ACCORDING TO HAKOB HAKOBIAN, LIVING STANDARD OF CITIZENS FINANCED FROM BUDGET TO DECLINE BY 2-3% IN 2010 ON 2009

Noyan Tapan
Nov 26, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Under the 2010 draft state budget
of Armenia, expenditures on social protection amount to about
240 billion drams. Chairman of the RA National Assembly Standing
Committee on Social Affairs, member of the Republican Party of Armenia
Hakob Hakobian said at the Urbat Club on November 26 that capital
expenditures were reduced by 8 billion drams compared to the 2009
actual expenditures, while all social indices were left unchanged.

He said that naturally, under conditions of the crisis the
government was unable to raise the salaries of employees of budgetary
institutions, as well as benefits and pensions. He forecast that the
living standard of citizens financed from the budget will decline by
2-3% in 2010 on 2009.

He informed those present that their standing committee has submitted
a number of proposals on the 2010 draft state budget. In particular, it
was proposed including in the budget a program envisaging compensation
for the deposits made with the former USSR Savingsbank before 10 June
1993, and allocating 1 billion drams to this program.

The standing committee proposed allocating 2.5 million drams in
addition to the draft budget-envisaged 16.5 million drams for the
program of social and rehabilitation services for disabled children
and youth.

The next proposal is related to an increase in the sum paid in case
of the birth of a third (fourth, etc.) child in a family under the
program of the one-time benefit for a new-born child. In the opinion
of H. Hakobian, this program can be financed with 689.5 million drams
envisaged for quite an inefficient program on paid social labor. If
this proposal is accepted, 5,910 families with three and more children
will receive 540 thousand drams each instead of the envisaged 430
thousand drams.

To recap, the 2010 draft state budget has been calculated based on
the settlement exchange rate of 376 drams per dollar.