From 1 to 10 April, 2020, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan’s personality and activities. 35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.
In the specified period, 210 articles were declared, 17 of which were negative and 193 were neutral.
No positive articles were published on the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan. Zaruhi Batoyan was mainly criticized for the bonus-related issues. According to media reports, the minister received a $ 30,000 bonus in 8 months.
Some media outlets report that many citizens simply cannot fill out the application forms in order to take advantage of the government support programs. According to the publications, there is a problem with the program presentation, as they are not intelligible. Many are not interested in the projects, although they may take advantage of them just because it is written in a very complicated way. Referring to the topic in one of the publications, it is noted: “People don’t know what the PPS Number is (Personal Public Service Number; it’s the same as social card), an ordinary person who may be a potential beneficiary of the project, in fact, doesn’t even try to explore it. The ministry has introduced a hotline, the call takes 10 seconds, after which it is simply disconnected. Here we have such a chaotic situation, full of shortcomings in the field, but that did not really stop Zaruhi Batoyan from receiving a $ 30,000 bonus in 2019 in about 8 months. There are basic things that people don’t know about these topics, the minister, in her turn, shares a poem on her page Facebook page instead.”
