Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Samvel Tadevosyan: “Audit Chamber’s findings relate to construction sector, not to the Ministry of Urban Development.”
Audit Chamber’s findings relate to State-funded urban development projects in general, not to the Ministry of Urban Development. Urban Development Minister Samvel Tadevosyan told today the news conference, which was held at the Government’s press center. He noted that no inspections were carried out in the Ministry of Urban Development during 2012.
“Of course, this fact does not exempt us from liability. Furthermore, responsible for the government’s policy in this sphere, the Ministry has for about a year been keeping in spotlight those challenges calling for long-term solutions,” the speaker said, adding that the Ministry has carried out a number of reforms, the preliminary results of which are already evident. In particular, of 6.5 billion drams allocated from the State budget for construction activities, the Ministry has managed to save some 1 billion drams, or about 15 percent of the total.
“Unfortunately, there are still some shortfalls and irregularities in construction industry, nevertheless I think that the Audit Chamber should have specified the share of violations in the total amount of inspected activities. Even though I have no doubt whatsoever concerning the professionalism of the Audit Chamber, I think that the report was short of deep analyses and conclusions on fundamental causes behind abuses and violations,” the Minister emphasized.
The Ministry of Urban Development was said to have conducted numerous surveys, exposing the main causes of violations, which were mainly due to improper performance by licensed companies.
“Licensed companies often do poor work, mainly because their staff do not have the appropriate qualifications and are simultaneously employed with 5-10 organizations,” S. Tadevosyan concluded.
