Don’t Teach the Parliament How to Work: Mirzoyan to Torosyan

During a question and answer session with the government in the National Assembly today, a question was raised regarding the amendment of the Armenian law on the program for the privatization of state property for 2017-2020. It was proposed to exclude the Dermatology and Venereology Medical Science Center from privatization, arguing that it is the only institution of its kind in the republic. The Ministry of Health has given a negative conclusion on this proposal.

In response to a question from MP Suren Grigoryan of the My Step faction, Minister Arsen Torosyan stated that there is currently a privatization process underway for the Dermatology and Venereology Medical Science Center, and a competitive package is being prepared. At the same time, the minister noted that he is uncertain if the project will be accepted, given the processes taking place in parliament.

Arsen Torosyan called on parliament to work with the ministry at least at the level of information mastery before proposing such projects: "This is why we urge that before initiating such projects, at least have a collaborative relationship with us at the level of information mastery. However, in response, we receive recommendations not to teach the parliament how to work. We are trying to guide this constructively, because when information is accessible, perhaps the projects will not be born," he said.

The minister also stated that removing the center from the privatization list would imply a return to direct subordination to the ministry, meaning that the minister would have to be the one appointing the hospital's director and forming the staff list, and thus the minister's opinion would not be taken into account. Arsen Torosyan insisted that they are against the center being removed from privatization, but if the National Assembly deems it necessary for him to manage the center, he will do so at a very high level.

Following Torosyan's speech, National Assembly President Ararat Mirzoyan responded firmly, addressing the minister: "For your information, Mr. Torosyan, the one who advised your deputy was me, and it was in response to the failure to maintain the necessary boundaries of courtesy when addressing the National Assembly. Please, keep that in mind,” said Mirzoyan.

It should be noted that during the discussion of the issue of removing the Dermatology and Venereology Medical Science Center from the list of state property for privatization, the Chairman of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, made a strong observation to Deputy Minister of Health Hovhannes Harutyunyan, who mentioned in his concluding speech that people with guaranteed healthcare from the state will receive that healthcare, regardless of whether organizations are private or public. In response to questions from MPs regarding investments or the land price of the property, the deputy minister stated that answers to those questions are with the State Property Management Committee. "Before launching this project, it was necessary to communicate with the State Property Committee and understand whether all the evaluations regarding land price and competition conditions satisfy the concerns expressed by our colleagues or not," he said.

After the deputy minister's response, the Speaker of the National Assembly reacted: "Mr. Deputy Minister, I understand that the position of the deputy minister has long required political rather than discretionary or professional preparedness. Nevertheless, I would suggest that you try less to show the National Assembly its place or teach it how to work. Let the executive do its work; the NA will visualize how it should operate."