The approval of the RA Draft Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2014-2018, the coordination of the anti-corruption reforms in Armenia as well as the control over their implementation is vested upon the Council on the fight against corruption. Only 2 places in the Council are allocated to the CSO representatives in the.
Representative of Social Technologies Center NGO Gegham Grigoryan is sure that this is not an expedient action: “Two representatives will be a minority, always oppressed and crushed. There is no meaning in operating this structure with just two representatives. In general I think that if we are willing to have representatives, we should demand 15 places if allocated 5, so that we can get 7-8 places as a compromise. We should have a serious strategy, we should plan it together and achieve our goals stemming from that strategy and we should put pressure on the Ministry of Justice as much as possible through the media, NGOs, as well as international organizations. If the civil society representatives manage to get involved in the Council, we`ll achieve as a result the decrease in corruption levels in the country”, said Mr. Grigoryan.
4 spheres are envisaged to be included in the strategy: 1. education. 2. healthcare, 3. state income collection, 4. police in terms of services provided to the citizens.
Mr. Grigoryan claims that it is necessary to include the social sphere. “In the social aspect the lowest classes are the ones to suffer, and the most serious anti-corruption struggle should be inserted there on the lowest and the poorest class who are already suffering. It is necessary to do everything to pull the thorn from their finger first”, said our interlocutor, adding up that the other 4 spheres are as much important.
