Saturday, 1 July 2017
“The citizen forms an opinion about the State as a result of communication with local authorities” - PM Holds Consultation in Lori Marz
The outcome of the activities implemented under the regional and community development programs and the forthcoming steps were discussed during the Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan-chaired consultation, which was held today in Lori Marz of Armenia.
Lori Marz Governor Arthur Nalbandyan reported on the steps taken to improve the socio-economic situation in the region, as well as the macroeconomic indicators, investment programs and the performance of community budgets’ own revenues.
Presenting the macroeconomic indices recorded in the first quarter of 2017, The Governor noted that the volume of industrial output made 31891,8 million drams, and the gross agricultural output - 5351,0 million drams. Growth was recorded in construction.
In line with the Prime Minister’s instructions, 25 investment programs worth 10 billion drams were said to have been submitted. 3 of them have already been approved. Mr Nalbandyan presented the priority directions of the region’s development - industry, export promotion, tourism, IT technologies, etc., noting that there is the necessary potential for the development of these spjeres in the region.
With reference to the effective implementation of development programs, the Premier said, “The local authorities should clearly understand their region’s assets: including the objective and non-objective reasons behind the current economic situation, the necessary basis for ensuring economic growth and how we can assist them. We discussed the development strategy of each region, but it is necessary to return to these problems once again.”
Concerning the implementation of community budgets, the Prime Minister said that there was a flaw in terms of budget planning, because there was no motivation to increase the community budget. He instructed the head of the Governor to provide a comparative analysis on the planning and implementation of community budgets.
Asking about progress in the Clean Armenia program, the Head of Government instructed to be more consistent in carrying out this program: “We want our citizens to live in normal conditions. Community management is extremely important. No matter how efficient the Government is: all this will not cost a penny if the community itself proves reluctant to work. The citizen forms an opinion about the State as a result of communication with the local authorities,” the Prime Minister pointed out.
The meeting then reviewed the work done to solve problems in the field of education, agriculture, health, etc. as well as the need to bring in highly qualified teachers to rural schools, ensure availability of preschool education and so on.
In this context, the Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Education and Science to consider these issues and present rational options for their solution. The Head of Government was briefed on the situation with State subsidies in the provision of agricultural machinery, training-retraining of local specialists and the installation of anti-hail stations.
Learning that farmers had been showing low interest for the program, Karen Karapetyan noted that the government’s program of the financial lease of agricultural machinery offered favorable conditions, and it was necessary to raise awareness thereof. Noting the importance of short-term and effective programs for training and retraining of specialists, the Premier instructed to discuss the concept with the departments concerned.
Proposals were presented to address health and welfare problems, including the work on reform and optimization of the healthcare system and the measures to implement comprehensive reforms in the field of child protection and inclusive education. Coming to urban development issues, the meeting discussed the housing problems of homeless and beneficiary families in the rural areas of the disaster zone in Lori Marz. The Prime Minister instructed to discuss the issue with interested agencies and submit relevant proposals.
The meeting next looked at issues related to stimulating tourism and developing programs in large cities. In this context, Vanadzor’s development vision was introduced with an emphasis on the development of industrial tourism and measures to improve tourism attractiveness. The Premier welcomed the concept and instructed to work out a specific business project within the shortest possible time.
As the discussion was nearing completion, Prime Minister Karapetyan noted that such meetings would be regular, if necessary, and urged the regional authorities not to wait for a visit in dealing with the existing problems.
“If the Lori Marz administration and communities want their problems to be solved, they must raise them before the ministries on a regular basis. And if ministers want their programs to be implemented, they must make of regional administrations their allies and the advocates of their philosophy. We must work in a regular, everyday mode. You must become the driving force behind the development of your region,” Karen Karapetyan said, noting that Marz Governors’ performance will be assessed at the end of the year.
