Wednesday, November 15 2017 12:34

ArmInfo.In 2018, Armenian citizens will live 10% worse than in 2017. With this forecast, on November 15, Nikol Pashinyan, head of the opposition fraction Elk,  discussed the draft state budget of the Republic of Armenia in 2018.

According to him, next year there is no plan to increase pensions and  wages. Also, benefits and minimum wages will not increase. Expenses  for the healthcare sector will decrease by 5 billion drams, social  sphere - 300 million drams, education - 700 million drams. At the  same time, the size of the external debt will increase. Moreover, the  government intends to attract the same amount of credit resources,  how many were involved in the years of turmoil. At the same time,  prices in the domestic market of the republic tend to increase, and  in 2018 will become from the inflationary point of view one of the  most difficult in comparison with the last years. Since 2014,  inflation in Armenia has amounted to about 10%, which means not the  reduction of poverty, but, conversely, the growth of the poor.  "People, at least, will live 10% worse than in previous years, but  there is an article in the budget according to which the amount of  bonuses to civil servants will increase by 2.5 billion drams in 2018.  Moreover, the premiums will increase by 437%" , - said Pashinyan.

In response, RA Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan noted that the  budget is not made for one year, but for a period of 3-5 years. In  2013 the average size of pensions was 30 thousand drams, today it is  equal to 41 thousand drams or 30% more. In 2015-2016, inflation was  5.3%. The minimum wage has increased by 65% since 2012, from 32.5  thousand in 2012 to 55 thousand drams at present. In 2018, Armenia  has limited financial resources. But from the point of view of  perspective developments, the issue is not in pensions or benefits.  It is necessary to create conditions for economic growth, granting  concessional loans, which will ultimately lead to an increase in the  well-being of citizens.

However, Nikol Pashinyan did not agree with this position. He pointed  to the fact that for commercial banks bordering with Azerbaijan,  commercial banks provide loans with an increased interest rate,  taking into account the existing risk. "The fact remains that the  level of poverty can not be reduced," the law maker said.