2024-03-14 17:59:11
A consultation was held under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during which the project of the concept of the new Insecurity Assessment System was discussed. It was developed by the interdepartmental commission established in 2021 according to the Prime Minister’s instructions, the government reports.
The message states:
“Before the presentation of the project, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the data presented at the Cabinet session regarding the average monthly salary and noted. “The average monthly salary in December 2023 was AMD 356,180, which is AMD 133,399 or 59.9 percent more compared to December 2018, a little lower than I expected. Compared to December 2022, it is more by 25,273 drams or 7.6 percent.”
Presenting the concept of the new Insecurity Assessment System, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Anna Zhamakochyan first presented the problems in the current system of insecurity assessment related to the formula, addressability and effectiveness of the system.
Next, the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs presented details about the new system’s implementation policy, goals, new formula, and hybrid verification method based on the system. According to Anna Zhamakochyan, the flaw in the formula of the current system is that based on the indirect assessment of vulnerability, assumed insecurity is measured and the calculation of income plays a secondary role in the basis of the formula. “The most important thing we need to change is changing the formula in the new system, that is, not only the procedures, not only the question of the target, but the logic of the formula itself. Taking this into account, the hybrid means-testing method was chosen as the basis of the new formula. At the moment, the most important thing is to put the income measurement in the logic of the formula, so that the real picture of our insecurity and the estimated insecurity is visible and understandable, the policy of the Government can be measured,” said the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. According to Anna Zhamakochyan, through the new method, the right to benefit will be determined based on the income managed by the family.
According to Anna Zhamakochyan, the target of the new system is the extremely poor family with monthly income below the minimum food basket per member equal to one adult member. “With this model, it is proposed to target extremely poor groups and achieve the goal that the Government has set before itself, that is, to have 0 percent extreme poverty,” said the deputy minister.
According to him, thanks to the incentives for the activation of the new system, necessary efforts will also be made in order to obtain employment and improve living conditions through the development of the capacities of the families registered in the system of insecurity. According to Anna Zhamakochyan, integrated case management will be implemented, that is, social work will be conducted with families based on complex needs.
In terms of encouraging people to work, the Prime Minister emphasized that there are various programs in the labor market and added. “We can plan further incentives to show interest to both the employer and the employee. What’s the point of what I’m saying? A person is in the benefit system for 20 years, and for 20 years the state spends huge resources for him, but his life does not improve. This is the problem. We have to approach this program in the logic of these 20 years, because we can accompany him with subsidies, income tax, and other programs before the work we say becomes his mentality.”
There was an exchange of ideas about the project, observations were presented about the process of transition from the old system to the new system, the steps of launching the new system, the features of the hybrid method, and the expected results.
Summing up, the Prime Minister noted that the results of the discussion show that the package has been developed and the implementation of the new system can be started.”