A MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE FOR BIG FEUDALISTS
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am
05 June 06

In 2006 Armenia will get the first tranche of the U.S. 235 million
dollar grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The Armenian
government is therefore busy solving the procedural problems to get
the first millions in 2006. The technical problems have almost been
settled, the managing board of the Millennium Challenge-Armenia Program
of 11 members has been set up, including 5 representatives of NGOs and
6 representatives of the government. Despite being fewer in number,
the representatives of NGOs have the right to veto. This is intended
to diminish the risk of corruption, of course, if it works.

In the meantime, there is enough ground to suggest that it will not
work. The reason is not that most Armenian NGOs are as corrupt as
government agencies. And the reason is not that most NGOs have been
set up and work on the order of the same government either. Although
it should be noted that the principle of clash of interests, underlying
the managing board, may disappear at all, considering the peculiarities
of the non-governmental sector. However, the managing board also
has peculiarities. 4 out of the 6 government representatives to the
board are ministers, 1 is prime minister. The board includes Prime
Minister Andranik Margaryan. Minister of Finance Vardan Khachatryan,
Minister of Territorial Management Hovik Abrahamyan, Minister of
Agriculture Davit Lokyan and Minister of Transport and Communication
Andranik Manukyan. The sixth member is Vahram Nersisyants, adviser
to president. The staff includes officials from the spheres that
are directly related to the Millennium program. At first sight,
this senior-official-level staff is also an indicator of reduction
of corruption and great responsibility for the task. And this is
true, in fact, but the problem is which task they treat with great
responsibility.

Would it be possible to include officials of lower ranks in the board
than the prime minister and ministers? Surely, it would be possible,
especially that a junior official would be more flexible than a
busy (?) minister or prime minister. Now imagine a situation when a
decision is made during the meeting of the board, which contains a
high risk of corruption. One of the five members of the board, who
are representatives of NGOs, notices it and wants to use the right
to veto. This situation can occur in two different settings: in the
first one, the representatives of the government are junior officials,
in the second we have the present prime minister-minister-level staff.

If the government representatives to the board were lower-rank
officials, even deputy ministers, the NGOs would feel easier to
express their opinion. When the meeting of the board is conducted
by the prime minister, and four ministers are present, it is very
much doubted that the NGOs would dare to veto anything. It is true
that even with junior officials included in the board the same prime
minister and minister could indirectly deal with the same NGOs to
have them lift the veto. This would tarnish the “crystal” belief in
the Millennium Challenge-Armenia program, however.

Most probably, however, there will undoubtedly be crystal pureness,
because it concerns the reconstruction of infrastructures of rural
communities. The government would hardly rob itself. Most government
officials of Armenia are at the same time big feudalists, and own big
farms in the same rural communities. And the reconstruction of rural
infrastructures will promote their own business, irrigation of their
land and successful transportation of their production to the city.

Finally, there is no doubt that the program will be implemented
conscientiously. After all, it is not tarmac and anyone walks on it.

It is land, it is “cash.” Therefore, the government will be craving
for the effective implementation of the program for the prosperity of
the land. Therefore, there was no need for any NGO to become member
of the managing board. The ministers would control everything better
than anyone. After all, it is not accidental that the board is headed
by the prime minister, and includes ministers. In order not to allow
junior officials implementing the program to consider supporting their
families at the expense of the prime minister and ministers. For if
the land dries out, cash will dry out too.