ACCORDING TO VAZGEN MANUKIAN, NEW CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE BASIS FOR DEEP SYSTEM CHANGES
Noyan Tapan
Jan 21, 2008
YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Radical changes are needed to bring
Armenia to a way having prospects and for passing to a new model, the
preelection program of Vazgen Manukian, a candidate for presidency,
the Chairman of the National Democratic Union, mentioned.
In his words, Armenia’s economic system by its structure is a
half-capitalist-half-feudal. All big financial flows are controlled by
a group of people in power. The way leading to big business is closed,
privileged or nomenclature businessmen standing close to the power
pyramid appear there. Vazgen Manukian mentioned that the seeming
competition concerns only the lower layer of business, where there
is really serious competition, but economy gains nothing from that
competition, as power and entrepreneurship have complete agreement
with each other in the main sector of business. According to him,
consequently, if there is no economic democracy, no political democracy
can work, either.
The candidate for presidency also touched upon the issue of real and
nominal growth of economy. According to him, a nominal growth of GDP
is really registered in the recent years. However, parallel with it,
rather high level of population’s poverty is kept in a strange way,
social polarization deepens: "If we try to open the inner structure
of economic growth, it will become clear that it has been mainly
ensured through the sphere of construction and services."
The appreciation of exchange rate of the RA dram against international
currency, especially USD, and its impact on country’s economy is
attached much importance in the program. According to Manukian,
by being appreciated constantly, the dram at first did harm to the
interests of national importers and now has already caused problems
for enterprises working on the local market. According to the
preliminary estimations of 2007, the negative balance of import and
export made nearly 1.6bn dollars. So, import to that amount exceeds
export. "And this is already something like economic disaster,"
V. Manukian considers.
According to Manukian, system changes are needed to change the above
mentioned situation. In his words, a new Constitution adopted on
the basis of inner public consent, accompanied with a harmonious
legislative package, should be the basis of deep system changes. The
model of democratization of power branches and local self-government
bodies, as well as power decentralization should be the basis of
that package.