I Don’t Know If We Will Terminate the Contract with Sanitek in September

Tehmine Vardanyan, a member of the Yerevan City Council from the "Light" faction, asked during an extraordinary council session when the municipality will acquire new garbage trucks and whether it plans to terminate any contracts with Sanitek in September.

Vardanyan reminded that the city hall has repeatedly assured that the waste issue would be resolved in August. In response, Deputy Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan noted that when they said the issue would be resolved in August, it was assumed that the necessary equipment would be in Yerevan on time and would resolve the problem. He informed that there have been certain changes with the manufacturer, which caused the delayed arrival of the equipment to Armenia.

“That is why it is now September 9, and the issue is not fully resolved. At this moment, we have 12 vehicles servicing the areas of Yerevan where Sanitek is not fulfilling its obligations,” he said.

Regarding the contract termination, Hrachya Sargsyan stated that the municipality is not inclined to terminate any contract with a subject performing its obligations. “I cannot say whether Sanitek will be able to meet its contractual obligations and serve all of Yerevan in September. Of course, if the terms of the contract continue not to be met, we will have to consider what actions the municipality will take,” he noted.

Sargsyan assured that the municipality is doing everything possible to support the organization so that it can recover and provide the necessary services. According to him, if this same approach continues and no changes occur, the municipality will have to consider the interests of the community residents.

In response to this, Tehmine Vardanyan said: “This answer was also an answer about nothing. You were just self-expressing because my questions went unanswered. I asked clearly, if we have the fleet, when will we be ready to terminate the contract?”

Hrachya Sargsyan replied that he has no issues with self-expression and asked Vardanyan to choose her words carefully. “I regret if I could not provide an answer to your question. At this moment, I do not know if we will terminate the contract in September; I cannot answer that question,” he said.

Tehmine Vardanyan then inquired of the main reporter, Hayk Sargsyan: “Mr. Hayk Sargsyan, you said in this hall three months ago that the mayor repeatedly stated that the termination of the contract with Sanitek would be a political decision. I want to understand if this is a political decision?”

Hayk Sargsyan responded, “The termination of the contract was exclusively a political issue because three months ago, the municipality did not have even a single unit of equipment, not even one employee, that could be ready to ensure the city’s waste collection the day after terminating the contract with Sanitek. Otherwise, you would stand up and say from the podium, ‘What kind of situation have you created in the city? You terminated the contract, and garbage is piling up at home.’ At that moment, the decision would have exclusively political consequences, considering its public impact and value; therefore, it required a political decision.”