Dire financial situation is destroying Armenia, party leader says
04.06.2015,
16:50
Aram Sargsyan, the head of a minor Democratic Party of Armenia, has blamed the government today for the dire financial situation of his country fellows saying this slowly is destroying the state.
YEREVAN, June 4. / ARKA /. Aram Sargsyan, the head of a minor Democratic Party of Armenia, has blamed the government today for the dire financial situation of his country fellows saying this slowly is destroying the state.
"Armenia’s internal problems indicate that the situation is worsening day after day due to a number of factors. The first of them is the difficult financial situation. We all know that the national debt has already hit almost 5 billion USD and the government has no plan of strategic actions to boost economic development,’ Sargsyan told a news conference.
Commenting on the possible rise in the price of electricity Sargsyan said the government should have prevented the accumulation of debt by the Electricity Networks of Armenia that seeks a 40 percent rise in the price.
He said the planned rise will trigger a new wave of out-emigration as people realize that the rise in electricity price will be followed by hikes in staples’ prices.
"We recently conducted a study that revealed that 70% of young Armenians do not see prospects in their home country. They do not know whether they will find a job and what wages will receive. This suggests that young educated people are willing to leave Armenia in search of a better future," he said.
On May 8 the Electricity Networks of Armenia asked the Public Services Regulatory Commission to allow it to raise the price of electricity a third time in less than two years by 17.08 drams per one KWh. The company asks for a permission to increase the daily rate (from 7 am to 11 pm) from the current 41.85 drams per 1 kWh to 58.93 drams and the night rate (from 11 pm to 7:00 am) from the current 31.85 drams per 1 kWh to 48.93 drams.
The tariff went up 27 percent in July 2013 because of the increased cost of Russian natural gas, which generates more than one-third of Armenia’s electricity. The PSRC raised it by another 10 percent in July 2014, citing the need to end the company’s mounting losses. -0-
"Armenia’s internal problems indicate that the situation is worsening day after day due to a number of factors. The first of them is the difficult financial situation. We all know that the national debt has already hit almost 5 billion USD and the government has no plan of strategic actions to boost economic development,’ Sargsyan told a news conference.
Commenting on the possible rise in the price of electricity Sargsyan said the government should have prevented the accumulation of debt by the Electricity Networks of Armenia that seeks a 40 percent rise in the price.
He said the planned rise will trigger a new wave of out-emigration as people realize that the rise in electricity price will be followed by hikes in staples’ prices.
"We recently conducted a study that revealed that 70% of young Armenians do not see prospects in their home country. They do not know whether they will find a job and what wages will receive. This suggests that young educated people are willing to leave Armenia in search of a better future," he said.
On May 8 the Electricity Networks of Armenia asked the Public Services Regulatory Commission to allow it to raise the price of electricity a third time in less than two years by 17.08 drams per one KWh. The company asks for a permission to increase the daily rate (from 7 am to 11 pm) from the current 41.85 drams per 1 kWh to 58.93 drams and the night rate (from 11 pm to 7:00 am) from the current 31.85 drams per 1 kWh to 48.93 drams.
The tariff went up 27 percent in July 2013 because of the increased cost of Russian natural gas, which generates more than one-third of Armenia’s electricity. The PSRC raised it by another 10 percent in July 2014, citing the need to end the company’s mounting losses. -0-
