Total Expenses of the Artsakh Presidential Administration According to the 2021 Budget Amounts to 809 Million Drams

On January 19, a joint meeting of the permanent committees on state-legal issues and financial-budgetary and economic management of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh took place under the chairmanship of Sevak Aghajanyan and Arthur Harutyunyan. This was reported by the information and public relations department of the National Assembly of Artsakh.

During the meeting, the funding issues of state, local self-government, judicial bodies, and the prosecutor's office as outlined in the draft law on 'The State Budget of the Republic of Artsakh for 2021' were discussed. Stepanakert Mayor David Sargsyan, along with the heads of the administrative regions of Askeran, Martakert, and Martuni—Sasoun Barsagyan, Hayk Bakhshiyan, and Ararat Melkumyan—presented the expenditure items of the budgets of territorial management bodies, stating that the indicators had largely remained unchanged compared to the previous year.

Local self-government officials answered questions raised by the deputies regarding issues such as the decongestion of city roads, resettlement of communities in the regions, adequacy of municipal budgets due to territorial losses, social problems arising from job cuts, and other concerns. National Assembly Chairman Arthur Tovmasyan suggested that parliamentarians unite around the leaders of the administrations and discuss and support the restoration and development works of the communities as much as possible. He assured that the consequences of the war would be eliminated, and housing would be built and repaired in all community areas of the regions.

After a break, the joint meeting continued with the discussion of expenditures for the state administration and judicial bodies. The head of the presidential administration, Artak Beglaryan, indicated that the total expenditure planned for the administration in the 2021 budget is 809 million drams, which is an increase of 22 million 855 thousand 800 drams compared to 2020 due to the normal growth of the salary fund.

According to Robert Ghahramanyan, the head of the National Assembly staff, the parliamentary expenditure for 2021 will amount to 682 million 004 thousand 5 drams, an increase of 25 million 871 thousand drams compared to 2020, mainly due to the normal growth of coefficients for public servants in the salary fund.

Arayik Lazaryan, the head of the government's administrative affairs management, reported that the projected expenditure for the maintenance of the apparatus in the 2021 state budget is 335 million 444 thousand 500 drams, which has decreased compared to the previous year's expenditures by about 25 million 220 thousand drams. This reduction is attributed to a five-position cut in the salary fund and the reduction of expenditures on representative and communication services.

According to Gayane Grigoryan, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, the amount allocated from the state budget to the judicial system will be 647 million 804 thousand drams, which has decreased by 641 thousand drams compared to 2020. Deputy Prosecutor General Aramayis Avagyan reported that the expenditure for the prosecutor's office in 2021 will be 562 million 958 thousand 100 drams. The increase compared to 2020 has been 1 million 69 thousand 200 drams, attributed to the normal growth of salaries. The Prosecutor General noted that the department achieved savings amounting to 65 million 387 thousand drams due to the effective use of financial resources in 2020.

According to Justice Minister Karen Danielyan, the projected expenditure for the justice system totals 386 million 638 thousand drams, representing an increase of 12 million 841 thousand drams compared to 2020. The minister also elaborated on the financing of the ministry's programs.

The third segment of the joint meeting continued with discussions regarding the expenses of the Investigative Committee, the Audit Chamber, the Human Rights Defender, the Civil Service Council, and the Central Electoral Commission. Igor Grigoryan, the president of the Investigative Committee, reported that their 2021 expenditure is planned at 356 million 515 thousand 212 drams, an increase of 14 million 785 thousand 800 drams compared to 2020, considering the normal growth of salaries.

Shushanik Hayrapetyan, a member of the Audit Chamber's council, noted that the estimated expenditure for the Audit Chamber in 2021 is expected to be 155 million 272 thousand drams, a slight decrease from 156 million 272 thousand drams the previous year. Arsen Sarajyan, representing the Human Rights Defender's office, cited that the budget for the staff in 2021 will be 64 million 96 thousand 500 drams, which has increased by 3 million 797 thousand 500 drams compared to the past year. Boris Arushanyan, the president of the Civil Service Council, further shared that the planned expenditure for the council in 2021 is 145 million 041 thousand 100 drams. The chair of the Central Electoral Commission, Serbuhie Arzumanyan, described the overall performance of the 2020 budget before discussing the contents of the 2021 budget. According to the information provided by the chair, the expenditure for the Central Electoral Commission in 2021 will be 76 million 843 thousand drams.

The presenters answered the questions raised by the deputies. The meeting was attended by the chairman and deputy chairman of the National Assembly, deputies, and responsible government officials.