"Excessive Expenses" Vardan Bostanjyan on Government's 271 Million Dram Allocation to Municipality

In conditions of such a high level of poverty, these are excessive expenses. This is how economist and former MP Vardan Bostanjyan evaluated the government's allocation of 271 million drams to the municipality for New Year's events in an interview with NEWS.am.

“It is generally clear that in such situations, money is thrown in various directions to mislead the public. For example, last year 71 million was allocated for the Christmas tree on Republic Square, amidst scarce financial resources or a high level of poverty. In my assessment, these are excessive expenses, and naturally, in such circumstances, funds should be directed towards more urgent, priority, and important matters,” he said.

Bostanjyan noted that the funds could have been allocated to, for instance, issues related to buildings that are classified as fourth-category emergency structures, which could collapse at any moment. “This is the simplest example, and there are numerous such examples. But this is the most urgent one, as a building could collapse at any second for the slightest reason, and who will be responsible in this situation?”

It is worth mentioning that the Armenian government has allocated an additional 271,797,100 drams for the municipality's targeted expenditures for New Year events. The Yerevan municipality plans to spend $290,000 on the lights for the concert of Bregovic and the Christmas tree, with the total cost of the events amounting to around $680,000.