Strong Armenia lawmaker Davit Ghazinyan criticized the management of state property and water resources during a National Assembly debate, questioning the government’s handling of complaints against Veolia Armenia.
Ghazinyan made the remarks during discussions on proposed amendments and additions to the Law on the Activities and Structure of the Government.
He also raised concerns about the operations of Veolia Armenia, Panorama.am reports.
“The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure was quick to file a report about a crisis involving the Electric Networks of Armenia. Let them examine the list of complaints and appeals submitted to the Public Services Regulatory Commission, and they will see that complaints against Veolia Armenia have been several times, if not ten times, more numerous. This raises the question: What prevented you from filing even one complaint concerning Veolia?” Ghazinyan said.
He then offered his own explanation, claiming that “the reason is that the state must make investments, but because it cannot do so and is a poor manager, it does not.”
“The State Property Management body and the Water Committee have been moved back and forth like a football on numerous occasions,” he said.
According to Ghazinyan, the institutions concerned have failed to operate effectively during this period.
He also questioned whether it was appropriate to keep the Water Committee under the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, pointing to public dissatisfaction over water supply problems.
“We have reasonable grounds to question why it has remained under the Ministry of Territorial Administration for so long. When villagers had no water, they would turn to their community heads and raise complaints. Yet, given that both the Water Committee and community heads were subordinate to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, those problems remained unresolved,” he said.
The opposition lawmaker also raised the issue of accountability for what he described as ineffective management of the Water Committee.
He expressed the view that the committee had operated effectively only when it was part of the Ministry of Agriculture.
In early October, former Justice Minister and lawyer Arpine Hovhannisyan announced that a class-action lawsuit against Veolia Armenia had already been prepared. The company maintains that the drinking water supplied to consumers is subject to continuous, around-the-clock laboratory monitoring and meets established standards.
