VIDEO. We have given apartments; it sounds good, it's a 'greasy' headline, but it doesn't actually solve the problem – Pashinyan

During a meeting of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan presented a proposal to donate residential space or apartments allocated to graduates of state-supported childcare organizations in Armenia between 2003 and 2015 to 163 graduates who occupied the respective orphanages. The apartments were provided under a right of gratuitous use for a period of 10 years.

"The contract stipulates that the apartment may later be privatized or rented out. Despite this, no actions were taken regarding the applications of the orphanage graduates. The initial condition of the buildings occupied by three of the graduates was assessed as third-degree damage according to the data provided by the Urban Development Committee back in 2003-2004. Therefore, this proposal suggests providing beneficiaries with a certificate for purchasing an apartment on the condition that they vacate the previously allocated space," said Batoyan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that the orphanage graduates should be ensured quality education. This issue needs to be addressed in the long term. "We need to equip them with educational skills such that they may receive rental compensation for one or two years, but it is possible for them to purchase an apartment through their work. In reality, we do not solve the problem with housing. If we look back at these cases later, we will see that we have given apartments, it sounds good, it's a 'greasy' headline, but in reality, it does not solve the issue," Pashinyan said.