“It is exclusively the decision of the President to nominate me for the candidate of Audit Chamber head for the second term”
Interview with the head of the Audit Chamber of Armenia Ishkan Zakaryan
-Mr. Zakaryan, the closer we would get to November 5 the more frequent the talks about the nomination for the head of Audit Chamber would become. In particular, they would mention the names of your deputy Levon Yolyan, head of the audit unit of the President Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, RPA MP Levon Martirosyan and others but you didn’t react to any of those nominations. Why?
-I think the materials included in the media were creating intrigues. Our approach should be more serious to such political matters and they shouldn’t create gossips and badmouthing. Ultimately, when it comes to the other nominated candidates I have always had positive opinions about all of them. It is always well welcomed when a person strives for more.
-Why are your achievements recently associated with an American-Armenian businessman Albert Boyajyan?
-Albert Boyajyan is one of my best friends. He is a great person and a friend of my family. He lives in my home when he visits Armenia because our friendly relations are over 15 years old. By the way, my house was constructed by the support of Albert Boyajyan. And I have numerously responded to the questions of an ANS MP Nikol Pashinyan regarding the construction of my house.
I have said that anybody who’s interested in the construction of my house can read Albert Boyajyan’s interview to Iravunk newspaper in 2011. But my impression is that this MP doesn’t wish to do so. I’d like to quote the answer of Albert Boyajyan when he was asked whether he’d like to move to Armenia. “If I had the opportunity and if my family agreed I’d move to live in Armenia without hesitate and wouldn’t go anywhere else. Perhaps this may happen in the future but for that purpose I have already bought land and have constructed a house. I am very happy to have a friend like Ishkhan Zakaryan, who supports me a lot in the construction of my house. I trust all the matters to Ishkhan Zakaryan because our friendship has a 15-year-old history.” I think Boyajyan’s answer is very distinct. Additionally, I’d like to present two more documents to even more clarify the matter. The main expenses of the construction of the house have been done from the personal accounts of Boyajyan. Many people are aware of this – my relatives, friends and acquaintances.
-There was information in the media that general Manvel Grigoryan and Seyran Saroyan have solicited that you get elected for the second term. What can you say about this?
-The negative accents of the materials in the media are very interesting. The two generals are not only my colleagues but also very good friends. I was introduced to Grigoryan by Vazgen Sargsyan in 1993 and I met Saroyan through Grigoryan. Both these men are very caring to me not only when it comes to political matters but also in general. In the meantime I am sure that no one can solicit to Serzh Sargsyan for the nomination of the second term. Sargsyan is the person, who clearly knows all the members of the administration. It is the sole decision of the president to nominate for the second time for this position.
-There were rumors that recently the situation has been very tense within the Audit Chamber and that certain associates had to quit their jobs.
-These rumors are far from reality. During the recent period no replacements took place. The chief of staff had to quit and work for another job because of the age. He was replaced by the head of the 4th division. In the AC everything goes in a normal pace.
-What are your plans for the future? What sectors will be targeted?
-The projects will be enacted by the National Assembly and the reports will be prepared based on INTOSAI principles and criteria.
-During the discussion of your candidacy in the NA it was mentioned several times that after the working meeting in the president’s office the AC will soon turn into a boneless structure.
-This opinion comes from opposition parties. I have answered these questions from the NA rostrum and have quoted the words of the president from that meeting. I quote, “We should be able to maintain the opinion that every projec is under supervision is audit and the existing omissions are reveals and resolved. Everybody should understand that the mistakes they have made and the crimes they have committed will be punished by all means. Here there can be no other opinion. All the state institutes must feel the look of the Audit Chamber. First the rate of work shouldn’t be lowered. And as I said everybody should feel the visible or even invisible watch of the AC. Secondly, the Chamber must be principled to all the projects and be equally objective in all cases. It is very important that the flaws are revealed not in 1,2,3, years but during the course of events. I think the revelations of the AC should imply compulsory solutions. At this stage our state speaks of the flaws and publicly points out the risky sectors. We speak about corruption and abuse. We clearly understand this hazard. But this is the inevitable path that will take us to a brighter future. We cannot hide everything like in the past and hope that at some point the processes will enter into a desirable phase. We were the ones that publicly criticized these flaws and were attempted to create public intolerance towards corruption and abuse. We made sure that no one will ever dare to follow the corrupt route. Today we have a situation when everybody is speaking about these negative things. Perhaps this environment is not too pleasant to statesmen but I repeat once again we don’t have a different choice. This is the price we should pay to get on the right track. And I am confident that this time will come in the near future.” I think there could be no clearer answer to the questions.
-How do you imagine the cooperation with the government when after the working meeting with the president all the ministers have started to speak about the revelations made by you? During your second term nomination all the MPs would ask what had happened to the revelation of the cable purchase abuse.
-The relations with the government are regulated by the law on Audit Chamber. We are an independent body that audits the activities of the government. If the government disagrees with the revelations of the AC there is only one way – the court. This is the only way accepted in the whole world. As of the attempts of the ministers to disagree with our report you should probably ask them this question. None of them has denied the purchase of the cable or the plain board showcased by justice minister Hrair Tovmasyan. The problem is not the installation of the cable or the board. The problem is much deeper – the price of the purchased materials, price of labor and interest rates. They cannot answer the question why the purchased materials are so expensive and they cost more than the services of private companies.
-And the last question for you Mr. Zakaryan, what happened to the report sent by the AC to the Prosecutor-General?
-When the board of the AC was adopting the annual report it was decided to send the criminal violations materials to the Prosecutor-General. During the discussion of this matter the situation became very tense at the NA. As a result the NA decided to send the whole report to the Prosecor-General. This is all I can say for now.
Interviewed by Armineh Vardanyan
