Ishkhan Zakaryan speaks about kickbacks in construction sector
By a vote of 66 to 36, the National Assembly today passed the report on implementation of the 2012 budget.
Lawmakers of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun and Heritage, as well as Prosperous Armenia Party voted against the report.
After the vote, the Control Chamber began its report for 2012. The Chairman of the Chamber, Ishkhan Zakaryan announced that they continue to focus on sectors that have been in the center of public attention in the past two years. "This refers to the urban planning which has recorded numerous violations, andthe sector of state purchases."
He pointed out the high interest rates in the construction industry. "They charge 3-4 times more for construction works. Of course, the government has already made some conclusions. We have repeatedly spoken about the kickbacks and artificially increased rates in the construction sector. We can surely find solutions to the issue," said Mr Zakaryan.
He also referred to the imperfect pricing mechanism and said that the prices differ from the market prices. "We suggested establishing control prices. Why not sign a contract with a company that will be responsible for this?"
With regard to tenders, the chairman of the Control Chamber said that occasionally the winner becomes a company which is neither the author of the project nor the importer of the product. "Tenders are organized according to a well-planned scenario, with companies knowing in advance that they will win the competition," he said.
