Your trusted source

Armenia saw both ups and downs in economy over the past year which were driven by inertial processes in the country, economist Gagik Makaryan said, summing up the developments in the sector in 2018.

Speaking to Panorama.am, he said after the Velvet Revolution, the country achieved certain economic developments due to employers, who tried to develop their own businesses in the absence of corruption and monopolies.

“Meantime, the government didn’t create obstacles for businesses by making major reforms. Even the best reforms that seem to be successful may cause some issues for the private sector. I mean businesses need to adapt to changes,” the economist said, meantime warning of possible negative effects amid lack of economic reforms through the course of time.

Makaryan, who heads the Republican Union of Employers, calls for revising Armenia’s Tax Code in a way to not only make income tax reforms but also add provisions that would boost business development in Armenia.

Touching upon the activities of state structures, the economist stressed they failed to achieve all targets last year.

“More than half of the ministers were passive: The Ministry of Education and Science failed to make reforms, while the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs ensured little progress. The Ministry of Economic Development and Investments didn’t manage to achieve the goals of economic development and support companies representing business interests,” he said.

“So, almost all the ministries showed passive performance and I would attribute the economic gains to businesses, rather than the state structures,” the expert added.

However, the economist doesn’t downplay all the efforts of the prime minister and the government toward combatting monopolies and corruption but calls for reviewing the methodology of the fight. 

He next voiced support for the government plan to cut down the number of ministries but stressed all the employees of those ministries should be provided with other jobs before optimization and the roles of state structures should be specified to meet the challenges facing the country.