Since February 2019 Mediamax is trying to obtain information about Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD), the company hired by the Armenian government to conduct the audit of Amulsar gold mine.
We tried to get information directly from ELARD in February, but despite a preliminary agreement the company refused to asnwer our questions, saying that all media queries should be directed to the Investigative Committee of Armenia.
One of our questions concerned previous projects of ELARD, and we contacted the committee in February to learn about them.
The Investigative Committee replied that “ELARD met all requirements of the pre-qualification” and provided no further information about the company’s previous projects.
We contacted the Investigative Committee again in March with the request to provide data about at least 10 projects ELARD completed over the last two years, but the committee’s reply offered no substance again.
Finally, we sent a query to the Government of Armenia, as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the audit of Amulsar mine should be conducted by an accredicted, independent international company.
Mediamax’s query to Press Secretary of Prime Minister Vladimir Karapetyan included the following questions:
- Why is the media not allowed to obtain information about the previous projects of the company that won the tender?
- Does the Prime Minister consider as independent a company that refuses to answer questions, which are not related to the criminal case investigated in Armenia?
- Has the Investigative Committee provided the Prime Minister information about previous projects of Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD)?
You can read the reply from Department for Information and Public Relations of the Armenian government below. The first two questions remain unanswered, essentially (information about the experience of the tender winner cannot be considered classified data attached to a preliminary investigation), and the answer to the third question contains no new information and simply sums up the statements of the Investigative Committee.
Thus, we have to conclude that it is impossible to obtain information about the company whose assessment will be crucial for the fate of the largest investment program in Armenia.
Ara Tadevosyan
The reply of Department for Information and Public Relations of the Armenian government
“In response to your inquiry we inform that ELARD is involved in the comprehensive study that is a part of the criminal case investigated by the General Department of the Investigation of PIC of the Investigative Committee. Therefore, the details and information about it are considered the data attached to preliminary investigation and are not subject to disclosure without the consent of the investigating body.
The information on the process and results of the study, which is subject to disclosure, will be published on the official website of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.
The information about organization and process of the comprehensive study aimed at assessing the environmental risks that might arise during and after operation of Amulsar gold mine has been published periodically on the official website of the Investigative Committee.
The committee had also released the requirements to applicants for the pre-qualification for the independent expert study:
1. A profile of the company (a general and brief description of the company, copies of official registration and address, etc.);
2. A reference list of at least 10 similar in nature and complexity projects undertaken by the company in the last two years (the list must include names and contact details of clients);
3. Key personnel proposed for this assignment (at least one lead expert with at least 5 years of relevant experience and one junior expert with at least one year of relevant experience);
4. Confirmation that the company has fulfilled all its past and current obligations (taxes, state fees or other public fees);
5. Confirmation that the company and its proposed experts do not have any conflict of interest in relation to the fulfillment of the assignment;
6. Confirmation that the company has at least 10 (ten) years of operational experience;
7. Confirmation that the cumulative work experience of its personnel is an average of five years and a copy of a financial statement showing the minimum annual turnover (a copy of the original document is required).
Two international organizations had applied for the pre-qualification. They were provided with the technical task and suggested to submit a tender proposal, an action plan, a list of expert personnel that would participate in the comprehensive study, and a fee proposal.
The tender commission tasked with organization and implementation of the tender and summary of the results reviewed the documents submitted by the two companies, conducted additional research and analysis, and selected Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) for the comprehensive study.
The Investigative Committee provided to the Government of Armenia the information about Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD), which was recognized as the winner of the tender for the comprehensive study aimed at assessing the environmental risks that might arise during and after operation of Amulsar gold mine.
On the order of the Prime Minister, the government prepared a draft decision to provide ELARD funds from the state budget in the amount of USD 369,900.”
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