The United States refrains from implementing the second Compact in Moldova for the reason that the country didn’t make progress in the fight against corruption, U.S. Ambassador James Pettit said in the program “In Depth” on PRO TV Chisinau channel, IPN reports.
The diplomat said the financing of the program could be resumed if the U.S. Government sees progress in corruption combating in Moldova. “Widespread corruption is a problem for the Republic of Moldova and should be resolved. The Republic of Moldova didn’t make progress in eradicating the phenomenon. On the contrary, it slipped lower. I hope the Moldovan government will take attitude and we will resume financing. I think time is needed to beat corruption. The government should have already implemented the existing anticorruption laws by punishing those involved in acts of corruption,” stated James Pettit.
The ambassador criticized the Moldovan institutions for the ‘very slow reaction’ to the bank frauds. “An immediate investigation is needed so that those to blame are held accountable and the money is restored. If such a case happened in the U.S., the state institutions would take all the measures to investigate the crime and to bring the culprits to justice. If the Moldovan banking system would have been a healthy one and would have worked correctly, this case wouldn’t have happened. The system should be reformed so that such cases no longer repeat,” he said.
In the same program, James Pettit revealed also other serious problems faced by Moldova. “Since I’m here, I saw four Prime Ministers. The country does not have political stability. There are also other very serious problems such as the general lack of satisfaction, widespread corruption, while the recent protests we see are a clear sign that the people expect more from the government,” he stated.
James Pettit is yet optimistic that not everything is lost. “I think the politicians in Chisinau are now more than ever interested in implementing reforms. There is sufficient internal and external pressure for the Government to start work,” he said.
