Which Regional Administration Provided the Most Bonuses in 2019?

To find out how much the staff of the regional administrations of Armenia received in bonuses during the year 2019, including the month of July, Tert.am submitted written inquiries to all ten regional administrations.

From the Aragatsotn Regional Administration, Tert.am was informed that the budget for bonuses for the first half of 2019 was 32.5 million AMD, from which 14.1 million AMD had been paid to employees. The Ararat Regional Administration noted that details regarding bonuses can be found on the official website under the relevant orders of the regional governor. The order mentions: “According to the ‘Bonuses, Financial Incentives, and Special Payments’ article established by the 2019 state budget, bonuses shall be distributed to the advisory staff, assistants, the deputy governor's assistant, department heads, and internal audit staff for diligently fulfilling special tasks and work responsibilities, in accordance with the appendix.” However, the specifics of the amounts are not provided.

From the Armavir Regional Administration, it was reported that senior and junior employees of the second and third sub-groups of the civil service were awarded a total of 14 million AMD during the first half of the year by the order of the chief secretary. Additionally, the Armavir Regional Administration did not provide information about the amount of bonuses from the governor's decisions, directing inquiries instead to the governor's decisions. “I have decided to award employees holding discretionary positions,” reads the governor's decision.

The Gegharkunik Regional Administration reported that by July 2019, a total of 41.7 million AMD had been paid in bonuses to administration employees. They also informed that the total budget for bonuses for 2019 is 113.5 million AMD.

In response to Tert.am’s inquiry, the Lori Regional Administration noted that as of July 1, 2019, civil servants within the governor's office had received 18.4 million AMD in bonuses, according to the state's budget for civil, judicial, and public service compensations. Additionally, for diligently fulfilling special tasks and work responsibilities under the ‘Bonuses, Financial Incentives, and Special Payments’ article, the administration allocated 37 million AMD to its employees. “The bonuses were not distributed equally; factors like workload and effectiveness in executing assigned tasks were considered. Taxes are included in the amounts mentioned,” the administration stated.

The Kotayk Regional Administration shared that bonuses were paid from the allocations set aside for the “Bonuses, Financial Incentives, and Special Payments” article, totaling 20.9 million AMD for 2019.

The Shirak Regional Administration informed that during the first half of 2019, employees had received bonuses totaling 61 million AMD. “The total allocations for bonuses to the Shirak Regional Administration from the 2019 state budget amount to 142 million AMD, of which 41 million is allocated under the ‘Civil, Judicial, and Public Service Compensation’ article and 101 million AMD under the ‘Bonuses, Financial Incentives, and Special Payments’ article,” they reported.

The Syunik Regional Administration stated that employees were awarded a total of 21 million AMD for the first quarter and 6.1 million for April, 7.2 million for May, and 6.3 million for June 2019. They also noted that the total allocated for bonuses in 2019 is set at 89 million AMD.

The Vayots Dzor Regional Administration reported that the bonus fund for civil servants was set at 12 million AMD, which was fully paid out to employees. It was noted that in the first half of 2019, a monthly salary supplement of 26.7 million AMD was outlined in the state budget and was distributed based on semi-annual performance results.

The Tavush Regional Administration informed that all staff had received bonuses between January and July 2019, amounting to 29 million AMD, of which 11.9 million was under the ‘Civil, Judicial, and Public Service Compensation’ article, and 17 million under the ‘Bonuses, Financial Incentives, and Special Payments’ article.