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On May 13 the NA Standing Committee on Territorial Management and Local Self-Government convened a visiting sitting in Armavir Municipality.

Heads of the marz communities, members of the Elders’ Council and representatives of the functioning NGOs were taking part in the sitting.

Welcoming the participants, the Committee Chairman Stepan Margaryan said that the visiting sitting had been organized within the framework of the Strengthening Program to the National Assembly of Armenia financed by the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID) agency.

He said that the Committee had deemed expedient to discuss in the marz with the representatives of the local self-government bodies the bill “On Amending the RA Law on Local Self-Government” authored by the RA Government and recently passed in the first reading by the National Assembly and hear the opinions and recommendations, which can be of essential importance for the editing of the draft law.

The Head of the Department of the Local Self-Government of the RA Territorial Administration Ministry Ashot Giloyan presented the amendments designed in the law, as strengthening the citizens’ participation in the local self-government, increasing the transparency and publicity of the local self-government bodies' activity.

Amendments referring to Community Head's activity, the community residents' participation in the processes of the community's development program and budget management, organizing public hearings and debates are also proposed.

The Chairman of the Communities Finance Officers Association NGO Vahan Movsisyan touched upon the amendments and goals designed in the law.

Through question and answer session the committee also said that in some communities cases had been registered, when based on one or several citizens' written or oral applications the Elders’ Council discussed, sometimes also resolved the raised issues.

Summing up the outcomes of the sitting the Committee Chairman Stepan Margaryan thanked for concerning discussion and proposals, which would be submitted for the Committee's consideration.