The public authorities of the Republic of Moldova are responsible for providing a range of services for entrepreneurs at national and local level. Poor administrative capacities, excessive bureaucracy, lack of integration of information systems of different institutions, or insufficient interaction between different institutions involved in the provision of public services lead to unsatisfactory quality of service, and sometimes generate corruption and additional costs in terms of time and financial resources, Participants in the public debate "How can the One-Stop Shop contribute to diminishing corruption?"
A tackled solution to reduce corruption is the one-stop shop where the agent can address and obtain all the services that are the responsibility of the public authority, as well as the services of other authorities. Moreover, in order to reduce contacts with civil servants, the business community considers it necessary to implement and develop the e-government tools in the relations between entrepreneurs and public authorities / institutions.
"We considered the business not only to be listened to when it has problems but to be listened to as a provider of solutions for business environment development. Based on a survey presented at the end of June, we came to the conclusion that an important thing that business wants is the establishment of one-stop shops understood in a European sense so that a representative of the business environment can come only once and solve their problems ", explained the director of IDIS Viitorul, Igor Munteanu.
In the Republic of Moldova there have been created several such "Single Guides" for public services rendered to economic agents, most of them at the central level, and at the local level, these were established especially with the support of international donors. Despite the wide use of the name of the "One Stop Shop", there are in fact approaches to the implementation of the model and the "One Stop Shop" principle in the provision of public services.
"The" One Stop Shop "principle should be seen not only from the point of view of licensing services in the entrepreneurial activity but should be applied to the entire public service system, with the establishment of" One Stop Shop "in the procurement procedure and other public services. The process of establishing the "One Stop Counter" principle should be stepped up and extended to all public services provided by central and local public authorities to improve the quality of those services, reduce costs and diminish corruption by excluding direct contact with the civil servant", said economist IDIS Viitorul, Tatiana Lariusin.
Business representatives, present in public talks, said the business community faces a bureaucracy that generates corruption. "There is a need for a broader and inter-institutional institutional approach to public authorities / institutions in the delivery of public services to facilitate the electronic exchange of documents between public authorities / institutions (including those at the local level), interoperability of public registers and electronic databases State and departmental ".
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
In the US, the so-called shale gas revolution took place, the cost of which has already dropped significantly below the US $ 50 for a thousand cubic meters and wholesale prices on the North American market do not exceed 100-120 for a thousand cubic meters. This will change the configuration of the global market, forcing traditional gas suppliers, including Gazprom, to cut prices to keep their market share, explained energy expert Victor Parlicov in a 15-minute economic realism show.
Boosting gas extraction in the US led to the collapse of gas imports on the North American market, and import terminals are currently being converted into gas export terminals. Thus, the US will become one of the largest exporters of gas, and now US companies are primarily oriented towards the European market. On June 8, 2017, the first delivery to Poland took place and this trend will accelerate.
With regard to prices, the energy expert says that in the medium term, gas prices will decrease. In Europe, the price will stabilize at 120-130 USD for a thousand cubic meters. Under such conditions, traditional gas suppliers such as Gazprom will have to cut prices. This competition will lead to price leveling between the three main natural gas markets (North American, Asian and European), and soon we will talk about a global natural gas market.
"For the Republic of Moldova, it is important to develop the necessary infrastructure to bring gas from elsewhere than from Gazprom, so that we can benefit from the favorable situation on the regional market. On the one hand, the interconnection with Romania needs to be completed, but we also have the interconnection in the north of the country with Ukraine, which can also operate in reverse. Compressed gas could come both from the north, from Ukraine, and from the south through Romania.
Referring to renewable energy, Parlicov said that at present one of the main concerns of investors and technology research centers is to improve energy storage technologies to offset the intermittent nature of renewable energy. Despite the fact that within the Energy Community the Republic of Moldova has undertaken to approve a new Law on the Promotion of Renewable Energy by the end of 2012, it was approved only in 2016 and the entry into force was postponed until 2018. Authorities postpone the entry into force of the law in question, guiding the paradigm that renewable energy is expensive and would put pressure on prices. Meanwhile, renewable energy becomes competitive in price with fossil energy, and postponing the entry into force of the Law on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources also blocks the possibility for consumers to install their own sources of generation at the place of consumption, To replace the power consumption of the network.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
Reducing controls and the number of permissive acts is an issue that concerns the business world. Issuing a permissive act requires time and money and puts pressure on business. The regulatory reform began 13 years ago and continues now, and in 2016 the Government of Philip started a much more ambitious reform than the previous one (guillotine one, guillotine two) aimed at reducing the number of permissive acts and control institutions. It is the opinion expressed by journalist Vlad Bercu in the show "15 minutes of economic realism".
"Although, after dozens of acts were put under guillotine in 2004-2011, ministries have adopted other acts, which are a new burden on businessmen, and control bodies have put more pressure on business," he said. Said Vlad Bercu.
If in 2004, when the Guillotine was started, there were 400 permissive acts, then in 2016, when the Government of the Philipp initiated the reduction of the control bodies and the abrogation of permissive documents, there are found to be over 400 permissive documents, of which 90 per cent Have no justification.
We can cancel a law, we can optimize the number of control bodies, but we can not change the mentality of those working in institutions and have been accustomed to asking for bribes, to put in place checks. The last year's arrests of civil servants show that the official's craving to squeeze bribes from the businessman persists. Reducing the number of control bodies will not have the expected result, if the number of cadres is not reduced and the mentality of the control institutions changed, the very essence of these controls has changed.
"Recently, the government has published statistics showing that planned checks have been drastically reduced. In 2017, the first quarter was less than eight thousand compared to 13,000 in the same period of 2014. The problem is that authorities do not refer to total controls on private companies, which makes us believe that the number of controls has not diminished " Bercu said.
In 2016, we had a moratorium on the checks, 115 permissive acts were canceled, but a World Bank study launched in March 2017 that businessmen are unhappy despite creating one-stop shops and reducing controls. Only 13% of the surveyed companies find a real improvement in the business environment and 60% say they are stepping up on the spot.
Every control, permissible act means corruption, and the effect of these decisions taken by the Government is very small. Although the government is announcing changes, business people continue to argue that electronic governance, the one-stop shop, which is being discussed for years, should be improved. Institutions that put pressure on businessmen are the ANSA and the Fiscal Inspectorate.
"Following the Government's reform, which will last in time, there will be a real merger of control institutions. The problem is that we could just mention ANSA, which is a real mastodon created by the reorganization of three institutions. The effects are to be seen in time. It is premature to talk about the results, given the poor example of reforms with guillotines, "Bercu concluded.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
Recently, the Labor Code has been modified, a sensitive change. On the one hand, we have an obsolete document, on the other hand, it is very rigid with excessive requirements that make business difficult. Moreover, it is one of the factors that keeps investors away, explained economist IDIS Viitorul, Veaceslav Ionita in the show "15 minutes of economic realism".
According to the document, the authorities also intend to attract Moldovans working abroad when the Republic of Moldova is the country where the number of foreign workers exceeds the local ones.
Establishing clear rules and relationships between employer and employee is a problem, but not the most stringent. According to a ranking, the most serious problems are corruption and justice. "Changing the Labor Code is a pro-business, but in the absence of dialogue it will squeeze."
Ionita has outlined some details that should be taken into account in the new law. These are labor contracts that are not negotiated. Although there are 200,000 annually, only 1000 are renegotiated, and nobody wants to get involved. "This Labor Code also comes against pensioners through the rules on dismissal. As the life expectancy increased, and some categories retire at a young age and have a rich experience, why should they be laid off, "Jonathan asked?
In his opinion, a problem is maternity leave. "More opportunities should be offered to women who decide to stay for only one year on maternity leave. They could have some bigger payouts. In the Republic of Moldova, young women who want to develop their career are not financially encouraged. "
Referring to the dismissal of employees, Ioniţă said that the dismissal from office must be the acceptance of the trade unions - an abusive provision when, when there is a litigation, it is won on the lack of procedure, but not on the merits.
In conclusion, the economist said that when changes are made to the Labor Code, it is necessary to take into account the opinion of the business environment in order to have the comfort of carrying out the entrepreneurial activity and the employees to be protected.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
Bank frauds have been carried out over several years since the emergence of the banking system in the Republic of Moldova, only the proportion, and schemes used were different. The latest episode with the disappearance of the billion was favored by the political decisions, explained in the 15 minutes of economic realism, the Transparency International Moldova expert Veaceslav Negruta.
In his opinion, the period of fraud in banks is divided into three chapters. The first concerns the laundry - money laundering through the Republic of Moldova with the use of the domestic judicial system, as subsequently by banks, the money to go to European jurisdictions and off-shores. Here we can talk about the 22 billion USD washed through the Moldovan banking system, but the amount reaches 40 billion USD. Money comes largely from the Russian Federation, "Negruta explained.
The second chapter of the bank fraud relates to the breach of the credit rules set by the prudential rules of the NBM. Over the years, these practices have been used by all banks. The saddest thing is that until today these credits have not stopped. We also had such practices in liquidated banks.
Chapter Three, according to Negruta, includes the famous "theft of the bill", which in reality aims to extract from the reserves of the NBM an equivalent of 13% of the GDP (14 billion lei), which covered the deprived means of the three banks. Later, as by a miracle, those credits through the government guarantee were passed to state debt. Or, for 25 years, we are unjustly paid. "There is traceability of that money, and the Kroll report is the best work that shows the synchronization of funds from one bank to another and a decision taken. Moreover, when we talk about theft of the bill, we talk about those political decisions that have facilitated the disappearance of money from banks And he covered the NBM reserve, and he walked into the law with the involvement of the ministers who created the corridor of the theft of the bill, on the other hand, by assuming responsibility, that guarantee was converted and transformed into a state debt. "
"Of course the bank robbery should deal with Moldovan investigation bodies, but we observe a total paralysis. It's harder to look for money than to prevent their theft." The Kroll-one and Kroll reports - it provides enough details to be seized on accounts in the Republic of Moldova or abroad that most of the funds are to be recovered. Of course, the less time we have recovered the fewer recovery losses because the money is moved to Other accounts to erase traces. Without the steps of the Moldovan investigation bodies, we can not move, "Negruta said.
When it comes to recovering stolen money, the company is taken with Bombonica. We have a so-called billboard on the Ministry of Finance's website, at the Prime Minister's indication, in the recovery of stolen money. That information is not a ministry because data from the sale of the assets of the banks in liquidation is accumulated. Recovery will begin when the investigation begins, and the factuality set out in the Kroll report will be accompanied by political decisions and filed recovery files.
Of course, the money that was taken out of the Republic of Moldova is somewhere in circulation. Whether it's offshore jurisdictions in the immediate vicinity of a country or beyond. The most interesting thing is that there is a strong lobby in the Republic of Moldova to legalize these illegally obtained funds. This is the bill on capital legalization signed by the President of Parliament, Andrian Candu and four other deputies. Moreover, the project also had a negative expertise from an NCA that says the law can favor legalization of dirty money and legal entry. This expertise could be used as an indictment for the prosecution of criminal files. Those who signed the bill probably were guided by interests other than the public as the bill was stolen. The project was aimed at anti-corruption against the investigation of a theft of the bill. The law has been withdrawn, but the dangers still lie under the condition that in the state guarantee law, 40% (5.2 billion lei) of the debt may be given to an investor. Most likely, these are beneficiaries from abroad and are now seeking to legalize their money in the Republic of Moldova. It is the duty of the NBM that the 40% does not enter the secondary market and the investors receive clean money.
In conclusion, Veaceslav Negruta said that fraudulent banks were removed from the image of Moldovan financial institutions, and the people with less confidence deposit money in banks. In order to regain confidence, the NBM is the task of ordering the banking sector, but we have overdue deadlines
The Republic of Moldova has been known through its myths with hardworking people, unique food, fertile land, exceptional climate. Or, if we are to believe myths, our country should have strong positions in export markets and in attracting investment. But, unfortunately, from myths to reality, there is a very short road and in some cases also spins, which gives a head start on the economic plane. This is the opinion expressed by Viistorul Program Director Visitor, Viorel Chivriga, within the 15 minutes of economic realism show.
"Such a situation is attested in the field of tourism, where we are living in the region and we are far from some states that record remarkable results. For example, in the year 2016, 15,000 foreign tourists were visited by the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, a beneficiary country of the Association Agreement, which was visited by 3 million tourists, and revenue amounted to 2 billion USD. There are figures that show what can be done, "Chivriga explained. Moreover, with the direct contribution of tourism to the national economy in 2016, which is 1% of GDP in the country, Moldova occupies one of the last places in the world, ranking 171 out of 185 states. That's according to a recent report by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC).
According to him, until now it has not been understood that myths do not attract tourists. You have to have something that no other states have. If we do an analysis, we have beautiful things in the Republic of Moldova. We can position ourselves nicely on creating niches for historical, wine, business, cultural, rural, gastronomic, recreational, nostalgic, sports, spa, religious, medical or health tourism.
In conclusion, the program director said that although the Republic of Moldova has a tourism strategy, which with fast steps could propel the field, this does not happen as a result of not realizing those steps to boost the field. "A problem that is attested in the field of tourism is overregulation, which hinders economic operators and tourists. Likewise, most forms of tourism are used shyly by economic agents, and the potential of tourism forms is promoted and insufficiently exploited by the tourism market in Moldova.
As a result of poorly developed tourism and related fields - transport, services suffer. It has to be taken into account that the development of tourism in addition to budget revenues would create new jobs and bring people back to the country, "concluded Chivriga.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
The public procurement system in the Republic of Moldova faces the lack of transparency, limited competition, fluctuation of the involved staff and inefficiency. But international practices show that electronic procurement systems can make a significant contribution to increasing transparency and reduce fraud and irregularities that seriously damage public budgets, said IDIS Viitorul economist Diana Enachi on 15 minutes of economic realism.
She exemplified the efficiency of the electronic Procurement Procurement System with the Ukrainian Prozorro - pioneer, which covers in one platform all stages of the public procurement process, which also makes monitoring easier and reduces administrative costs for the authorities. "Only a year after its launch, the Ukrainian system has managed to make major changes. There has been a lot of confidence in the procurement system, including the private environment. Thus, the number of unique bidders has increased three times ".
Diana Enachi said that the use of the new electronic system - MTender - has a number of benefits and benefits for citizens, but also for public authorities. It is about streamlining budget spending by reducing transaction costs, reducing administrative burdens, increasing the confidence of economic agents in the procurement system, resulting in more active participation in procurement procedures, increased competition, and a high degree of transparency that increases confidence Citizens in public authorities and how they use public budgets.
According to the economist, within the first half of the launch, the MTender system is showing modest results. There are 10 contracting authorities registered, of which only 6 have so far carried out public procurement procedures through the system. A tangible result of the new system is the savings made by the authorities, which reach the average of about 30%, which demonstrates the positive impact on public budgets.
"The participation of contracting authorities in this system is very low, although efforts have been made in this respect with the support of civil society and business. 10 informative sessions with the contracting authorities from various regions, including Chisinau, were organized. IDIS "Viitorul" continues to support this initiative and appeals to all authorities in the country, to be active, to use MTender and thus to demonstrate that they really want to reform the system, "concluded Diana Enachi.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
Tax evasion is a generalized phenomenon in the Republic of Moldova and has deep roots, and radical measures are needed to counteract it. At present, our country is among the region's champions in tax evasion with a share of GDP of 33%. This is the opinion expressed by the economist, Iurie Gotisan, during the 15 minutes of economic realism.
"The state authorities say that the tax evasion has a weight of 18-20% of GDP (just over 25 billion lei, ie almost 1.2 billion euros). On the other hand, some research and analysis centers say that tax evasion accounts for one third of GDP, equivalent to ROL 40 billion or more than EUR 2 billion. A huge sum that translates to losses of at least 10-15 billion lei for the state budget", Gotişan explained.
The avoidance of the tax is in fact the area, which shows the deficiencies of the Moldovan society: theft, unacceptable links between the state and the private domain, the lack of honesty of many high-ranking public servants. These are the cases from the Customs or the Tax and that develop the corrupted and captured system.
"Failure to pay contributions to the tax office, in the state treasury, from simple vulcanization to large enterprises, Moldtelecom, Franzelutza or Moldovagaz, which were often titled in the news, revealing cases of tax evasion that generate enormous budget holes . But the smuggling of all sorts of products through Transnistria, which is considered to be the black shadow of the Moldovan economy, either tobacco, alcohol or other consumer goods, and leaves the budget without estimated revenues of over 1 billion lei", he said Gotisan.
In conclusion, the economist has stated that the many obligations the tax law imposes on taxpayers and, above all, the burden of these obligations have always led to the ingenuity of taxpayers in inventing various ways of circumventing tax obligations. Tax evasion has always been active and ingenious because tax authorities, "hitting" in the wealth of individuals, "touch" them in the most sensitive interest: money.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
The subsidy field is vital for farmers as they cover some of the investments made by farmers but need to improve the money-making mechanisms, the IDIS program director, Viorel Chivriga explained in the 15 minutes of economic realism program Future.
Chivriga points out that positive changes are visible in AIPA's work. Especially on the side of ensuring transparency, informing stakeholders and disseminating positive practices. However, a number of issues persist. In 2017, as in previous years, the regulation on the application of the Law on subsidies to agricultural producers, although approved, did not come into force, not published in the Official Gazette. Most of the beneficiaries of subsidies (74%) represent 3 professional organizations in agriculture. In 2016, the funds of the grant fund were distributed under 5 measures and 13 sub-measures. The number of beneficiaries was 4321, higher than in 2015, and lower compared to 2014 (5133) and 2012 (4457). This shows that the Law on the organization and functioning of agricultural and agri-food markets is good only on paper. Many sub-measures are ineffective. Among them is the stimulation of the risk insurance mechanism in agriculture. In 2016, only 118 economic agents were filed under this sub-measure, out of which 104 were authorized.
Viorel Chivriga said that the number of rejected files is on the rise. In 2016, the AIPA rejected 224 files amounting to 52589400 lei, which represents 7.5% of the allocated amount or about 10% of the amount executed. Most cases were rejected under sub-measures 1.2 (Stimulating investment for setting up, upgrading and deforestation of multiannual plantations) - 73 and 1.7 (Stimulating lending to agricultural producers by commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions) -20. At the regional level, the prefectures in the development region South - Comrat, Cahul, and Cantemir are predominant in the submission of files and partly in obtaining subsidies.
In order to improve the subsidy mechanism, Viorel Chivriga recommends the quantitative and qualitative assessment of the impact of the subsidy on the agri-food sector development. Using a wider spectrum of indicators, illustrating the real effect of financial support from the state: increasing productivity and production volume, turnover, value of exported production, new jobs, increasing production quality.
In conclusion, he said that, in order to increase productivity and competitiveness in agriculture, stabilize the market, ensure food security and fair income for farmers, it is timely and reasonable to grant direct payments, depending on agricultural crops, animal and bird species, Of the individual average yield in the case of compliance with the regional one as well as the actual actual area or the number of animals in possession.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
The problem of the Moldovan citizens' homes is a stringent one and has not been solved by the country's independence, and the solution proposed by the Government through the "First House" program partially solves the problem, according to the opinion expressed by the economist during the 15 minutes of economic realism IDIS Viitorul, Veaceslav Ionita.
"The government has come up with a solution to provide housing with the population that can not afford to purchase a building. But there are some aspects. In the Republic of Moldova, only 10% of those who work can afford to apply to the "First Home" Program as a result of the unofficial revenues they receive, or of the 10% half already have a real estate. We can say that the Government is targeting a very small category of citizens", Ioniță explained.
According to him, the interest rate proposed by the Government will exceed 10% annually, and any long-term investment is not feasible if the interest is higher. It must be lowered below 10%. Moreover, the banks are very rigid with the ordinary citizen that can not prove their income. "Under these circumstances, the Government should think very well and develop financial leasing. This increases the number of applicants for the "First Home" program because the real estate is the property of the leasing company and the beneficiary pays monthly the amount stipulated in the contract, "the economist said.
"The most important thing is that the" First Home "Program partially solves the problem, given that only 20% of the population with official, unofficial income has to house. A solution for the others would be social housing, but in the Republic of Moldova there are some moves from bad people who managed to get some land at ridiculous prices from the municipality and have built up the seemingly social real estate, "Ionita said.
In conclusion, he mentioned that Moldova is not the richest country in the world to provide all residents with housing. For comparison, in developed countries, 30% of people live in rent. The problem is that in the Republic of Moldova the rent business is underground and the Government has never attracted the attention of this sector. All those who rent housing are not taxed.
On the other hand, the state discourages the people's intentions to invest in real estate as a result of the introduction of income tax. It is in fact a discriminatory treatment compared to those who own more commercial premises and are not taxed.
The show is made by IDIS Viitorul in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
For more details, please contact the Public Relations Coordinator IDIS Viitorul, Victor URSU at ursu.victoor@gmail.com or call 069017396.
