WHEN ELITE NEEDS PAPER

Lragir.am
20 Oct 06

The Armenian government has decided to make pro-active efforts to
develop an innovative economy. This perfectly fits into the economic
policy, which is written on paper and entitled the action plan of the
government of the Republic of Armenia. But we know that the ruling
elite of Armenia is not fond of papers, and remembers about them when
utter, we may even say, vital necessity occurs. Ostensibly, utter,
even vital necessity has occurred that the government, remembering
paper, started thinking about developing an innovative economy.

The ministry of trade and economic development is supposed to make
efforts in this direction. The minister is Republican. A major part
of our economy is in the hands of the Republicans, mostly the members
of the Council. And it is necessary to start building an innovative
economy together with these members. It means that their bakeries,
markets, wineries and canneries, poultry farms, trade centers,
restaurants, hotels, petrol and gas filling stations, fixed-route
minivans, taxi services, everything should be based on innovative
technologies.

Innovation is certainly good, and very few people in the world will
support the contrary opinion and rack their brains covered with a
socialist crust to say that it is possible to develop the country on
the basis of the Soviet industrial technology. But in this particular
case it is easier to understand the opinion of these few people than
those people who have decided to spur the development of an innovative
economy. Innovation makes companies more competitive on the world
market but it also requires great investments, spending a lot of
money. In the beginning this is inevitable because modern technologies
are an underlying and essential component of an innovative economy.

In other words, the Council of the Republican Party owning a
considerable part of the Armenian economy is facing the necessity of
technological modernization, of course, if it is likely to implement
or help implement the decision of the native government, the efforts
of which are laid on the shoulders of the Republican minister. There
is a big problem, however. The Republican minister perhaps knows and
the other ministers also know that they voted for the decision of
spurring an innovative economy. Robert Kocharyan, who chaired the
meeting of the government, knows this too. The burden of fostering
the development of an innovative economy is lying on the shoulder
of the Republican minister, whereas the burden of a "free, fair and
transparent" election is on the back of bearers of this economy.

They have to contribute to the slush funds, then spend money for
themselves, while the Bargavach Hayastan Party is distributing aid
and operating free of charge all the time. In other words, before
competition on the world market, the economy-loving members of the
Republican Council, who possess almost all the spheres of the Armenian
economy, have to think about competition for power.

Meanwhile, their decision to develop an innovative economy pushes
them into a dilemma. They have to invest their money in either "clean"
industrial technologies, or "dirty" pre-election technologies. On the
other hand, they realize that in reality they have no choice because
in Armenia industrial technology is null or becomes null when one
loses in the pre-election "technological" race.

Consequently, it is difficult to think that those businessmen will
invest money in innovative technologies if they badly need the money
before the election. In other words, it is clear that over the upcoming
seven or eight months and for another few months the economy and the
businessmen will have no wish to make innovative steps. And it means
that for at least another year it will remain on paper until vital
necessity occurs to remember it.

HAKOB BADALYAN