U.S. citizen Paul Anderson whom the Armenian law enforcers want to hold responsible made serious allegations against the Armenian statehood. He stated that in order to receive construction license he bribed senior officials.
This is something usual for the citizens of Armenia. The kickback is a common feature of our life or rather the lives of those who live on account of state-funded activities. Since the state is the major client in many spheres in Armenia, most businesses depend on their capacity to convince the officials to contract state-funded activities to them.
This system is so perfect that procurement is not competitive. Most businessmen are going to add kickback to their budget lines.
Paul Anderson describes it as a pornographic scene. It is evident that he could not see how clearly everyone could play their roles. He does not hide that he also played in this performance but he could not imagine what characters are involved in all the spheres of life.
We are living in a world full of kickback which is called free market with independent courts which fight corruption. Externally, everything is perfect while in practice the system is immersed in kickback and corruption.
Several years ago, some foreign companies working in Russia launched a signature collection, refusing to bribe officials. They came to terms among one another and with the state but after a month they had to admit that nothing could be done without kickback in Russia.
No such attempts have ever been made in Armenia. There are companies which do not give bribes but they are few. The greater part of businessmen either find a “roof” of give kickbacks to officials, to say nothing about bribes to tax and other services.
There is nothing surprising here since foreign investors do not invest any money in Armenia. The reason is the blockade, transport issues and the small market of Armenia. The issue is corruption, the kickback which the Western investors do not recognize and so they do not want to pay. Moreover, Georgia is there ready to offer a kickback-free business climate.
Kickback is killing the economy of Armenia, or rather those who promote kickback-venal court-based system. Unwritten rules regulate this system instead of the Constitution. In this system human rights are not protected and the government may sacrifice nature, human lives and health for the sake of businesses which kick back. In this system, people are evicted from their homes because Northern Avenue needs to be built where no one lives. In this system, Teghut forest can be destroyed because the officials have already spent the kickback for the license.
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