ARMENIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER HAS NO INTENTION TO RESIGN

Arminfo
2010-03-16 12:00:00

ArmInfo. Armenian Agriculture Minister Gerasim Alaverdyan has no
intention to follow his party colleagues and send in his resignation.

(Other two minister of Orinats Yerkir Party have resigned recently).

"I have both feet on the floor and I have no intention to resign. My
party is pleased with me," G. Alaverdyan told media when asked of the
recent serious reprimand by the prime minister for improper performance
of commitments. The minister said that the reprimand nothing but a
work process. "I have good relations with the prime minister. I was
the first to raise the problem with improper state purchases by the
ministry," the minister.

He assured media that the employees named by the prime minister,
Hovhanness Hovhannissyan and Gevorg Tovmasyan, who were responsible
for organization of the state purchases, have already been dismissed.

The prime minister said during the last meeting of the government that
the tender terms were drafted so as everyone got to know beforehand
that only one company is able to win it and all the calculations were
exaggerated by 50%, which caused damage to the state budget.

In the meanwhile, the minister said that the tenders caused no damage
to the state budget and the purchase prices meet the market ones.

Asked why he did not liquidate the organizational shortcomings from the
very beginning, the minister failed to answer. Under pressure of media,
the minister finally named the company the tender was organized for –
Biouniversal LLC.