Expert-Grup recommends Government to publish report on budget execution

The level of budget transparency in Moldova was rated at 60 out of 100 points by a study of the Independent Analytic Center Expert-Grup, which was done using an international methodology. Moldova is placed between countries with “little unveiled information” and countries with “significant exposure”. The weak link is the yearly report on budget execution. Expert-Grup recommends the government to present a public report about the execution of the budget on everyone’s understanding, Info-Prim Neo reports. “As regards the preliminary budget proposal, the discussions of indicators before the adoption of the budget, intermediate reports, the process is much more transparent. The Government and the Ministry of Finance provide a lot of information. The weak link is the annual report on budget execution. The information is scarce, incomplete, the difference between the planned and the real level of expenses isn’t explained and it doesn’t show how the promoted policies affected economy and the people”, one of the study authors Dumitru Budianschi told a press conference. Valeriu Pohnitchi, Expert-Grup director, said that not all the heads of institutions realized the advantages of such openness. The law should stipulate what documents the Government must present to the public at each stage of the budgetary process. Besides, the publishing of sectoral reports on budget execution by the respective authorities would be welcomed, as well as an annual report regarding the implementation of recommendations made by the Court of Accounts in its audit reports to the ministers and other public authorities. Valeriu Pohnitchi highlighted some systemic issues that limit budgetary transparency, such as the misuse of the government’s reserve fund, which is meant for emergencies and not for trips, which must be budgeted by the institutions that delegate the officials. Minister of Finance Veaceslav Negruta partly explained that the lack of correlation between budgetary financing and the performance of policies is the inheritance from the old economic system. “Currently, 70% of budgetary planning is based on programs and we work to make that 100%. The programs have performance indicators and when their implementation is completed, we can see on what the money was spent and what changes these programs brought into the lives of people and in economy”, said the Minister. As regards the proposal to publish an annual budget execution report for the people, the Minister admitted it would be a step forward in communication with the large public and would boost ordinary people’s involvement in the decision-making process and in the monitoring of governmental policies. “But we need staff to translate our financial language into an accessible one, to be understood by everyone. In two years, we’ll present such a report”, promised Veaceslav Negruta.