Thursday, 4 July 2013
Budget Spending Efficiency Needs Improving
A regular government meeting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
Before announcing the meeting agenda, the Prime Minister spoke about the need to enhance efficiency in the use of State budget resources, which was raised by President Serzh Sargsyan during a consultative meeting held last September 15 (see separate).
After looking at the question of harvesting season, the meeting approved the agenda.
First, the government approved the program of medium-term public expenditure in 2014-2016, which seeks to enhance public spending efficiency. The program will serve as a basis for the State budget of 2014, highlighting the government’s fiscal policy priorities and spending strategy for the next three years.
Two legislative initiatives were introduced by MP Michael Melkumyan who suggests amending the Armenian law on Value Added Tax, firstly by envisaging a 90-day VAT extension on the customs border and, secondly, by lowering the standing 3-year VAT holiday threshold to AMD200mn-worth investment programs. Both initiatives were declined based on an in-depth analysis provided by the government.
Tigran Sargsyan pointed out that the proposal may be justified in political terms as it follows on the strategy of the Government. “We should tackle this issue step by step over time. At this point, we are rejecting it since otherwise we might face a financial gap. Nevertheless, we will keep working with the MP to introduce our concept.”
The government approved a risk-based methodology for Ministry of Economy-affiliated State Market Control Inspectorate-implemented monitoring of non-food products and for State metrological inspections, as well as the general descriptions of risk assessment criteria, the standards applicable to sample checklists that will help build up a single database, develop and implement the most efficient mechanisms.
The Economy Minister assured the Premier that by this September all government departments will be able to conduct inspections based on the above principles of risk assessment and will use the government-approved checklists.
The meeting granted a respite from the mandatory military service until the 2014 autumn draft to Narek Tovmasyan, resident of Gegharkunik Marz Mets Masrik village, graduate student at Stanford University, USA.
Wrapping up the meeting, the Prime Minister once again evoked Narek Tovmasyan’s success: “Narek Tovmasyan is at one of best universities in the world - Stanford University. He graduated from Mets Masrik community school. I think we all should be proud and pleased that a talented village school graduate has been admitted to one of the world’s best universities to study computer hardware. In general, I can see school headmasters competing in Armenia in terms of university graduates.”
Addressing the Minister of Education and Science, the Prime Minister deemed it necessary to find out who are the teachers of those 170 general school graduates studying at the top 10 universities as they all deserve incentives.
