New Armenian government chooses public transport over official vehicles

The Armenian government is planning to reduce the number of official vehicles by 30 per cent to optimize expenses. The head of the Cabinet of Ministers believes that the previous staff spent too much money on transport, and therefore only about 70 of a fleet of 110 cars should remain.

“I think that fuel is too expensive for the budget. You can really save a lot here,” stressed the Head of Administration, Eduard Aghajanyan.

He also said that the previous government was too bloated as it allowed unreasonable and unjustified costs:

“In the first place, it’s about the cars and the checks provided for fuel. All this was unfounded, and you will soon be convinced of this.”

Cases of abuse may be transferred to the National Security Service, according to Eduad Aghanhayan.

Since Nikol Pashinyan’s appointment as Prime Minister, some members of his new government gave up their official vehicles. In particular, First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan gave up two of the five cars at his disposal. Mirzoyan’s example was followed by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan. Posts on Araik Harutyunyan, the Minister of Education and Science, went viral on social networks after he was seen taking the metro.

There is talk that Armenia is set to adopt a unified procedure for using official transport for all Cabinet members in the near future.