In the Republic of Moldova, the economic development discrepancies at the level of regions or districts are enormous. The economic activity is concentrated and if this problem is not solved, the risks will be worrisome, said experts who on January 23 announced the launch of the academic committee for promoting regional development actions and policies C15.
In a news conference at IPN, economic expert Veaceslav Ioniţă said the Republic of Moldova keeps the status of the poorest state in Europe and everyone knows this. But this is not the most serious problem. The fact that the development discrepancies inside the country are very wide and become more accentuated annually is more serious.
Five years ago, the Gross Domestic Product in southern Moldova was 4.2 times lower than in Chisinau. Now the difference is of 4.8 times. The GDP of Chisinau municipality is US$13,400 per capita. On a global scale, the GDP in Chisinau is higher than the average and is at a rather good level if it is compared with the European countries. In southern Moldova, the GDP is US$ 2,700 per capital, which is comparable with the GDPs of poorly developed countries.
Speaking about the problem of jobs, Veaceslav Ioniţă said in some of the districts, such as Basarabeasca, Onița and Cimișlia, the number of jobs in five years decreased by 25%. In other districts, such as Ungheni and Ialoveni, the situation is completely different. Moreover, there are districts where the public sector employees represent 70% of the employed. Respectively, there is simply no economic activity and this is a big challenge that should be dealt with.
As to investments in constructions, which during the past ten years rose to 70 billion lei, the expert said 75% of these were made in the municipality of Chisinau alone. Calculated per capita, the investments in the municipality of Chisinau were 61,000 lei during a year. Ocnița, Șoldănești and Cantemir districts are at the opposite poll with investments that are 70 times lower.
C15 is a platform by which the experts aim to warn the political class about the departures in the economic and social development of the Republic of Moldova. It consists of professors of different higher education establishments who are experts in demography, labor market, energy, entrepreneurship and other areas.
