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The representatives of the business sector have started filling in the questionnaires “The Role of Business in Fighting Corruption: Armenian Reality”, which are developed in the framework of the “Armenia: Promoting Anti-Corruption Conduct and Reforms” Project, which is implemented by the “Center for International Private Enterprise” (CIPE), the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO (ALA), the “Corporate Governance Center” (CGC), and the “Yerevan Chamber of Commerce and Industry” (YerCCI).
Their objective of the questionnaire is to identify the private sector’s attitude towards corruption in the business, the perception of the private sector of anti-corruption compliance, and the measures implemented and planned by the private sector to provide anti-corruption compliance.
2 medium-sized and 1 small companies have joined the program and filled in the questionnaires in the town of Kapan, Syunik province.
Among them are companies involved in service as well as in production sectors, health and advocacy services. These include: 2 companies involved in hotel services, 2 construction companies, 1 building materials sales center, 4 dental clinic, 1 computer service provider, 1 gas station, 1 transport service provider, 1 industrial service provider, 1 shopping center, and advocate service provider.
Heads of only 2 companies are women.
Vachse Baghdasaryan, a lawyer, responsible for the CSOs incubator the of the Kapan office of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project, notes that the heads of the organization are not well aware of anti-corruption programs, but are happy to join the program. “There is a question in the questionnaire about whether the company has adopted codes of business conduct and many of them did not know what it meant,” Vache Baghdasaryan said.
Some of them hopeful that this project will make a positive impact on these issues, although some say that the business sector should be responsible for fighting and eliminating corruption in the sector, but there should be manifestation of the political will of state-level as well,” Vache Baghdasaryan said.
It should be noted that when completing the questionnaires participants were interested in what the anti-corruption compliance is, and what possible negative consequences of corruption for their companies could be.
Notably, the objective of the project is to combat corruption in the business sector, to introduce the Anti-Corruption Compliance Standards within the Armenian business community, and implementing Anti-Corruption Compliance Programs in SMEs.
