Government projects economic growth already in 2010, economy ministry

Moldova's economic recovery and stabilization plan will be presented by the Government by the end of this month, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar said. In a news conference, the official stressed that emphasis will be laid on three directions: improvement of the situation of public finances, creation of conditions for economic growth and the efficient social protection of the people, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The use of public finances must be optimized by decreasing the costs and introducing a drastic economizing regime. The conditions for developing the businesses must be improved and the efficient protection of the people must be ensured,” the minister said. According to Valeriu Lazar, the Government will be able to stop the economic decline by the end of this year and plans to obtain economic growth starting with 2010. “We examined two possible scenarios – a moderate and an optimistic one. Under the first, the economic growth in 2010 will be of less than 1%, while under the second – between 3 and 4%,” he said. As regards the methods of stimulating sustainable economic growth, Valeriu Lazar said that these should be aimed at removing the barriers hindering entrepreneurial activity, improving the investment climate and liberalizing the economy. “Such measures do not require large sums of money, but produce good results. For example, the lifting of the restrictions on the export of grapes and non-bottled wine will lead to increases in exports even this year. After the non-transparent and corrupt system for authorizing the import of fish was abrogated, fish imports rose and the prices of fish products on the market decreased,” the minister said. Valeriu Lazar also said that tax relief measures will be taken with the aim of stimulating the economic development in the construction sector and other areas. Resources will be accessed for capitalizing the extent programs – MSIF, RISP II, 2KR. There will be initiated new programs like the thermal building rehabilitation program, which is efficient in many countries. Speaking about public finances, Minister of Finance Veaceslav Negruta said that two objectives were set to improve the situation in this area. The first objective is to identify financial reinforces to cover the budget deficit. The negotiation of the new memorandum of economic and financial policies with the IMF is a first step in this direction. The second objective is to reopen talks with the development partners on the projects that have been frozen or suspended this year for different reasons: interests, corruption and so on, Veaceslav Negruta said, adding that the use of budgetary resources must be optimized. Asked about the cost of the given program, Valeriu Lazar said that it has not been yet determined, but according to estimates the additional sum from foreign donors will be equal to 10% of the GDP, i.e. over 6 billion lei.