US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN1771

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001771 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE, EUR/PGI, DRL, EB 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID AND MCC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, AM 
SUBJECT: MCA BI-WEEKLY REPORT -- AUGUST 9, 2004 
 
REF:  YEREVAN 1641 
 
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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2. (SBU) Various ministries, state agencies, NGOs, 
educational institutions, and individuals submitted a number 
of new MCA proposals as a result of the consultative process 
initiated by the Government of Armenia (GOAM) in June.  The 
GOAM's MCA Board of Trustees (the Board) met July 19 and 
tasked GOAM ministries to discuss those MCA proposals 
related to their respective sectors and present a consensus- 
based unified proposal to the Ministry of Finance and 
Economy (MFE) by August 20, 2004.  MFE is charged to then 
summarize the proposals and present them to the MCA Board of 
Trustees no later than September 20, 2004.  The MFE plans to 
hold additional discussions with the authors of various 
proposals.  The GOAM anticipates that the final proposal to 
the MCC will be in one or both of the following areas: 
investments in human capital (education, health and social 
sectors); and/or rural infrastructure (roads, irrigation, 
dam construction, etc.).  Post obtained this information 
from GOAM MCA publications on its MCA website, and from 
remarks by MFE staff at a regular donor coordination 
meeting.  End Summary. 
 
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USAID CHAIRS DONOR MEETING ON MCA 
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3. (SBU) In response to high interest among the donor 
community on the government-initiated consultative process, 
USAID chaired a meeting on MCA in the framework of Yerevan's 
monthly donor-chaired coordination meetings.  We invited 
representatives from the MFE, including Armen Hayrapetyan, 
Head of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Coordination 
and Monitoring Department, and Hovhannes Azizyan, PRSP 
Secretary, to make a presentation and take questions.  The 
 
SIPDIS 
GOAM representatives stressed the Government's desire to 
link the MCA proposal to the PRSP, Armenia's approved 
strategy for poverty reduction and economic growth.  (Note: 
The PRSP is a comprehensive document developed in broad 
consultations with the public and reflects GOAM priorities 
in different sectors.  End Note.)  This presentation 
generated a debate on preferable mechanisms for public 
participation and the GOAM's ability to assemble the first 
draft program given the already wide differences in the 
scope and scale of proposals.  The necessity of broadening 
the public relations campaign and media coverage was also 
discussed. 
 
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REGIONAL MEETINGS CONTINUE 
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4. (SBU) The PRSP Secretariat continues to hold MCA 
consultative meetings in regions throughout Armenia. 
Compared to the MCA meetings organized by Marz (regional) 
administrations, the Secretariat's meetings are conducted in 
an informal environment to stimulate discussion and 
encourage feedback from the public.  Public response has 
been mixed:  some have complained that the GOAM has a 
predetermined agenda limited to identifying alternative 
sectors for proposals, while others have expressed an 
interest in seeing a more detailed GOAM plan with sectoral 
analyses and a well-developed rationale for choices. 
 
5. (SBU) MFE officials spoke about plans for August, which 
included meetings with five key NGO groups to further 
stimulate public involvement.  Since public understanding of 
the MCA will take time, the GOAM anticipates that the peak 
for proposal submissions will occur in August-September, 
possibly overloading the MFE's review and selection process. 
 
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MEDIA INTEREST REMAINS LOW 
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6. (SBU) Despite the GOAM's expectations, media coverage of 
the MCA process remains relatively low.  (Note: Daily 
newspapers are currently on vacation.  End Note.) 
Information about the MCA appears on public television and 
in some newspapers but media coverage is not widespread. 
The MOFE relies heavily on its website 
(http://www.mfe.am/mfearweb/MCA/MCA.htm) as outreach.  The 
website (Armenian version) includes up-to-date information 
about MCA-related meetings and discussions, the status of 
proposals, and contact information.  The English-language 
website (http://www.mfe.am/mfeengweb/MCA/MCA.htm) is still 
relatively basic, but the MFE has promised it will soon fill 
it with translation of items on the more complete Armenian- 
language website. 
 
GODFREY