Epress.am News from Armenia
From the 2014 state budget, 9.5 billion AMD will be allocated to the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations — 28% higher than the current year's allotment. The police will get 34.2 billion AMD, which is 11% higher than this year.
In 2014, the National Security Service will get 16.5 billion AMD — a 15% increase from the 2013 budget.
RA First Deputy Minister of Finance Pavel Safaryan presented these figures in parliament today. According to him, the increase in allocations is due to higher wages and an increase in the price of gas, resulting in higher costs for heating the buildings.
Furthermore, 500 million AMD will be allocated for the provision of housing for war veterans, though there are many more registered veterans waiting for apartments than apartments. The deputy finance minister declared that perhaps in the course of budgetary discussions it will be possible to cut costs in other sectors in order to purchase housing for the veterans.
According to him, the highest salaries will be paid to employees of the Ministry of Defense, followed by the police and the National Security Service.
According to the Epress.am correspondent in parliament, today's session was unique in that Republican Party of Armenia MPs, and generals Manvel Grigoryan and Seyran Saroyan were present. They were constantly asking by how much will soldiers' and conscripts' salaries increase.
"Forget about us, what about the soldiers, the officers, tell us, how much will they receive?" Saroyan repeated.
Pavel Safaryan requested that all questions related to the defense ministry be asked during the closed meeting that was to start later. Saroyan complained that the funds allocated for war veterans' needs were too little.
The generals left the meeting halfway through. Responding to reporters' questions in the corridor outside, they no longer expressed discontent, saying that "the state doesn't have the money" and "it will be done slowly but surely".
On the matter of the amount allocated to war veterans, Seyran Saroyan told a reporter: "If I ask you for $1000 right now, will you give it to me? The state is impoverished too — from where should it get [the money]?"