MY Step bloc’s election promises are valid, MP says
When running for the last December 9 early parliamentary elections Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s bloc My Step pledged to reduce poverty rate by 10% and unemployment by 5%, a parliament member from My Step faction Babken Tunyan said today during a debate on the government’s plan of actions for the next five years.
He said although these figures are not present in the government’s plan of actions, the promise remains valid. ‘If these figures do not become a reality, then the government should be asked to explain why,” said Tunyan. In his words, a 5% economic growth will cut poverty rate by 1.5%
"Every percentage of economic growth reduces the unemployment rate by 0.3%. If growth is inclusive, then in case of 1% growth, poverty rate could drop by 0.5-0.6%," said Tunyan.
He said attempts have been made to create the impression that everything will be bad. “There is no reason for that. On the contrary, there is a high level of trust in the government. This is enough to ensure revolutionary economic progress,” said Tunyan.
According to the latest data (third quarter of 2018), the unemployment rate in Armenia was 20.1%, down from 25.7% in 2017.-0-