Former Prime Minister Attempts to Mislead the Public Again: Vahe Hovhannisyan

From the podium of the National Assembly, one of the former prime ministers has once again attempted to mislead our public by presenting a number of claims that do not correspond to reality. This was written on the social media page of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia, Vahe Hovhannisyan.

“These are nothing but standard manipulations that, to put it mildly, do not shine in terms of quality and quickly crumble when confronted with facts. Therefore, I believe it is important to address them point by point, so those chasing political dividends cannot present their false theses as reality, and the public receives clear and accurate information.”

First, regarding state budget expenditures: It has been claimed that since 2017, there has been no significant increase in state budget expenditures when taking into account the servicing and repayment of external debt. This is either a deliberate manipulation or unacceptable ignorance, as the repayments of public debt are not included in state budget expenditures; only the payments for servicing public debt are included. In numerical terms, by 2025, total expenditures without external debt interest repayments will increase by more than 1.86 trillion drams compared to 2017, and when adjusted for inflation, by more than 1.1 trillion drams (~77%).

Second, regarding the level of extreme poverty: The last published figure for 2023 has been set at 1.1%, while the 2.0% mentioned does not correspond to reality. For comparison, in 2017 the figure was 1.4%.

Finally, concerning agriculture and income in that sector: First, the growth of this sector cannot be regarded as a direct indicator of rural population income levels, as part of the rural population may also work in other sectors. At the same time, if we look at the figures, by 2024, the growth compared to 2017 will be over 58.4%, and in the first half of 2025 an additional 12.1%. This means that if the pace is maintained, nominal salary growth in this sector will exceed 77%.

Addressing all this is important not for the sake of empty political polemics, but exclusively from the perspective of informing our public and shaping the real picture. It is our duty to expose the political agenda built on false theses and to show its true essence,” concluded Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan.