The Parliament of Armenia has started to cautiously speak about the Audit Chamber. They say it is going to be a “monster” body, which is going to have unlimited opportunities and powerful functions. However the information of the MPs about the Audit Chamber of the NA is not only limited by this.
They also say that everything depends on whose candidature President Kocharyan is going to prose to the Parliament because only he has the constitutional right to do so. The circulated rumors constantly change – RA President’s assistant, former head of the Tax Service of Armenia, Felix Tsolakyan, NA Deputy Chairman, Prosperous Armenia Faction Secretary, Ishkhan Zakaryan and the head of the RA Customs Service Armen Alaverdyan. Almost all the MPs assure that they don’t know who the boss of that “monster” body is going to be because the upper levels haven’t decided yet. Many others connect the delay of the voting of the chairman because of that reason, the deadline of the appointment of who is going to finish on October 20. This is how much the MPs know about the Audit Chamber and the voting and the functions of its head. The previous Audit Chamber of the NA, which was located in the vicinity of the Parliament building remains in the same place. Hence it is going to be called an “Audit Chamber” and according to the law on the Audit Chamber it is an independent body just like the Central Bank of Armenia or the Prosecutor General’s Office. This body is going to audit the budgetary means and state/community finance use. The agenda of the body was adopted by the National Assembly. This means that the Audit Chamber is going to audit wherever there is state money. According to the law nothing and no one can prevent the “auditors” of the Audit Chamber enter almost any state institution for auditing at any time. For example the auditors have the right to be introduced to all the financial documents, which relate to the financial activity of the given state body, demand that the heads of the body submit necessary reports, receipts, etc. They have the right to enter state banks, local governments, state offices and other institutions. They are also authorized to verify state secret documents. Also, they don’t have to bring up explanations to the management of the state bodies about their demands. If somehow the management of the state institutions tries to disobey the orders or refuse to submit necessary documentation they will be punished in accordance with the law. They are only accountable to the NA and the President of RA. The functions of the Audit Chamber as well include inspection of budgetary inflows, state grants and subsidies. This also includes reception of certain reports and explanations about the assessment of the consumption of the financial means, evidence, which proves the efficiency of the financial process, etc. It is also the function of this body to draw conclusions about the agendas and programs submitted by the CB annual reports. The management and use of the state debt and inclusion of foreign grants are also going to be supervised by this body. Shortly said in practice the Audit Chamber is going to be the highest supervising body of the Republic of Armenia and is going to inspect the level of efficiency of the spent funds by the state bodies. By the way, it is also going to audit the exploitation of the land of the Republic (mining, etc), state and community forest funds, water resource exploitation, state treasury, precious stones and metals, etc. It’s obvious that this body can function efficiently only when its head is independent (and also courageous) in order to be able to implement his functioned defined by the law. He must be able to withstand pressure because the law enables him to choose the methods of audit. It is also evident that it is senseless to actually suppose that the head of this structure is going to be independent. There are also opinions that as Kocharyan’s term is finishing he may propose somebody for the position, who is “comparably” independent. This opinion is substantiated with the fact that “parting” Kocharyan may not be interested in who state funds are going to be monitored by. Besides that according to the law on the Audit Chamber the new body must base on the reports and conclusions of the previous NA Audit Body because the law requires that the new body carries responsibility about the previous activity of the NA Audit Chamber. In fact it means that this new body is not going to have the right to reveal the corruption or abuse cases of former governments or officials. Based on the fact that in Armenia the independence of the “independent bodies” of Armenia is only formal we decided to ask independent MP Victor Dallakyan whether he is able to be independent in the Parliament. As a response Dallakyan said, “The Audit Chamber is really a serious body and has serious functions to apply in our country. But I think that in the current conditions of Armenia the Audit Chamber will hardly be able to independently fulfill its functions at least in the beginning stage. Although its functions are very broad but I signify the person, who is going to be elected head of the Chamber. And if this person is courageous, purposeful, uncorrupt and professional he may be able to guarantee comparable independence of the Chamber. At this stage it is very difficult to find such a person but it is possible.” As Dallakyan has been friends for 30 years with one of the possible heads of the Audit Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan we decided to ask whether he is the right person for the mentioned position. “I am aware that many names are being circulated for this position, including Zakaryan. I have been friends with him for over thirty years. We have studied together. I think if they elect him then he will be very useful for this position,” said Zakaryan’s friend. We don’t doubt that the friends of all the other candidates would say the same thing about them especially 30 -year friends regardless of their political approaches. By next Friday it will become clear whose candidature Kocharyan is going to propose for this position because on Thursday the President of Armenia is planning to hold a consultation with the factions’ and deputy group members of the NA.