Pashinyan Revises His Promise

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has recently begun to appear less frequently in live broadcasts on Facebook and instead presents official statistical data quite often. This time, Pashinyan wrote: "Before the revolution, I promised that within one or two years, budget revenues would increase by 25-30 percent. And here it is: in the first half of 2019, state budget revenues increased by 25.1% or 152 billion drams compared to the same period of the previous year." He then noted that the increase in budget revenues has allowed for an average salary increase of 10 percent for soldiers starting June 1. Although many soldiers claim that there has been no change in their salaries, it appears that the increase applies only to certain military personnel.

Pashinyan continued that starting September 1, the salaries of approximately 38,000 teachers will also rise by 10 percent. On January 1, 2020, pensions will increase by 10 percent.

"An additional 7 billion 400 million drams will be allocated for road construction, for the renovation of roads with a total length of 330 km. An additional 10 billion drams will be granted to communities through co-financing programs for the implementation of local projects. 3 billion drams will be allocated to solve the housing problems of citizens who lost their homes due to the 1988 earthquake through one program," Pashinyan wrote.

Certainly, it should be positively noted that the Prime Minister recognizes the increase in budget revenues and directs them towards solving social issues, as the socio-economic situation is quite poor for the population. It is interesting to see the selected target groups: military personnel, teachers, pensioners, and families affected by the earthquake. Apparently, the Pashinyan government prioritizes road construction and community programs while spending budget revenues at a national level. This means that the government's approach is to demonstrate tangible results to the population as quickly as possible to alleviate the crisis of expectations following the revolution.

People were expecting a drastic improvement in their lives, but for now, they will rely on a minimal increase in revenues, which will not change much in terms of living standards. On the other hand, funds will be spent on road construction and various community programs. It is unclear what specific community programs are being referenced, yet it is evident that the funds being spent will not create additional value; they are aimed at leaving a short-term impression. God forbid, we are not rejoicing; the recorded results are positive, but is this what the public expected after the revolution? It should be noted that Pashinyan has revised his promise. Before the revolution, he clearly stated—there are videos—that budget revenues would increase not by 25-30 but by 30-40 percent within 1-2 years. There is still time to fulfill this promise, so why hide the promised figures? Is it to make the numbers look better? Or is it already clear that promises will not be fully realized, and since there is a chance, to alter them a bit, to paint a better picture?

Read the full article in today's edition of the newspaper.