP

YEREVAN, MAY 21. ARMINFO. The Armenian Government is presently
implementing several programs of economic development absolutely
unreal and contradicting one another, says opposition MP, doctor of
economic siences Tatul Manaseryan.

These are Strategic Poverty Reduction Program, Program of Government
Activities, Interim Program of Economic Development and Program of
Ruling Goalition Activities. All of them are declarative, unreal and
contradictory. Their only goal is to gain the favor of international
credit organizations and meet the interests of local clans.

Program of Government Activities in 2000-2004 presented recently by
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan is a real disgrace. Its authors were
not even ashamed to openly say that today the imports in Armenia is
twice as big as the exports. Manaseryan says that 80% of construction
and trade is in shadow so one cannot speak of any GDP growth.

Manaseryan says that he has repeatedly asked Margaryan to specify which
of the programs is a priority and has proposed his own project to make
Armenia a regional scientific-educational center. But he received no
response in two days as stipulated by the law. Manaseryan knows why
Margaryan did not answer – “he does not know what to answer because
he has no idea of economy.”