Imprisoning People is Not Our Sole Objective, Says Prime Minister

The subsidy programs implemented in Armenia have had significant importance, stated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the National Assembly.

“Since 2019, you won’t find a town or a community where large-scale programs have not been implemented. Streets that haven’t been renovated for 30-40 years are being resurfaced, roofs are being repaired, and kindergartens that haven’t been renovated for 25-30 years are being reconstructed,” Pashinyan said.

He noted that this has been a requirement set by the government for the communities. According to the Prime Minister, 47.5 billion drams have been spent on subsidy programs from 2018 to 2020.

Pashinyan emphasized that the issue is not about lies and truths, but rather it should be noted that communities have not had the option of inaction. “The government would not allow any community head to sit idly and do nothing. We did not permit the leasing of lands without contributing those funds to the budget; numerous criminal cases have been initiated. Many ask, ‘Where are the prosecutions?’ Imprisoning people is not our only objective, but there has been a shift in practice regarding criminal cases where land is rented out to a relative for 10 drams, and then that relative rents the same land to an organization for 100,000 drams. We have said ‘no,’ bring that money to the budget; it must be used to build kindergartens and schools,” he concluded.