Aram Manukyan: Be honest: Do not try to cheat us again
During the discussion of draft amendments to the Law on the Public Debt, opposition lawmaker Aram Manukyan wondered who the author of the bill was and which ministry stands behind the bill. “I urge you to be honest. Do not try to cheat and delude us with our words. Do you think that we do not understand that the bill will further increase our debts? Do have respect for lawmakers, Mr Janjughazyan,” Mr Manukyan said addressing his words to Atom Janjughazyan, Chief Treasurer of the Republic of Armenia. “The public debt has increased from 13 percent to 60 percent in 15 years. Don’t you understand that we are unable to repay it as we do not have people and workplaces to rely on?” Mr Manukyan continued. The lawmaker also wondered whether the Armenian government had consulted with the IMF or the World Bank before introducing the bill. “I am sorry for the abundance of my questions but I would also like to know how you define the notion ‘public debt. I have already asked the question. Is it the cash money available on the bank account or is it the process of signing a debt contract?” Atom Janjughazyan said he was surprised to hear Manukyan’s question about the author of the bill. “The question has a logical answer. The bill was presented by the Ministry of Finance. I am equally surprised by your rebuke that we are trying to cheat you as in my report I clearly presented the aim of the bill. Should we want to take debts, we would submit a different bill. We have already explained that the Central Bank and the government cannot and will not take debts separately,” he said. Regarding the opinion of international organizations (IMF and WB), Mr Janjughazyan said Armenia does not need to receive their consent or permission for making changes in the law. “Of course, we have discussed the changes with them, and as a result of the discussions we came to parliament to introduce the amendments to you,” he said. Aram Manukyan said that only in the past two months, the legislature had discussed numerous loan agreements, worth a total of 650 million US dollars.
