The Municipality Shows Inactivity, Which We Consider Unacceptable: David Khajakyan

Yerevanpress had a conversation with David Khajakyan, a member of the 'Light' faction of the City Council, regarding issues related to the capital and internal political developments.

Question: Yerevan has been in what you might call a waste collection collapse for a considerable time. How do you see the way out of the current situation? What should be done and who is to blame for all this?

Answer: I believe that the search for culprits initiated by the authorities is premature, and we need to focus on solving the problem now. The root cause of the issue was the involvement of a single waste collection operator by the previous government, which means there is no competition, and consequently, the quality of service is low. Much has been said about short-term solutions to the problem, but for the long term, I must say that it is necessary to announce an international competition for the involvement of a second operator as soon as possible and to relieve the city of this time-consuming and costly burden of dealing with waste collection every day.

Question: Despite the hot weather, the internal political summer seems quite saturated. Upcoming processes are related to the Istanbul Convention. What is your stance on this?

Answer: Considering that the Constitutional Court will assess the constitutionality of the agreement, we find these discussions premature. Given that certain provisions of the agreement are reasonably disputable from a constitutional perspective, we await the Constitutional Court’s decision and direct our efforts and energy towards the issues that are more tangible for people and that are awaiting resolution. During the summer, we have had numerous meetings both in the regions of Armenia and in the courtyards of Yerevan, focusing on the problems raised by the people, among which, believe me, there was no question regarding the Istanbul Agreement.