Republican Party of Armenia

 A discussion was held with the Prime Minister, during which the Chamber of Control presented the results of inspections carried out in a number of areas. The meeting discussed the breaches and deficiencies recorded, as well as the recommendations voiced.

After summing up the findings, the Prime Minister instructed the heads of the agencies concerned to take measures to correct the deficiencies within a short period of time, as well as to submit systemic recommendations to prevent future violations, to sanction those responsible up to dismissing them and transfer to enforcement agencies those cases containing elements of criminality.

The discussion touched upon the following issues.

Healthcare:

(1) non-substantiated extension of treatment and checkup terms in outpatient institutions (reporting person / number of days of actually filing), which resulted in inefficient use of budget funds (unjustified extra costs).

In this connection, the Minister of Healthcare reported that new financing mechanisms are being developed and implemented in order to rule out any payments based on incomplete or inaccurate data, as well as to address other risks outlined by the CC.

(2) In connection with drug procurements, surveys were said to have revealed several instances of considerable budget savings due to purchases made following negotiations held directly with manufacturers (such as with insulin).

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Healthcare were told to consider and submit appropriate recommendations regarding the procurement mechanisms in order to reduce costs with no impact on drug quality.

Social sector:

Issues related to pregnancy and maternity leave, temporary disability benefits supported by specific examples of abuses.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs was told to develop an appropriate package of legislative changes to rule out abuses in this area and ensure social justice.

At the same time, the Marz governors, the Mayor of Yerevan and the Minister of Healthcare were instructed to keep under strict control the issuance of disability certificates.

Urban Development:

Issues related to the applicable urban development norms and overhead costs.

The Minister of Urban Development was ordered to pay proper attention to the need of updating the existing standards and take all the necessary steps to address the problems identified by the Chamber of Control.

Agriculture:

The lending mechanism applicable to sub-loans for farmers and companies under the Marketing Opportunities for Farmers program.

The applicable mechanism was considered unacceptable as it had resulted in a high interest rate for loans extended to rural households (up to 24%).

Instruction was issued to negotiate with international organizations, to revise the currently applicable lending mechanisms in order to provide farmers cheaper resources.