The officials of Yerevan Municipality get off from “GAZ 31” cars and immediately get into the expensive “Toyota Camry” cars. This is an allegorical expression of the reality, which we have today. The reality is as follows: on June 6 the Municipality of Yerevan has signed a contract with “Toyota Yerevan” LLC, stipulating to purchase three new “Toyota Camry” cars of 2017 production.
The procedure of this purchase was in the following succession: only one participant introduced an application, and naturally it was satisfied and a contract was signed.
According to the contract the cost of one car is 11mln 640 thousand AMD, which is equivalent to 24 thousand USD, the three transportation means cost the tax-payers 34 mln 920 thousand AMD.
According to technical description of the car: the engine capacity is 2.5 liters, 181 hp, has a “climate control” system, a monitor, heated front seats, interior design includes wood and fabric.
Warranty period of the new vehicles is 36 months or 100 thousand kilometers.
In reply to our written inquiry why Yerevan Municipality purchased new and expensive cars, the Municipality informed that the mentioned cars were purchased “to replace the 3 “GAZ 31″ cars which were physically and morally depreciated, and their further maintenance was no longer effective, and demanded large expenses.”
Our next question, whether Municipality discussed the option to purchase a vehicle from those attached to the staff of the State Property Management Department by the RA Government, remained unanswered. In addition, the next crucial question who will be servicing those cars also remained unanswered. We had asked to name the official, but the Municipality avoided answering as well.
It is worth to remind what happened during the Government Session on May 26, when the issue of purchasing a new car for the RA Justice Academy was discussed. It was offered to allocate 8,5 mln AMD to that purchase, but then Minister-Chief of Government Staff of the RA David Harutyunyan reminded, that there were reserve cars in the State Property Management Department and said, “I recommend to find a proper vehicles and transfer it from the balance sheet of the State Committee of the Real Estate Cadastre to the balance sheet of the Academy, to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Gevorg Tosunyan
