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DOES PM HAVE RIGHT TO RUN BUSINESS?
Naira Hayrumyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/country27356.html
Published: 13:26:20 - 11/09/2012
The activities of the Arstakh-based civil initiative called
Constitutional Artsakh should start with the assessment of the economic
policy of the government which has recently resigned. Within the next
10 days the new government will be appointed. Karabakh is actively
discussing now whether the young premier Ara Harutyunyan will be
re-appointed.
During five years of office Ara Harutyunyan has received a lot of
negative assessments. He is blamed for the economic failures and
injustice and not President Bako Sahakyan, though it is evident
that the young prime minister could hardly have a high level of
independence.
Anyway, the premier is accused of having appropriated real estate and
agricultural businesses, enterprises which are opened on ~Scharity
investments~T of Artsakh~Rs friends. Ara Harutyunyan gives himself the
reasons for such accusations: after the opening of the oil wringing
factory in summer, he said on television that he had proposed many
people to ~Stake~T the factory, but no one wanted, so he had to
take it.
Besides, at the summarizing press conference, Ara Harutyunyan,
answering the question of Radio Liberty that people complain about
the fact that the Prime Minister owns private business, he said that
he has always been a successful businessman and was surprised that
he was accused of running business. ~SPeople forget that before the
appointment as the Prime Minister, I was one of the largest business
taxpayers and landowners in Karabakh. These lands are handled today
too~T, he said.
He stated that for the next five years Artsakh will develop on account
of the mining industry. Mines in Tsaghkashen, Kovsakan and Shahumyan
are under development.
Is Karabakh happy with such economic perspective? To give the subsoil
to private owners and be satisfied with the taxes, which they will pay,
recognize the right of state officials to run business and ~Stale~T
the new enterprises. In exchange, they will have ~Scheap~T loans
in the banks to purchase elite apartments which have been built in
Stepanakert in abundance.
The issue is not Ara Harutyunyan, who could work in a completely
different way if the assignments were different. The issue is the
tasks and the economic course of the state.
Apparently, Artsakh people have refused the concept of state property.
The privatization of everything, has led to the situation when high
level of officials, public and military, became owners of real estate
and enterprises. The privatization was led for peanuts, selectively.
But this is in the past.
Now, this policy is continued in the most predatory way: state subsoil
is given to private people without tenders and other ~Sformalities~T
and the state does not even own assets. Enterprises, which are opened
on account of ~Scharity investments~T, somehow appeared in the hands
of individuals, again high level officials. In the result, the profit
from these enterprises goes to the pockets of private people, bypassing
the state budget.
The NKR parliament should give an assessment to these phenomena
and to adopt a law balancing the officials and the state, or to
defend national goods and state property. The initiative of such an
assessment should be assumed by the MPs of the Constitutional Artsakh
civil initiative. It~Rs good there are two MPs in this initiative.
From: A. Papazian
Naira Hayrumyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/country27356.html
Published: 13:26:20 - 11/09/2012
The activities of the Arstakh-based civil initiative called
Constitutional Artsakh should start with the assessment of the economic
policy of the government which has recently resigned. Within the next
10 days the new government will be appointed. Karabakh is actively
discussing now whether the young premier Ara Harutyunyan will be
re-appointed.
During five years of office Ara Harutyunyan has received a lot of
negative assessments. He is blamed for the economic failures and
injustice and not President Bako Sahakyan, though it is evident
that the young prime minister could hardly have a high level of
independence.
Anyway, the premier is accused of having appropriated real estate and
agricultural businesses, enterprises which are opened on ~Scharity
investments~T of Artsakh~Rs friends. Ara Harutyunyan gives himself the
reasons for such accusations: after the opening of the oil wringing
factory in summer, he said on television that he had proposed many
people to ~Stake~T the factory, but no one wanted, so he had to
take it.
Besides, at the summarizing press conference, Ara Harutyunyan,
answering the question of Radio Liberty that people complain about
the fact that the Prime Minister owns private business, he said that
he has always been a successful businessman and was surprised that
he was accused of running business. ~SPeople forget that before the
appointment as the Prime Minister, I was one of the largest business
taxpayers and landowners in Karabakh. These lands are handled today
too~T, he said.
He stated that for the next five years Artsakh will develop on account
of the mining industry. Mines in Tsaghkashen, Kovsakan and Shahumyan
are under development.
Is Karabakh happy with such economic perspective? To give the subsoil
to private owners and be satisfied with the taxes, which they will pay,
recognize the right of state officials to run business and ~Stale~T
the new enterprises. In exchange, they will have ~Scheap~T loans
in the banks to purchase elite apartments which have been built in
Stepanakert in abundance.
The issue is not Ara Harutyunyan, who could work in a completely
different way if the assignments were different. The issue is the
tasks and the economic course of the state.
Apparently, Artsakh people have refused the concept of state property.
The privatization of everything, has led to the situation when high
level of officials, public and military, became owners of real estate
and enterprises. The privatization was led for peanuts, selectively.
But this is in the past.
Now, this policy is continued in the most predatory way: state subsoil
is given to private people without tenders and other ~Sformalities~T
and the state does not even own assets. Enterprises, which are opened
on account of ~Scharity investments~T, somehow appeared in the hands
of individuals, again high level officials. In the result, the profit
from these enterprises goes to the pockets of private people, bypassing
the state budget.
The NKR parliament should give an assessment to these phenomena
and to adopt a law balancing the officials and the state, or to
defend national goods and state property. The initiative of such an
assessment should be assumed by the MPs of the Constitutional Artsakh
civil initiative. It~Rs good there are two MPs in this initiative.
From: A. Papazian