AMN will not vote for 2008 Budget Law unless ruling party accepts amendments

Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) says it will oppose by all lawful means the passing of the 2008 State Budget Law in third reading if the parliamentary majority doesn’t respect a range of amendment proposed by the faction. The amendments refer to increased subsidies for local budgets, higher agricultural subsidies and a series of additional social allowances. AMN president Serafim Urecheanu told a press conference on Tuesday that this year the Communists have proposed and passed in two readings the most unbalanced budget ever. According to Urecheanu, the budget is worked out to fit the political and economic interests of the Communist Party, President Voronin and the groups protected by the country’s leadership. The AMN leader mentioned that the most serious problem resides in the absolute centralisation of budget resources, a method used by the government to act out the threats of constraint and financial pressure on local public authorities, made after the June elections. AMN initiated an amendment to the State Budget Law, according to which the transfers from the state budget to the local ones should be increased by MDL 500 million, which should be distributed to the districts proportionally to their population. Moreover, AMN requests that the agriculture subsidisation fund should be supplemented by MDL 300 million, which should be spent mostly in the interest of small and medium sized farms. The party also solicits that the birth allowances should increase to MDL 3,000 at the birth of the first child and 5,000 for the others. This will imply costs of about MDL 100 million. Other MDL 100 million are solicited for doubling the retirement pensions and social pensions and other 10 million for the construction of a new apartment building in Soroca. Urecheanu stated that his party will oppose the adoption of the Budget if the proposed amendments are not accepted. They will use all lawful measures – suspending the sitting, blocking the central rostrum and even encouraging the citizens to defend their legal interests. Communists will face a tough feedback from both local authorities and citizens, Serafim Urecheanu added. At the same time he said he spoke with the leaders of most of the parliamentary factions, and all of them, except for the communists, promised that they would not vote for the law in the third reading. At the press conference, AMN MP Valeriu Cosarciuc stated that in the draft budget, the average allocations for capital investment provided for the Districts governed by the representatives of the ruling party amount to MDL 4 to 5 million, while those run by the opposition receive only MDL 1.5 to 2 million. AMN MP Ion Gutu, mentioned that the bill plans expenses that will bring political advantage to the communists in the future elections. Speaking about the elections in Rezina held last Sunday, Urecheanu said they represented the failure of the democratic forces. At the same time, Urecheanu mentioned that the representatives of the government party didn’t hesitate to offer bribes for buying votes. The communists’ victory is also the result of a low turnout, the AMN leader added.