YEREVAN, August 8. /ARKA/. An Armenian economist said today that the Police and other law-enforcement bodies should hand the fight against corruption to a special anti-corruption body. Atom Margaryan, the head of the Center for Innovative and Institutional Research, argued that although the fight against corruption in recent months has been effective, it is not institutionalized.
Speaking at a news conference Margaryan said Armenia’s Constitution provides for the formation of a universal anti-corruption body. In his view, that body should become the spearhead in the fight against corruption instead of Police and the National Security Service.
In early July, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan unveiled that more than 20 billion drams (about $42 million) of unpaid taxes were recovered as a result of an active fight against corruption and the shadow sector.
Margaryan said today that making all citizens of the country, in addition to senior government officials, declare their income and expenditures would be instrumental in cutting corruption scale. He also believes that the fight against corruption must be addressed by preventive measures.
At the same time, he noted that the elimination of corruption schemes and bringing businesses to the network can affect prices. In particular, according to him, a number of local companies, owned by pro-government officials, were allowed not to pay taxes in full, which could not but affect the prices of many produces.
In general, Margaryan believes that the macroeconomic situation has been showing a positive trend despite the latest shocks and structural changes. However, fundamental problems in macroeconomics continue to persist, in particular, high unemployment rate and low investment activity.
"Investors are currently waiting for institutional changes and the legitimization of power after the parliamentary elections," he said. -0-