Measures to combat corruption, fiscal, customs and budgetary policies improvements, as well as the restart of relations with external partners, are the main priorities of the Ministry of Finance, as part of the Government Action Plan. These priorities have been discussed during public consultations held on August 8.
"The document proposed for consultations will be improved and finalized after all suggestions are considered", said Minister of Finance Natalia Gavrilița.
The Ministry of Finance anti-corruption measures are aimed at monitoring, with the help of the Financial Inspectorate, the use of public money. "The role of the Financial Inspectorate needs to be clarified and strengthened. We need to make sure that the Financial Inspectorate is a trustworthy body, which acts respectably and isn't just a stick in the hands of ministers, ”said Natalia Gavrilița.
Another role of the Ministry of Finance in the fight against corruption is to make public procurement more transparent. "It is necessary to elaborate many normative acts", said Natalia Gavrilița.
The finance minister also stated that she intends to implement a fiscal policy that focuses on tax administration, so as to stimulate fair competition. "A draft will be discussed in September and October, so that we can forward it to the government and Parliament together with the budget proposal, because it could impact fiscal matters," said the finance minister.
According to Natalia Gavrilița, there are certain problems in the implementation of the salary law. "It was adopted in a rush and the changes that took place in Parliament caused some discrepancies. We have a moratorium on new hires and on bonuses. During the budget process, we will have to make some decisions regarding this law”, stated Natalia Gavrilița.
Unlocking foreign assistance and restarting relations with foreign partners is another priority of the Ministry of Finance. "We have a large number of external assistance projects, yet we have issues with the absorption of external funds", said the minister. In this regard, the minister of finance has declared that a working party shall be set up to handle large projects and to monitor their implementation. "We want to make sure that available development money is used," said Natalia Gavrilița.
