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Grisha Balasanyan

Kajaran’s 2015 Miscellaneous Expenses: Cognac for Newlyweds, Flowers for the Deceased

Municipalities, large and small, throughout Armenia spend money for garbage collection, road repair, to pay teachers, and a host of other services that they should be providing local tax payers. Some can afford to do more, while others just scrape by.

The press in Armenia has often written about the misappropriation of taxpayer funds and how various state agencies, especially at the local level, seem to have a penchant for lavish spending of scare resources on items that can be listed as non-essential.

Recently, I came across the following miscellaneous expenditures that the Kajaran town municipality (Syunik Province) is planning for 2015.

The office plans to purchase 120 New Year’s greeting cards at 1,000 AMD per card. That’s US$2.18 a card at today’s exchange rate (100 AMD= 22cents). 36 pens will be purchased at $2.62 each. 70 flower bouquets, used for weddings and funerals, are to be purchased at $32.71 apiece.

Item

 Amount

  Price Per/AMD

Total Price/AMD

Quantity

Pen

1

1,200

43.200

36

New Year’s Greeting Card

1

1000

120.000

120

Flower Wreath

1

15,000

1.050.000

70

Cognac

1 Bottle

5,500

110.000

20

Mioneral Water

1 Bottle

150

81.000

540

Fizzy Water

1 Bottle

250

270.000

1080

Chocolate

1 Kilogram

5,500

148.500

27

Box of Chocolate

One Box

3,800

98.800

26

Candy

1 Kilogram

1,800

32.400

18

 

Not shown on the above list are tangerines, a staple on any Armenian holiday table along with oranges. Good tangerines average between 400-500 drams in the market but the Kajaran municipality wants to buy 8 kilos at 950 drams per.

Item                                                 

Amount

Price Per/AMD

Total Price/AMD

Quantity

Flower Vase

1

9,000

90,000

10

Fruit Bowl

1

7,000

70,000

10

Saucepan

1

10,000

50,000

5

Cutlery

1 Set

13,000

65,000

5

Juice Glasses

1 Set

7,000

70,000

10

Plates

1 Set

7,000

70,000

10

Coffee Cups

1 Set

6,000

60,000

10

Tea Cups

1 Set

5,000

50,000

10

Teapot

1

7,500

75,000

10

Towels

1 Set

10,000

200,000

20

“Someone in the town dies, so we send a flower arrangement. The cognac and fruit are for other events like weddings. Then there are all the holidays. A bottle has to be uncorked at each,” was how Vazgen Azaryan, who heads the Kajaran Municipality’s Division of Finances, explained it all to Hetq.

The towels and cutlery, according to Azaryan, are gifted to newlyweds and those recognized as the year’s best teachers.

Comments (1)

Գևորգ
Նշվածից կասկածելին միայն գրիչն էր: Բայց միևնույն է ուրիշ հետաքրքիր ու լուրջ բան չկա գրելու???? Հետո կասեք, թե լրագրողին լուրջ չեն վերաբերվում: Բա էս լուրջ ձևով գրված ապուշությունից հետո ոնց լուրջ վերաբերվեն?

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