ArmInfo.The Armenian government considers it necessary to improve the public procurement system. Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia Atom Janjughazyan, answering the questions of MPs Mane Tandilyan and Sergey Bagratyan, announced this on June 5 at the preliminary hearings at the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on the implementation of the state budget of 2019.
To note, the MPs noticed the risks in the public procurement system, as evidenced by the figures presented by the government. They say that 66.4% of all state purchases, or in the amount of 159 billion drams, were carried out from one person.
In response, the Minister of Finance recalled the law that had previously been adopted by the country's parliament. This, in particular, is about the possibility of making purchases from one person only as a last resort - the availability of intellectual property rights, the capabilities of suppliers and other factors. In general, Janjughazyan agreed that in order to more effectively resolve the issue, tenders should be held.
Earlier today, the minister said that in 2019, taking into account the projected high rates of GDP, the country pursued a restrained monetary and fiscal policy. For the first time, funds from all extrabudgetary funds were withdrawn, which became part of the state treasury expense. The average inflation in the country was 1.4%, the average wage - 152.6 thousand drams. At the same time, salaries in the private sector (193 thousand drams) grew faster than in the state (162 thousand drams). Last year, employment increased by 3.4%, and unemployment decreased by 5.8% to 220 thousand drams. In general, instead of the planned revenues of 1.490 trillion drams, 1.609 trillion drams were actually collected. The deficit amounted to 154 billion drams, the fulfillment by income was at the level of 97.7%, by expenditures - by 92.4%, and by deficit - 41.6%.
