RA CONTROL CHAMBER REVEALS VIOLATIONS OF 1.3 BILLION DRAMS IN 5 OUT OF BODIES AND PROGRAMS SUBJECT TO CONTROL IN FIRST HALF OF 2008
Noyan Tapan
Se p 17, 2008
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. In the first half of 2008, the RA
Control Chamber revealed various financial violations of a total of
1.3 billion drams (about 4.3 million USD) in 5 out of the bodies and
programs subject to control: the RA ministry of agriculture, the RA
ministry of urban development, the Syunik regional administration,
the communities of Syunik marz, and the World Bank-financed City
Heating Project. The chairmman of the Control Chamber Ishkhan Zakarian
announced this at the September 17 press conference. Some materials
will soon be sent to the prosecutor’s office.
"Some state officials will be punished, and the state losses will be
recovered without fail," he said.
According to I. Zakarian, various violations of about 240 million
drams concerning the use of allocations from the 2008 state budget for
the implementation of programs were revealed at the ministry of urban
development. In particular, checks showed violations of 2.1 mln drams
from the sale of several vehicles of the ministry, and violations of
14 billion drams in construction work. Upward distortions of nearly
171 million drams were discovered in 26 out of the 213 repaired
facilities checked selectively, which, as I. Zakarain said, means
"payments against work which was not done, it is a gross violation,
and this money should be paid back to the state budget."
The CC also revealed the fact that fines and penalties of 6.5
million drams for delayed work were calculated but not levied by
the ministry for transfer to the state budget. The CC found out some
cases of inflating door and window prices, as well as cases of causing
damage to the state during implementation of the Apartment Purchase
Certificate program due to inefficient activity of the State Urban
Development Inspection.
Violations of a total of 284 million drams were revealed by inspection
of a number of programs implemented by the ministry of agriculture
in 2007 (in particular, programs on the cleaning of river beds
and the reinforcing of river banks, and on construction of border
check points), as well as by examination of the activities of some
institutions (state nonprofit organizations) under the jurisdiction
of the ministry.
By the conclusion of the Control Chamber, the WB-financed City Heating
Project is a failure. To substantiate this opinion, I. Zakarian
gave as an example the fact that only 193 poor families out of the
envisaged 4,000 were supplied with heating in 2006-2007. He said
that this project to be completed in the autumn of 2009 will be in
the center of their attention.