Thursday, 4 March 2010
Severe Reprimand to the Minister of Agriculture
Chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the Cabinet met in a planned session at the Office of Government.
Before proceeding to the agenda, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan briefed those present on the findings of the check-ups conducted by the Premier’s Control Service at the Ministry of Agriculture. Two of ministry staff turned out to have failed in the exercise of their duties and will be released them from office. The Minister of Agriculture was inflicted a severe reprimand for falling short of his official duties. “Such practices must be done away with henceforth. The President of the Republic has directed us to detect our own failures and shortcomings and put them on public record. This is the only way o building a just and fair State and society,” Tigran Sargsyan has mentioned.
The Government endorsed the program and the agenda of “One Nation - One Culture” Pan Armenian cultural festival for the year 2010, a project entitled “Powering, design and maintenance educational and informational websites,” aimed at safeguarding Diaspora Armenians ethnic and cultural identity and upbringing the new generation of Armenians. The session has also endorsed a simplified procedure for the design, expertise, approval and amendment of rural community general development plans. Under another decision passed by the cabinet, an audit inspectorate will be set up by the staff of the Ministry of Finance with respective by-laws and structure. The Prime Minister noted that this is the first step on the way to establishing an audit service in the Republic of Armenia. At this stage, the service will be strengthened in capacity. Later on the government will apply to the National Assembly for consideration of the possibility of having a separate authority. The head of government stressed the need for awareness raising measures among audit companies and business circles.
The Government further approved the procedure to follow in selecting (appointing) heads of State-administered general educational institutions, concerning which Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that the document is the outcome of lengthy and heated discussions and is supposed to promote transparency and public control during the selection process.
The Cabinet approved the agreement between the governments of Armenia and Estonia on mutual encouragement and protection of investments and, by another decision, the economic, cultural and technical cooperation agreement between the governments of the Republic of Armenia and the State of Kuwait.
The Rescue Service by the Ministry of Emergency Situations was allowed to open an extra-budgetary account with the Treasury Department of RA Ministry of Finance by December 31, 2010 in order to manage the amounts deposited with a NATO headquarters-based ING Bank subsidiary.
A total of 40 decisions were passed during the session.
