The Armenian government has spent around 290 million drams for the purchase of branded gifts for the COP17 summit, but the opposition voices the unjustified inflation of prices and the lack of technical specifications in the contracts.
Deputy of the opposition “Strong Armenia” faction Liana Manukyan in his speech, he presented the results of the study of state procurement contracts, pointing out the possible waste of state funds.
As an example, the deputy mentioned the purchase of 16,500 thermoses, each of which was paid 7,800 drams. According to his data, the retail price of quality thermoses on the market ranges from 2,000 to 3,500 drams. “Including the cost of brand printing (1,000 drams), the maximum cost would be 4,500 drams,” Manukyan emphasized.
The cost of other products is also problematic. According to the MP’s analysis, 19,700 threads of badger were purchased for 1,248 AMD each, while their market price is 55 AMD, and the best branded version is at most 600 AMD.
Eco bags cost the state 3,432 drams, although their ready-made versions are sold in the retail market for 3,000 drams. The price of badges was 2,340-2,964 drams, while the price of the highest quality on the market is 1,800 drams.
Summarizing his report on state expenses, the deputy spoke about the volume of wasted funds. “The market research carried out in just one day showed that it was possible to save 84,984,600 drams in this contract,” concluded Liana Manukyan.
Deputy of the “Armenia” bloc Mesrop Manukyan and in his speech he severely criticized the government for diverting public funds to the private sector and for “inefficient management”.
He mentioned the government’s decision by which a preferential state loan of 1 billion drams (at only 1% interest rate) and additional billions of drams were allocated to the “Meridian” expo center, where events related to COP17 are to be held.
The deputy raised the question whether the state could not have built its own infrastructure with those funds, which would have remained for the people, instead of paying at least 302 million drams for rent. “You are robbing the state budget money. Looting happens just like this, it doesn’t happen by face and tail,” Manukyan stated, stressing that the opposition is fighting against the waste of citizens’ taxes.
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