With positive and negative moments, 2021 is coming to an end and what it generated leaves an imprint on the destiny of the person, family, the country. IPN spoke with those who care and have what to say about victories and failures, hopes and letdowns, achievements and losses. How was 2021 for the man and demographer Valeriu Sainsus.
The year 2021 in the Sainsus Family was marked by the leaving abroad, to Europe, of the second son. The family has high hopes of the new government and expects that this will bring about changes that will improve the situation in the Republic of Moldova. One of the regrets of Valeriu Sainsus is that the Government does not consult people of science before drafting state policies. But the developed states promote the concept “knowledge-based society” and the Republic of Moldova should align itself with this European standard.
As a demographer, Valeriu Sainsus follows the demographic processes in Moldova. “Natality should be supported by the state. Emigration seriously affected the labor market and endangered a lot the pension system. The Republic of Moldova lacks a strategic approach. The politicians look at things from a short-term perspective, not from a long-term one. This makes them be preoccupied with the next elections rather than with the implementation of long-term programs that can fundamentally change the state of affairs in the country. The authorities often tell us about the deplorable state generated by the former government, but meet with difficulties in showing what they did. We expect accomplishments from the government.”
Valeriu Sainsus said the current government didn’t make the pension system more attractive and this is one of its failures. The system does not ensure equity. The new pension law didn’t address the problem of “elite” pensions. If the goal is to establish better times, the government should build confidence in the state institutions or in the state in general. This will be possible when the citizens see that the government abides by the principle of social equity. There wasn’t worked out a mechanism that would ensure the sustainable indexation of pensions. The depreciation of the national currency is the main factor that leads to the devaluation of pensions. This affects the pensioners older than 70, who live below the level of subsistence, not of poverty. The pension system should be sustainable. It will become so when it is balanced and supported financially, when there is economic growth and when allocations come from salaries and contributions, not from the state budget.
To improve the demographic situation, a complex of measures should be implemented. “First of all, we must remedy reproduction so as to reach a state when the generations that enter the demographic circuit are larger than the generations that leave the demographic circuit. The second element is for the migration policies to ensures that the citizens who are outside the county feel the change inside the Moldovan state and the course of migration is reversed from emigration to the return of those who left. These two aspects should be taken into account by the current government,” said Valeriu Sainsus, noting it is also important to promote the traditional values, especially the family.
“If the demographic situation is not remedied, it will be hard to ensure economic development in Moldova. The deterioration of the demographic state compromises economic development in the short and long runs. The innovations and changes are brought to a context in which the young generations prevail over the older ones. The human resources are the last resource of the space. The natural resources can ensure development only at the incipient stage. In the current conditions, the people ensure the development themselves as they are creators of goods and consumers.”
Valeriu Sainsus is one of the few professional demographers in the Republic of Moldova. He is a Doctor of Science, a lecturer at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova with seniority of 31 years. He is the author and co-author of five monographs and over 80 scientific articles, collections of articles produced in the country and abroad. He works as an expert in demographic issues at the Institute for Development for Social Initiatives “Viitorul”.
