Which Government Initiated the Food Supply Improvement Program in the Army?

Fact-Checking Platform has released a statement. Former Deputy Minister of Defense and member of the Republican Party, Artak Zakaryan, stated on October 28 during the broadcast of "5th Channel's" "Haylur. Interview" that the improvement of food supply in the Armed Forces is a program initiated by the previous government. Zakaryan specifically claimed that they introduced the new culture of food supply in the army and that the current authorities are merely expanding it. He said, 'We had instilled that innovation in the Military Institute and training units and were planning to expand it further... This has nothing to do with them. The idea was born during our time. Will the standards be maintained? Aside from elegant dishes, beautiful cuts of food, and prepared salads, we need to understand whether the person who serves our state's security for two years is receiving the appropriate caloric intake.'

It is noteworthy that for several months now, private companies have been handling food supply in a number of military units, which has resulted in changes to the quality, order, and variety of the provided dishes. However, the authors of this food supply alternative have always been a topic of discussion. Members of the Republican Party have repeatedly asserted that they were the original initiators of the project. Hayk Mamijanyan, the head of the Republican Party's youth organization, also stated on October 21 during the "5th Channel's" broadcast that reforms in food and clothing in the army began under the previous government.

The Fact-Checking Platform decided to clarify when this food improvement program was initiated and whether Artak Zakaryan's assertion that the program belongs to the previous government corresponds to reality.

Former Problems of Food Organization in the Army

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the unsatisfactory quality of food in the army as early as last year. During a visit to Artsakh in November 2018, he stated that the existing food system does not satisfy anyone. 'In many cases, the involvement of the command in solving household issues inadvertently distracts them from the purely martial, military readiness and preparedness issues. We have to ensure that the military focuses on pure military work and does not waste so much time and energy on logistical support issues,' said the Prime Minister.

In the following months, the issue of food supply in Defense Ministry units was discussed, and then a pilot program for transferring food supply to private companies was presented to the public. It received government approval on February 21, 2019. The draft decision was based on the fact that frequent issues had arisen in the existing format of food organization, caused by the division of the food supply process into numerous segments. 'Particularly, the ministry organizes the processes for purchasing certain types of food products, some of which fail to take place, and signed contracts are often unilaterally dissolved due to non-fulfillment of contractual obligations, etc. Consequently, this disrupts the process of supplying various food products, and when preparing food, those products are sometimes substituted with other ones, which, however, sometimes receives negative feedback...,' stated the draft decision.

It was noted that within the framework of the pilot program, contracts would be signed with private companies for a duration of three years. On September 2, 2019, Nikol Pashinyan announced in a Facebook post that the number of military units implementing the food organization under the new system had reached 15. It should be added that the pilot program is being implemented in the Defense Ministry's and Artsakh Defense Army's units. Currently, food supply in the Armed Forces is carried out by six companies.

For more details, see the original source.