YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan paid a working visit to Shirak Marz (Province) of Armenia. The Prime Minister first laid a wreath at the memorials to Armenian Genocide victims and Great Patriotic War heroes, “Armenpress” was informed from the press service of the Government of Armenia

The Prime Minister called at Mets Mantash, Pokr Mantash, Saralanj, Nahapetavan and Horom communities to discuss the problems faced by their residents. The Premier answered the questions raised during the meetings, which specifically bore on welfare, community infrastructure, lending conditions, State subsidies and other issues of topical interest.

Introducing the reforms launched in these areas, the Prime Minister touched upon the five-year community development programs. “I attach great importance to the community development plans, because nobody can have a successful formula without setting a task. Five-year development plans imply that each community, including its residents and the municipal council, must formulate the problem together and understand the way they should go to solve it, because people in Yerevan cannot have a better understanding of the problems faced locally; what is in short supply or where is the key to development,” Karen Karapetyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister asked the locals whether they had been introduced to their community development programs and, getting a negative answer, he urged them to do so in order to include the proposals and recommendations voiced at the meeting.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that in tune with the program of balanced regional development, citizens in each community of Armenia might be provided with what is due in a normal country, that is better living standards, jobs, adequate income to educate their children, safe and secure life filled with a sense of justice, which means that a citizen has honored his duties, the State should show a corresponding attitude. This is a lengthy and painstaking process, but we must realize that there is no other option. We just have to be very strict in this matter, analyze and reconsider everything we have done in the past,” the Premier noticed.

The Head of Government prioritized the availability of modern farmers in the country as a primary incentive for agricultural development. “To this end, we have set up the Fund for Agricultural Development, which, in addition to extending financial support and dealing with mechanization-related problems, will provide consulting services. Community leaders should actively work with the Fund. The Minister of Agriculture was instructed to submit a zoning plan for the regions, taking into account the specific features of the regions,” Karen Karapetyan pointed out.

With reference to gas supply, the Prime Minister cited the example of Basen community in Shirak Marz, where the head of the community had solved the heating problem in an innovative way that is more efficient and less costly.

The Premier suggested the community leaders in attendance should follow Basen’s example trying to understand which heating scheme would be more effective for them. The Prime Minister also spoke about the energy tariff policy according to climatic characteristics of the region. “We are now discussing an issue that implies the use of factors while determining the size of retirement pensions, minimum wages based on the fact that winters are longer and energy consumption higher in northern, mountainous and highland zones. We will solve the problem in this way as soon as we have sufficient resources,” the Prime Minister said.

Highlighting the role of education reforms, Karen Karapetyan said that every leader needs to be constantly trained and developed to work effectively. “We are preparing a joint project with the German government, under which 250 community heads will get special good governance training. All Marz governors will be trained at the American University of Armenia. I am improving my skills every day. So must do every manager and leader. We should not trust those managers who keep saying that they have had enough learning and know everything, because the world is changing so quickly that we all have to work ever harder to keep pace and be competitive,” Karen Karapetyan concluded.

Karen Karapetyan also visited Gyumri to inspect progress in the Kumayri reserve-museum and Shirakatsi-Rustaveli street rehabilitation programs. The Premier was told that the project has already been finalized, and construction will start on March 21.

The Head of Government instructed to mobilize all necessary communications and utilities in one place and implement capital repairs, stressing the importance of proper management and control of construction and the need to observe the proposed deadlines.