Chaos at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs: Citizens Reporting Issues

Chaos reigns at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, as reported by Araksya Grigoryan, a member of the political council of the 'Living Country' party and a former assistant to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Artsakh.

“While the newly appointed minister is busy posting politically charged texts unrelated to social issues on Facebook, the situation in the ministry is alarming. Just at the beginning of September, a fellow citizen from Artsakh reached out to me, requesting to participate in the program designated for Artsakh residents, but faced obstacles instead. I contacted the ministry, and they responded that there was a technical problem and assured that it would be resolved,” Grigoryan wrote.

“Today, a month and a half later, the same citizen approaches me again regarding the same issue. Again, I reach out to the minister's office to find out who is in charge of this program. The newly appointed assistant directs me to another department, providing me with some department's phone number. Upon calling, it turned out that this department was not responsible. They redirected me again, and then to yet another department, and it went on like this… until I suddenly found myself back in contact with the same department I had initially spoken to.

Suppressing my frustration, I contacted the ministry’s press office. The new spokesperson informed me to wait, assuring that they would follow up with me. By the end of the day, at 5:30 PM, I was contacted by the newly appointed assistant to the director of the MLC. I presented the issue and once again asked to be connected with the program’s coordinator. They promised to look into it and keep me updated.

An employee finally reached out, stating, ‘You were talking about the housing support program, but the issue is related to the employment program for Artsakh residents (which I noted in caps above).’ Ignoring their indifferent attitude towards not listening to me, I moved forward. What clarity did you gain? The new assistant of the MLC had ascertained the following: there is no money, citizens need to wait. Really? How long should they wait, whom should they expect, when will this happen—these are futile questions. It took a month and a half for the technical issue to smoothly transform into a ‘there’s no money’ type of problem.

So, if you have no money, to whom are you throwing dust in the eyes, claiming that there are programs being executed for the benefit of Artsakh residents, who are also dissatisfied? Not to mention how much support you have received from abroad to solve the issues of the residents of Artsakh… But no. There is money. This is merely about systemic incapacity and ineptitude. Interestingly, will Arsen Torosyan finally step out of Facebook and truly engage with the social protection issues of the citizens? Will money be found, or will the problem revert back to its ‘technical’ phase?” Grigoryan concluded.