Shushan Shahverdyan

“A sense of impunity has developed in the country, huge amounts have been embezzled - up to six figures - and the health and safety of Armavir’s residents are in danger,” claim founding members of the Armavirtsiner (residents of Armavir) NGO, still in its initial stages of development. These members demand that the guilty parties be held responsible under the law. The issue in question concerns Armavir’s water supply. An intergovernmental contract was signed with Germany , according to which a credit program for the renovation of the water supply system would be implemented in the city of Armavir and other areas of the province, starting in 2004. The contract outlined an investment of about 15 million euros, of which 7.5 million euros was allocated to this renovation in the city of Armavir.

The credit program sees the management of the city’s water supply system handed to Nor Agunk, a closed-stock company of which 35% of the shares are owned by the office of the mayor of Armavir. Legenda ltd., a company founded by the mayor of Armavir, Ruben Khlghadyan, won the tender for construction and renovation work. According to the former mayor, Norik Mnoyan, who is now the Head Expert of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Construction, this company has no previous experience in such work and had so far dealt only in the sale of petrol and small trade.

Armavir’s former mayor does not rule out that the company won the tender by presenting fake documents, since one of the conditions laid down in the tender was previous experience and a certain volume of similar work completed earlier. During 2004, Legenda carried out the renovation of the courtyard water supply network in Armavir's multi-apartment complexes, the installation of water meters in these buildings and houses, and also set up and completed a new water supply line in the city’s south-east region, which constituted of about $3 million USD worth of work. “The project anticipated that old water pipes, which could no longer be used, had to be replaced with non-corrosive metallic pipes that were up to certain standards and which were more expensive than the ones currently used in Armenia,” Mnoyan said, “But in reality, the old water pipes were replaced throughout the city with used ones, brought from different parts of the Republic, used for different purposes, not up to sanitary and technical norms and, in general, pipes not fit for drinking water.” The former mayor cites information wherein not only were zinc pipes installed in certain buildings, but that there was a whole set of pipes that had earlier been used in pig farms in Baghramyan to supply technical water, which was brought here after being decommissioned there. Regardless, after the completion of the work, the water pipes have been handed over for utilization. Mnoyan’s insisted that, for the past 8 months, the city's residents had been drinking water that had a suspicious color and taste. “To this day, we have muddy, slimy water that has a bad, metallic taste, flowing from our faucets. We became aware of the situation only a month ago, as it never crossed our minds earlier that the mayor could have allowed illegal operations to this extent.”

According to Mnoyan, not only is the current mayor guilty of indifference towards this situation, but he has also personally approved of the work done and has permitted the utilization of these pipes.

Only one of thirteen elite Armavir community members has decided to speak out - Derenik Sargsyan, a sculptor. He assured us that the others were aware of all of this and had seen it with their own eyes, but they chose to keep quiet and were afraid to speak out. "Armavir's budget is overseen by the Mayor," said Sargsyan, "His word is law. If any one from the elite, or anyone in general, were to speak out against him, he would be blacklisted. I don't have a shop or a studio to worry about. But all of the other elite are businessmen. Judge for yourselves."

"Since no epidemic has struck Armavir on a large scale yet, the problem must be solved quickly, new pipes should replace the old, the guilty must be punished and the government's losses must be compensated," insisted Ashot Hakobyan, formerly the director of Communal Enterprises and Reforms in the Armavir City Council, and currently the President of a company called Parenardshin. "All of this must be brought down, the pipes must be cut and removed, and improved upon, which means that if the work done so far cost 3 million euros, then a further investment of 1 million euros is necessary to bring it up to the required standard."

The founding group members of Armavirtsiner have already presented a declaration to the Anti-Corruption Department of the State Prosecutor of Armenia, while the Provincial Prosecutor of Armavir is collecting evidence to start criminal proceedings.