ALLOCATIONS FOR RECREATION, CULTURE AND RELIGION TO AMOUNT TO 15.1 BILLION DRAMS UNDER 2010 DRAFT STATE BUDGET

Noyan Tapan
Nov 3, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Under the 2010 draft state budget
of Armenia, allocations for recreation, culture, and religion will
make 15.1bn drams, which is less by 5.6% than the expected actual
expenditures in 2009, First Deputy Minister of Finance Pavel Safarian
said at the November 3 joint sitting of the National Assembly Standing
Committees.

The decline in expenditures is conditioned by the reduction of
investments in major repairs and construction of cultural facilities,
the completion of some projects, and the decline in subventions for
Yerevan and community budgets. At the same time, electricity, heating,
and sewerage expenses have grown to some extent in connection with
the rise in tariffs.

Allocations of 1.4bn drams are envisaged for recreation and sports
(as compared to 1.5bn drams in 2009) and will be spent on the training
of Armenian sportsmen for domestic and international competitions
and for holding championships in Armenia. The expenditures fell by
101.2m drams or 6.7%.

Allocations for cultural services are envisaged to make 8.88bn drams
against 9.87bn drams in 2009.

Budgetary allocations for libraries will amount to 1.38bn drams
as compared with 1.41bn drams in 2009. Expenditures on museums and
exhibition halls will make 1.5bn drams against 1.7bn drams this year.

The draft state budget envisages allocations for arts in the amount of
4.42bn drams compared to 4.22bn drams in 2009. This sum will be spent
on staging plays, organization of concerts and various cultural events,
honorary payments to the persons awarded honorary titles, subventions
for community budgets, and major repairs of cultural facilities. Like
in 2009, the average monthly salary of 3,542 employees of theatres
and concert organizations will be 45,730 drams in 2010.

Expenditures on the restoration and preservation of monuments and
cultural values are envisaged to make 322.9m drams as compared to
507.7m drams in 2009. Allocations for the broadcasting of radio and
television programs and the provision of publishing services will
amount to 4.3bn drams in 2010 against 4.1bn drams in 2009.

Expenditures of 321.4m drams on youth projects are envisaged by the
2010 draft state budget – as compared to 309.4m drams in 2009. The
growth is due to allocation of 12m drams for the organization of
intellectual games.

The draft budget was calculated based on the settlement exchange rate
of 376 drams per dollar.