ARMENIAN PM NOTES MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS
YEREVAN, August 8. / ARKA /. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
praised today a government agency dealing with state procurements
for what he described as ‘major improvements’ in public procurements.
Speaking a recurrent Cabinet session Tigran Sargsyan cited the findings
of a monitoring of public procurement to ground his praise, but added
that this does not mean that all the problems in this sector have
been resolved. According to him, some of government agencies still
continue violations.
The prime minister said these shortcomings should not only be reduced
to minimum by October, but eliminated completely. He said another
monitoring is scheduled for October. He called on the heads of all
agencies to keep the issue in the spotlight and take action to resolve
the existing problems.
The head of the parliament Audit Chamber, Ishkhan Zakarian, alleged in
June widespread corruption in the administration of public procurements
when he addressed the National Assembly.
In a subsequent meeting with top government officials on the effective
use of the budget in early Kuly President Serzh Sargsyan questioned
Ishkhan Zakaryan’s implication that 70 percent of the country’s
state budget – 701 billion drams (over $1.7 billion) – was exposed
to corruption risks.
Such allegations, according to President Sargsyan, create a wrong
impression among the public. The President said Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan must order heads of government agencies to look into the
reported problems and provide public explanations.
Earlier Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan dismissed Zakarian’s report,
accusing the oversight body subordinate to the parliament of grossly
exaggerating possible financial abuses for political purposes. The
prime minister instructed his cabinet members to publicly refute those
allegations or ask law-enforcement authorities to investigate them.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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