Karen Karapetyan in Gegharkunik: the process of planning community budgets for 2018 will be held under strict supervision

ArmInfo. During the first 7 months of 2017, the own incomes of the Gegharkunik region of Armenia were fulfilled by 88%, the performance of the regional budget increased by 12.8% compared to the same period 2016. Karen Botoyan, the head of the regional administration, reported this to Karen Karapetyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia. In the city of Gavar, Gegharkunik region of the republic, on August 25, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the head of the government to discuss the progress of development programs of the region and communities, work carried out and forthcoming plans.

As the RA government press service reports, presenting the social and economic situation in the region and macroeconomic indicators, Governor Karen Botoyan noted that the share of Gegharkunik in Armenia's GDP is 5%, and the GDP per capita in the region is 1 million 64 thousand 900 AMD. The volume of industrial production in 2016 amounted to 31 billion 728 million 800 thousand, per capita - 136 thousand 900 drams.

Mining is the main direction of the region's economy, and agriculture is a priority area, Botoyan said. The volume of gross agricultural products for the previous year was 153 billion, per capita - about 660 thousand 100 drams.

According to the head of the regional administration, 9 investment programs were submitted to the Government from Gegharkunik for a total of 2 billion 56 600 600 drams. Approval was given to 6 of them.  The development of tourism is also the focus of the region, Karen Botoyan stressed. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development and the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, as well as the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, presented 33 investment programs that are under discussion.  As Botoyan assured, the issue of creating jobs is at the center of attention of the administration.

With the exception of the Artsvashen community, all the others (91) have approved development programs.  All communities also have developed digital, which provides information on the socio-economic situation in a particular community and its investment potential.

Concerning the collection of own incomes, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan stressed that in this respect the lowest level in the region is due to weak discipline. According to him, the envisaged increase in the region's own revenues is 9%, and in the other 15-20%. As the head of government noted, the process of planning community budgets for 2018 will be held under strict control. "All heads of communities should know that there can not be such that according to the republican budget the fees were 100% and the deductions to the communities were according to the plan, and the communities themselves planned at their discretion," the prime minister said. "We want to create equal partnership relations, we respect the rights of the heads of communities, but this does not mean that they should work in the same regime in our community, and we in the other. We generate budget revenues as a result of working with the same citizens that the heads of communities," he said.

The head of the Armenian Cabinet of Ministers was informed about the progress of work in the spheres of agriculture, health, education, recycling of garbage.