Thursday, 28 December 2017
Prime Minister Karapetyan: “The Government will be working under pressure in 2018”
A Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.
Before discussing the agenda issues, the Prime Minister thanked the members of his government for joint work. “Today, we are holding this year’s last Cabinet meeting. During the first 15 days of January, we will be summarizing and presenting to the public what we have done so far, while over the next 15 days we will formulate the tasks of 2018 with the ministries and government agencies,” Karen Karapetyan said. At the end of the meeting, the Premier noted that the Government will be working under pressure in 2018.
The Government passed a decision “On measures to ensure State budget execution.” The decision says that quarterly proportions shall be established for State budget exercise in 2018, the list of State budget-funded procurements for public needs will be approved, as well as a document representing the budget outlays in a programmable format.
The meeting approved the Government’s initiatives on a number of bills, including in particular the draft amendments to the RA Electoral Code and associated laws, as well as a set of amendments to the Law on Grace, the RA Criminal Code and the RA Criminal Procedure Code.
The Executive adopted a relevant decision, based on the imperative of increasing State budget subventions to communities, clarifying the applicable procedures, enhancing the efficiency of local budget expenditures, and planning in line with the principles of programmable budgeting.
In this connection, Karen Karapetyan stated in part, “During a recent meeting with Marz Governors, we clearly formulated how much own income should grow, and we also decided that garbage disposal and sanitation should be self-sufficient. We used to subsidize more than two-thirds of community budgets and faced some financial discipline-related problems. In this case, we anticipate that if a community makes capital expenditures, drawing upon its own resources according to the budget plan and using the subsidies that we provide, we will give the community additional money.” The Prime Minister said this can lead to serious improvements, and radical changes are expected in this regard.
The Government decided to redeem the buildings and the adjacent plot of land at Liberty Avenue in Yerevan that had been offered for free use to the Scientific and Technological Center of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of RA National Academy of Sciences, and alienate them in the form of a direct sale to Yerevan State University Alumni Association NGO with a view to building a multi-functional residential building for young professionals.
The Government adopted a relevant decision to streamline the import, export and transit of foodstuffs and substances in direct contact with foodstuffs, as well as the procedures applicable to the exports of products subject to veterinary control (oversight), and specify the terms and conditions for their implementation. In particular, the decision specifies which documents should be produced during the export process, and states that the export certificate should be made available within the shortest possible time without reed tape and risks.
The Government approved the procedures to be followed in accommodating the individuals recognized as refugees in Armenia in those buildings financed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and placed under the jurisdiction of the State Property Management Department by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and reimbursing the corresponding rental fees.
