● MONDAY, July 18

 NGOs from all over Moldova launch Alliance for Economic Empowerment of Women

Nongovernmental organizations from all over the country that represent women, including from the Transnistrian region, have launched the Alliance for Economic Empowerment of Women that is designed to assist women in developing businesses. At the moment, the Alliance has a membership of 11 entities.

Lilia Palii, executive director of the Association of Female Entrepreneurs of Moldova, said the launch on the Alliance’s platform of an advocacy action plan is extremely important. “Our mission is for all the women and girls in Moldova to be treated in the same way as the men... We will be making effort and will be employing the expertise of the practicing female entrepreneurs so as to essentially contribute and the voice of female entrepreneurs is heard and we propose the intervention policies needed to stimulate the development of women’s entrepreneurship in Moldova,” stated Lilia Palii.

● TUESDAY, July 19

Deadline for repair of bridge near Hrușova extended until December

The deadline for the completion of the works to repair the bridge on the public road M1 on the border with Romania – Leușeni – Chișinău – Dubăsari – the border with Ukraine, which is situated close to Hrușova village, was extended. Last year, the State Road Administration announced that the bridge would be ready in June, but now the time limit was extended until December. Sergiu Gălușcă, head of the Bridges Service of the State Road Administration, said that when the contract for the execution of repair works was signed, the war in Ukraine couldn’t have been predicted. The pandemic also thwarted some of the logistical arrangement, including for the contractor.

● WEDNESDAY, July 20

Jobs of the future, universities adjust to new labor market needs

A new academic year comes with new specialties at higher education establishments. In the Republic of Moldova, there was launched the Jobs of the Future Program that envisions the introduction of such new specialties as Animation, Game Development, and New Media. Professors say the universities aim to train specialists who will meet the labor market needs and will keep pace with innovations and information technology. As from September 1, the young people in the Republic of Moldova will be able to opt for a university diploma in Animation, Game Design, and New Media at the State University, the Technical University and the State Teacher Training University “Ion Creangă”.

Person arrested on charges of involvement in money laundering

A number of persons from the municipality of Chisinau implemented a scheme to legalize ill-gotten gains. During only a year and a half, the culprits illegally obtained at least 5.3 million lei. A suspect was arrested for 72 hours. The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office said searches were carried out in at least ten locations in this case of money laundering. Those involved registered a number of legal entities in the name of different founders. The companies were actually managed by one and the same person and these had common addresses, while the subdivisions were based at three addresses in the municipality of Chisinau.

Lawyers for Dionysos-Mereni say case featuring company is examined tendentiously

The lawyers for the wine complex Dionysos-Mereni said the judges who are examining the criminal case involving the company do it tendentiously and apply other standards than those stipulated in the Penal Procedure Code, violating also the human rights.

In a news conference at IPN, lawyer Marin Domenti said the criminal proceedings against Dionysos-Mereni were instituted after the company went to court to regain its property to the value of about 3 million lei that was illegally taken by Univers-Vin. For its part, the latter accused Dionysos-Mereni of swindle attempt and abuse of office. Initially, the prosecutor general signed an order to drop the case, but Univers-Vin challenged the order in court, asking to annul this and to hold accountable the representatives of Dionysos-Mereni by sentencing them to jail terms for daring to sue Univers-Vin.

Public authorities could pay salaries through MPay

The public authorities and institutions could be able to pay salaries through the e-payment gateway MPay. The Cabinet approved a draft law to this effect. According to the authorities, this unique method of paying salaries will contribute to reducing the operational effort of the public entities and will enable to automate most of the processes related to remuneration.

● THURSDAY, July 21

Revenues of Electric Transport Company and Bus Company grew insignificantly as a result of rise in fares, expert

Development expert Roman Guneavyi said that even if the public transport fares in Chisinau were adjusted, the revenues of the Electric Transport Company and the Urban Bus Company rose insignificantly, by only 23%. As the fare is the same and season tickets are common for trolleybuses and buses, it is not clear how the revenues are distributed between the two municipal companies. In a news conference at IPN, Roman Guneavyi said the methodology for calculating the fare in municipal public transport was approved recently. This was a solution for excluding the fare politicization factor. The document stipulates the reference value of the fare, which is related to the average salary of a resident of Chisinau. Respectively, when this indicator increases, the municipality will be able to adjust the fare. Moreover, he supported the methodology because its stipulates substantial differences between the fare, which is of 6 lei, and the price of season tickets so as to stimulate the purchase of season tickets.

However, according to Roman Guneavyi, the content of the methodology that was discussed also with experts and the content of the approved document differ considerably and that reference fare is no longer specified there. The expert doesn’t doubt the quality and correctness of the changes, but it is not clear why the municipality ignored the procedures required to ensure a transparent process.

“Barza Albă” enterprise cannot be privatized

Moldovan cognac producer “Barza Albă” cannot be privatized. Parliament adopted a bill by which the enterprise is put on the list of goods that cannot be privatized after giving it a final reading. The document provides that “Barza Albă” SA will be given the status of national cultural heritage object of the Republic of Moldova. This way, the company’s assets and tasting halls will be declared national cultural heritage object, except for the production equipment and the stored cognac or cognac under maturation. Also, the enterprise’s tangible assets will be put on the Register of State Protected Monuments. The exclusive right to use the brand “Barza Albă” will be restored to the enterprise.

Final vote for instituting fiscal monopoly mechanism

The MPs gave a final reading to a bill to institute fiscal monopoly. This status will offer enterprises or groups of enterprises of the Republic of Moldova the right to perform exclusively an economic activity related to goods or services so as to obtain incomes for the state. The status of fiscal monopoly will be granted only to legal entities with whole or majority state capital. To obtain this status, the enterprise needs to have technical capacities and equipment and to apply modern technologies for performing the given economic activities.

Excise stamps introduced for cartridges and reserves for electronic cigarettes

The excise stamps on packs of cartridges, reserves for electronic cigarettes and preparations intended for use in cartridges become mandatory. A bill to this effect was given a final reading by Parliament and was adopted. The excise stamps will be applied for each unit separately, not per liter as now. The sponsors of the bill, MPs of the Party of Action and Solidarity, said the goal of the amendments made to the Tax Code and the Law on Tobacco Control is to prevent smuggling and illegal trading in such products on Moldova’s territory.

● FRIDAY, July 22

Vladimir Bolea: Wheat is for now kept in storehouses as export price is low

The wheat harvest this year is lower than last year, but the country’s food security is ensured, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea. According to him, the drought affected a part of the wheat, but the harvested wheat enables to satisfy internal demand. The farmers keep the wheat in storehouses as the export price is now very low. The minister said the harvesting of wheat continues in northern Moldova and is to be completed in a week, but forecasts show the total wheat crop this year will be about 800,000 tonnes, as opposed to 1.5 million tonnes last year. The harvest will be 1.5 tonnes to 4.5-5 tonnes per ha.

“The internal consumption for persons is 330,000 tonnes of wheat and another 150,000 tonnes are intended for animals. The wheat crop this year was estimated at about 700,000-800,000 tonnes. It is much less than last year, but in 2020 the Republic of Moldova reported a crop of 565,000 tonnes of wheat.

Contracts signed for 30% of Moldova’s electricity demand

The Moldovan government today signed contracts for power supplies, with the Ukrainian companies Energoatom and Ukrhydroenergo, covering 30% of the country’s demand, announced Andrei Spînu, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

In particular, Energoatom will cover 20% of the total demand, and Ukrhydroenergo another 10%, at a price of $77 per MWh. According to the Minister, the other 70% currently comes from the Kuchurgan Plant (MGRES). The price for July and August is $59.9/MWh.

● SATURDAY, July

Forty-eight Kubota tractors delivered to Moldova

Forty-eight Kubota tractors have been delivered to Moldova with the support of the Japanese Government under the “Modernization of Agricultural Machineries and Equipment” (MAME) project. Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, mentioned that thousands of units of agricultural machinery have reached farms in different parts of the country thanks to the support of the Japanese people. “Resilience and sustainability in agriculture can only be achieved through technology, innovation and continuous investment, and Japan is synonymous with these three essential factors”, he declared.