How Budget Funds Are Squandered: 'Zhoghovurd'

'Zhoghovurd' newspaper reports that during the regular session of the government on July 21, a decision was made regarding one of the agenda items that were not reported, which involves spending budget funds without accountability. Specifically, it was decided to allocate 1.4 billion drams to a foundation operating in Syunik for what they describe as urgent issues.

The justification states that the foundation has qualified the renovation of the administrative building, the purchase of a new vehicle for the State Revenue Committee, the purchase of two new vehicles for the Police, and the repayment of the foundation’s accumulated debts as urgent needs. What is noteworthy is that this foundation previously received funds, which were not used for their intended purpose.

Let's discuss the facts: Before the 2021 extraordinary elections, the government allocated 1.5 billion drams to the Development and Investment Foundation of Syunik to meet the needs of the Syunik region. This had caused dissatisfaction within the Ministry of Finance, which argued that the allocation of funds from the state budget to this foundation was dubious. What happened to that money remains unclear, yet it does not prevent the government from taking similar actions again. As the opposition figure Nikol Pashinyan would say, isn't corruption always occurring in plain sight?

Details are available in today's issue of the newspaper.