YEREVAN (RFE/RL)—Two Armenian ministers openly objected on Sept. 22, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan’s plans to change the names of two government ministries in a way that might affect their work.
Artsvik Minasyan
A relevant bill initiated by Karapetyan would, among other things, rename the Ministry of Economy the Ministry for Investments and Business Support.
“We want to make it clear to entrepreneurs and investors that there is an agency to which they can present their grievances, demands, desires, objections and advice, and that structure will look after them to ensure that they face no obstacles,” Karapetyan explained during a cabinet meeting in Yerevan.
Economy Minister Artsvik Minasyan spoke out against the proposed name change which requires parliamentary approval. “Removing the word ‘economy’ is not desirable to me as the acting economy minister, especially given that I think the economy is not just about investments and support for entrepreneurship,” he said.
The proposed bill would also weaken Minasyan’s ministry by placing its department on information technology (IT) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. It would be called the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology.
Minasyan voiced his objections one week after a tense verbal exchange with Karapetyan. The latter bluntly questioned the economy minister’s request to grant a legal tax incentive to a private firm. “I don’t believe it,” Karapetyan said on Sept. 15 in response to further explanations given by Minasyan.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), of which Minasyan is a senior member, hit back the following day, criticizing the premier’s behavior as a political “show.” ARF is represented in the government by three ministers in line with a power-sharing deal reached with President Serge Sarkisian in February.
Karapetyan was also challenged on Sept. 22 by Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan after proposing the Ministry for Urban Development’s transformation into a Committee on Architecture and Preservation of Cultural Values.
Poghosyan argued that her ministry already has a division tasked with protecting historical monuments. “In my view, merging urban development with the preservation of cultural monuments would mean that we seriously jeopardize the preservation of our historical-cultural heritage,” she warned.
It is still not clear whether Minasyan and Poghosyan will be appointed to a new cabinet which is being formed by Karapetyan. Only 6 of its 18 or 19 ministers have been named so far.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Ministers Oppose Ministry Name Changes