Nearly 5 Million Dram for Calendars and Diaries: Unwarranted Purchases by the National Assembly in the First Quarter of This Year

An investigation into the National Assembly's purchases for the first quarter of 2024 reveals that the parliament has acquired calendars through electronic auctioning for its needs. The National Assembly has signed two similar contracts, one valued at 3 million 239 thousand dram and the other at 1 million 626 thousand dram. This is reported by the "Zhoghovurd" newspaper.

“The National Assembly is conducting many such unwarranted purchases for its needs. Let’s clarify how. A working diary and a desk calendar have been acquired for 3 million 239 thousand dram. According to the specifications of the contract and its requirements, the diaries and calendars must bear the logo of the National Assembly of Armenia either printed or embossed. The logo must be printed at the top of each page on both the right and left sides, as well as the month, day, and days of the week. Pages should be numbered (in the middle of the bottom of the page). The first page of the diary must have the National Assembly logo printed in Armenian and English, along with an inscription, while the second page should be left blank without printing. The third page must include a field for personal data completion in Armenian and English, the fourth page should have a calendar for the year 2024, and the fifth page should have a calendar for 2025, with gray shaded boxes corresponding to meeting days. A total of 1,200 diaries and calendars were purchased, costing 2,799 dram and 2,199 dram respectively per unit. This contract was concluded with "EL & END EV" LLC, whereas another contract for purchasing calendars was signed with an individual entrepreneur.

The value of the mentioned contract amounted to 1 million 626 thousand dram, which was spent on acquiring a triptych or quarterly calendar for 2024. A total of 570 units were purchased, with each costing 2,058 dram. The same contract also included the acquisition of a tent-style calendar for 2024, with 500 units purchased at 905 dram each.

It turns out that the National Assembly is willing to pay almost the same for both the outdoor café of the National Assembly and for calendars and diaries, but the rationale behind this is unclear,” reports the newspaper.