The acting president of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) Igor Grosu said the PSRM’s initiative to compensate the electric power tariffs for all the domestic consumers during the state of emergency is populist and represents an electoral gift. He anticipates the PSRM could take money from the foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Moldova for covering the related costs, IPN reports.

The bill to compensate the electricity tariffs was passed by the PSRM-Shor coalition after giving it a first reading a week ago. Igor Grosu is skeptical about the chances of this bill being adopted in the final reading.

“When we asked them why we cannot use the current system by which the persons with low incomes can be identified, they said that we all contribute to the budget and the costs for electricity should be compensated for everyone, which is for those who drive a Lexus and also for those who travel by trolleybus. This is sheer populism. I don’t think the bill will be discussed in the second reading as there is no available money,” Igor Grosu stated in the program “Moldova Live” on the public TV channel Moldova 1.

He noted that in the absence of such funds in the state budget, the Socialists could take money from the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves as Igor Dodon earlier said it would be opportune to use these reserves to help the citizens during the state of emergency.

“It is an electoral gift that costs half a billion lei. The question is, where will the money be taken from? The money could be obtained by withdrawing US$1 billion from the National Bank. After the previously stolen US$ 1 billion, this is another invention for withdrawing US$1 billion from the NBM. The PSRM started its election campaign,” stated Igor Grosu.

Under the Socialists’ bill, each household user will get by 428 lei – by 214 lei a month – in compensation for the electricity consumption costs for April and May.