Pashinyan proposed to put up for sale shares of ENA so that citizens of Armenia could buy them
YEREVAN, June 26. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed to put up for sale (free subscription) shares of CJSC Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) so that not only corporations, but also citizens of the Republic of Armenia could have the opportunity to buy them.
At a government meeting on Thursday, he said that, as is known, there are problems in the power supplies sector of Armenia, including those related to quality.
"Yesterday I participated in the opening of the Homplex Mall, and during the opening ceremony the lights went out. Imagine, people invested $70 million and cannot hold the opening ceremony normally," Pashinyan said.
According to the prime minister, there are two options - either there is deliberate sabotage or the system is technically not capable. "In both cases ENA has passed all the "red" lines and we must proceed to the stage of its nationalization. Of course, the process will not be a one-stage, but it is obvious that the state must very quickly take control of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC and implement further processes for nationalization and management of the company effectively and efficiently," Pashinyan noted.
Recently, Pashinyan announced that the process will be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
As economist Hrant Mikaelyan told the ARKA news agency, the process of nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia announced by the Prime Minister was initially compromised from a political point of view. According to him, businesses will start to "try on" the situation for themselves and if they notice any risk that their assets will be taken away, they will think about leaving Armenia.
Doctor of Economics Tatul Manaseryan, commenting on the situation with ENA to the ARKA news agency, noted that this is not some kind of "store" that can be taken and nationalized. He emphasized that there is no law "On Nationalization" in Armenia, so in such conditions, talking about nationalization is simply elementary illiteracy. Manaseryan added that from the point of view of the functioning of the country's economy, it is even difficult to imagine what consequences the nationalization of such an object as "Electric Networks" will have.
About "Electric Networks of Armenia"
CJSC "Electric Networks of Armenia" is part of the "Tashir" group of companies, which is owned by entrepreneur and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan. ENA manages medium and low voltage distribution networks in Armenia, serving about 1 million subscribers.
Since 2016, Tashir Group has invested about $680 million in the modernization of ENA alone, and another $150-200 million was invested in the creation of new capacities. By 2034, it is planned to increase the total volume of ENA investments in the energy system of Armenia to 540 billion drams (almost $1.4 billion).
On the criminal prosecution of Samvel Karapetyan
On June 19, Karapetyan visited the Catholicos of All Armenians in Echmiadzin in connection with the attacks of the Armenian authorities on the Apostolic Church and the clergy and expressed his support to the Patriarch. He noted that the current unacceptable situation will be resolved through the participation of politicians. "If the politicians fail, then we will take part in this in our own way," Karapetyan said.
After this, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote several harsh posts on social networks regarding Karapetyan.
A few hours later, Karapetyan was detained by security forces in his Yerevan mansion. As part of the criminal case, he was charged with "public calls to seize power." By a court decision, he was arrested for 2 months. Karapetyan's lawyers say that their client does not admit the accusation. The lawyers are also preparing a complaint to the ECHR against Armenia.
