Chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, discussions on state agencies’ annual performance reports continue in Government. Today, Deputy Head of Armenia’s State Control Service (SCS) Rafael Zakaryan, who is exercising the duties of Acting Head of State Control Service, reported on his agency’s performance for 2019. He noted that the activities carried out in the period under review were based on the priorities specified in the Government Program’s section referred to as Fight against Corruption and on the anticorruption policy pursued by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
In implementing control functions, the SCS was guided by the principle of identifying the root causes behind corruption and taking steps towards their elimination. In particular, the SCS participated in the drafting of the Government Decision on RA Anticorruption Strategy and Action Plan for 2019-2022 as part of the Government Program of Activities for 2019-2023. The SCS Head is a member of the Anti-Corruption Policy Council.
During 2019 and the first 4 months of 2020, more than 39 surveys and 90 checks were carried out, which exposed several violations, shortcomings, inconsistencies, abuses, etc., and resulted in considerable state budget savings.
Recommendations on legislative amendments and increased efficiency were developed and submitted to the relevant government agencies. In support of the Government’s drive to introduce a fair and transparent system of public procurement, the SCS monitored the procurement tenders published on www.gnumner.am, and came up with proposals and recommendations to harmonize them with the applicable law on procurements.
Structural reforms were carried out, professional capacity was built and the internal regulatory framework was streamlined in order to increase the efficiency of SCS activities. To facilitate communication and feedback with citizens, the SCS has launched an online application submission system. Rafael Zakaryan provided information on the implementation of Prime Minister’s instructions issued in the reporting period.
Taking note of the report, Prime Minister Pashinyan touched upon a number of issues related to SCS activities. In particular, the Prime Minister presented his observations regarding the control of compliance with his instructions, the importance of coordinated efforts between different state bodies, and the need to rule out any overlap of institutional functions.
Highlighting the need to achieve increased efficiency in the system of public administration and make it more accountable and transparent in its activities, the Premier gave a number of instructions.