People Close Their Bills and Leave, and You See a Table Like It Has Just Been Set: Pashinyan

After regional visits, it has become clear to me that the state investment strategy we have adopted is undoubtedly correct and justified. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a government meeting.

"I do not hesitate to say that thanks to our investment programs, we have taken Armenia out of a new development trajectory, which is very important and joyful news. Now, unlike some time ago, there are construction sites where, during a half-hour visit, flaws do not catch the eye. But we understood that we should treat this as a daily matter. Recently, I shared with our partners and said: we declared that we would build 300 schools and 500 kindergartens, and we did well, we did the right thing. But we need to consider one thing: if we wanted to eliminate the problems we had, there should have been an experience of building 100 schools in the previous period in Armenia. Now we are both building and learning," he said.

According to Pashinyan, there are specific issues related to the effectiveness of the government's spending policies. "We must admit that in many cases, a lot of public funds are not spent efficiently, but the government has not fallen from the sky. We are the bearers of the spending culture of our homes and our environment. To understand how the government spends money, one must attend our weddings, baptisms, and birthdays, and see how we spend on those events; how we spend there is how we also spend here. When there is an opportunity to be in restaurants, I see that our citizens order about 20-30 percent more than they need. People close their bills and leave, and you realize it looks as if a table has just been set again; three times as many people could come, sit down, and eat. What I mean is that this is actually a socio-psychological and educational issue. But I want to say that the program of 300 schools and 500 kindergartens is the most wonderful thing we can do for our state; this program fundamentally changes the image and future of our country," Pashinyan stated.