The National Road Transport Agency (ANTA), the Institute for Standardization of Moldova and the USAID Moldova Institutional and Structural Reforms Activity (MISRA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the responsibilities of the three institutions in the process of international anti-bribery certification of ANTA. According to the signatories, the implementation of this standard will allow the Agency to reduce the risk of corruption and increase partners’ trust in its management system, IPN reports.
ANTA director Vasile Chetrușca said the standard that is to be applied aims to detect and combat possible cases of corruption in state regulatory institutions and to improve employee performance. ANTA fights the scourge of corruption, especially by promoting digitization programs. “We know what society’s pressure is, what expectations they have of the regulatory authorities. We, being one of these authorities, constantly fight corruption. We employ all methods to combat this scourge and are eager to continue this fight,” noted the official.
Andrian Bunduc, acting director of the Institute for Standardization of Moldova, said that the National Road Transport Agency is the first Moldovan regulatory authority that will be certified according to the requirements of the ISO 37001 anti-bribery standard. The Institute for Standardization is committed to go through the entire process of providing certification services. “We understand very well that the regulatory institutions are most prone to corruption,” stated Andrian Bunduc, expressing his confidence that other institutions will follow this path.
MISRA head David Anderson noted that ANTA is digitized in the proportion of over 90% in the field of road transport, which is a very good result that contributes to increasing transparency, reducing physical contact as everyone is treated fairly and equally in accessing public services.
Attending the signing of the memorandum, state secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization Cristina Ceban reiterated the importance of adopting and implementing international standards in Moldova, especially in the context of the European path. “The anti-bribery standard is adopted not only in order to comply with the legal requirements, but also because we are convinced that integrity and transparency are the pillars of a healthy society. The regulatory authorities must be aware of the responsibility they bear in their work to serve the public in an honest and fair way,” said the functionary.
State secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development Mircea Păscăluță underlined the firm commitment of the Ministry and the National Road Transport Agency to implement all existing reforms and policies in the road transport sector. “The support provided by USAID through MISRA shows that all the activities started jointly with foreign partners have borne fruit and now we are moving forward to implement internal management systems to ensure the proper functioning of all processes and funds that are available through external programs,” stated Mircea Păscăluță.
