Business done before rulers’ eyes can be unsafe too

In Moldova one can run a business in the center of Chisinau, before rulers’ eyes, but feel unsafe. Moldova needs painful reforms in order to become a country with an attractive business environment, considers economic analyst Viorel Chivriga. He was asked by Info-Prim Neo to pronounce on one of the priorities announced by the Government for 2013: to create an attractive business environment. “Moldova’s advantages for investors compared with other states are disputable. They spoke about moderate climate that actually gives us headaches once in three years. Fertile soil? This is disputable. The Ukrainians and the Romanians have the same soil. They spoke about cheap and skilled labor force, but we no longer have labor force, especially skilled. This prevents the investors from coming. There are sectors where the exodus is considerable. They spoke about a bridge between the East and the West, but Ukraine has the same borders as Moldova,” said Viorel Chivriga. He also said the Government should realize that it should do a lot in order to have the economic entities as trustworthy partners. “There should be a permanent dialogue between the state institutions and businesses. A number of shortcomings and bureaucracy should be liquidated,” stated the expert. Corruption reached inadmissible levels and is present in all the inspection bodies, said Viorel Chivriga, adding that the potential investors see that things in Moldova stand not very well. “The process of adjusting two laws on competition to the European standards lasted for five years. The laws were adopted, but normative documents are needed for implementing them. How long can the economic entities wait to be able to work in normal conditions? We have monopoles and no control. Contraband affects free and loyal competition,” said the expert. However, Viorel Chivriga said that a new generation of businessmen emerges in Moldova – young, with good education and experience. Migration contributed to the appearance of this new generation. Moldova is also trusted by the EU member states, but this trust can disappear as the foreign partners may become tired of supporting a country hit by corruption. Also, Moldova has commercial relations both with the East and the West and this is an advantage.