"Only a few petty officials are convicted, even though these people cannot manage those billions which were revealed during check-ups. High-ranking officials, however, go unpunished as a result," deputy of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) Gagik Jangiryan said from the National Assembly rostrum today when speaking about the report of the Control Chamber. Mr. Jangiryan was interested to know what legislative and constitutional steps can be taken by the NA to clarify this issue. "The police, National Security Council, tax and customs authorities have become bodies adjunct to the government, that is, they are allegedly not under the prime minister's control, while deputies were deprived of the right to ask questions.
It is only the Ministry of Justice that remains part of the government, but it has nothing to do with justice. It is time to put an end to state robbery and impunity".
ARF deputy Artsvik Minasyan said in his speech that the NA is not a judicial body and cannot bring charges. According to him, it is necessary to adopt a legislative act allowing the NA Standing Committees to hold hearings and discussions, discuss reports and demand that respective state bodies give assessment of the reports submitted.
In his speech, Finance Minister Vache Gabrielyan assured those present that the government has done much work following the findings of the Control Chamber. In his words, in this sense, great progress has been made especially in the social sphere. "This was done only by efforts of the government. In the first half of 2011 we paid much attention to that sector. We went from house to house and checked all pensions and payments. So our efforts should be appreciated because in the qualitative sense we have reached a different level".
