ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGEST October 26- November 1. Most important Economy & Business news by IPN
● WEDNESDAY, October 28
Payment of debt for gas without determining its real value means covering of frauds, study
“By the abusive decisions made by the Moldovan authorities together with “Gazprom”, the debt for gas of the right bank of the Nistru was increased illegally by about US$952 million. The fraudulent management of the enterprise “Moldovagaz” also contributed to the increase of the gas debt. Instead of paying for the consumed gas, the enterprise spent money on building a new head office or made unjustified purchases, accumulating debts for gas,” said experts of the WatchDog.MD Community, who noted that it is inacceptable for these debts to be paid by the gas consumers. According to them, the payment of the debt for gas, without determining its real value, means covering of all the frauds committed in the natural gas sector during the last 27 years. In a news conference, where there was presented a study of the debt for gas, energy expert Sergiu Tofilat said there is the protocol of the joint Moldovan-Russian commission of September 2019, which says that the debt for gas of SA “Moldovagaz”, for both banks of the Nistru, in August 2019 represented US$ 6.1 billion. The report of September 30, 2019 produced by the Russian company “Gazprom” shows the debt was of US$ 6.5 billion. This way, the difference for two months is of at least US$360 million. “Taking into account the volume of Moldova’s gas consummation, it is impossible for the debt to rise by over US$300 million during two months, explained Sergiu Tofilat.
● THURSDAY, October 29
Medium-term budgetary framework approved
The Cabinet on October 28 approved the medium-term budgetary framework for 2021-2023. This is the document based on which the annual budgets are drafted for the next three years. “Given the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the losses caused by the drought in a number of districts of the country, the medium-term budgetary framework for 2021-2023, compared with the previous documents of the kind, contains only the sector expenditure limits, without distribution by actions with concrete allocations of financial resources. These will be detailed by the central and local public authorities when presenting and discussing the annual budget,” said Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Pușcuța, Minister of Finance. The medium-term budgetary framework for 2021-2023 is based on prudent macroeconomic policies, on the strengthening of governance of institutions. The main objectives are to fight the effects of the pandemic and to ensure economic recovery. In accordance with these priorities, the public authorities could include proposals for finishing or optimizing the existing programs so as to ensure financing for high-priority projects.
