DFID provides over 85m lei to Moldova for compensations and new social assistance system

The Government of Moldova will receive a grant of £4.5 million (85.2 million lei) from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for paying compensations for gas, electric power and heat and for introducing a new social assistance system. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Premier Vlad Filat and British Ambassador to Moldova Keith Shannon on March 11, Info-Prim Neo reports. The grant will be disbursed in two installments. The first tranche of £3.5 million will be transferred immediately, while the second tranche of £1 million after assessing how the conditions of the memorandum were implemented. Prime Minister Vlad Filat said the Government of Moldova pledged to approve by September a plan of action on human rights, a bill on public financial control and to include the compensations paid in the cold period of the year in the new social assistance system. Keith Shannon said the UK supports the economic reforms initiated in Moldova and the country's aspirations for European integration. “The DFID has worked in Moldova since 1990 and aims to help the socially deprived groups of people. During the last two years, we implemented a new project that provides for the allocation of social welfare depending on the incomes of the families. More than 20,000 families are distributed benefits under this system. The second tranche of £1 million of the grant will be used to continue implementing reforms in the social assistance sector,” the ambassador said. Last week, the European Commission provided a grant of €2.4 million to Moldova for paying compensations. A number of 260,000 people on low incomes will thus receive by 130 lei a month during five months.