2010 ACTION PLAN OF ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO BE BASED ON LESSONS OF 2009

NOYAN TAPAN
NOVEMBER 19, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The 2010 action plan of the Armenian
government will be based on the lessons of 2009 and aimed at solving
the existing problems. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan made
this statement at the November 18 sitting in the National Assembly,
when presenting the main directions of the 2010 draft state budget.

He said the crisis has revealed the vulnerable points of the
country’s economy. The ecomomy has a low level of diversification,
there is an acute lack of "long money" and the absence of intitutions
working on it. The prime minister underlined that this circumstance
reduces the possibility of diversification. Secondly, the Armenian
economy is characterized by the existence of oligopolies and a low
competition level. The prime minister considered the low flexibility
of prices as a serious challenge to Armenia, adding that it results
in a disproportionate distribution of the tax burden among economic
entities. Thridly, the motivational mechanisms in the state government
system are either absent or weak. Fourthly, the current mechanisms
of financing the healthcare and education sectors are imperfect. The
prime minister also pointed out the slow process of economic reforms
to be accelerated by the government.

In his words, the studies and social surveys show that the Armenian
citizens "are concerned most of all about the problem of social
justice, rather than about such issues as low pensions and salaries,
unemployment, job creation, inflation, the exchange rate, even the
problems of Nagorno Karabakh and the Genocide". "Everybody must enjoy
equal protection of the law, regardless of their social position and
incomes. This problem will be in the center of our attention," T.

Sargsyan declared.

He said this problems concerns first of all big business whose
activities should be transparent in order to restore the trust of
society. With this aim the government will present two important
legislative initiatives.

The first one is that 500 high-ranking Armenian officials will have to
publicly present statements on their incomes and property, including
the property of closely related persons. A single electronic register
will be launched in Armenia and be available to all citizens.

The second initiative – risk-based control by tax bodies means that in
the first place, the work of big business should be transparent to the
public, and the introduction of a compulsory audit institution is an
important step for restoring and increasing the trust in big business.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress