Moldova’s Railways is destroyed by thieves, statement

The state-owned company “Calea Ferata a Moldovei” (“Moldova’s Railways”) (CFM) is destroyed by those who manage it because they are thieves, are corrupt and name their relatives to posts of division head. The accusations were made by members of the National Anticorruption Council “Moldova mea” and employees of the CFM in a news conference, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Council’s head Igor Caldare asserted that Transport Minister Anatol Salaru took €300,000 bribe from Vitalie Struna, a former employee of a Romanian factory based in Pascani, for the post of CFM director. According to the information possessed by the National Anticorruption Council, the director of the CFM signed a contract with that factory several months after he was appointed and agreed on the repair of six Moldovan trains. Igor Caldare said this contract wasn’t in the interests of Moldova. Besides the fact that the first train renovated by this firm often breaks down, the CFM committed itself to paying damages of over €890,000 if the six trains aren’t renovated at the factory by the end of this year. The Council’s deputy head Ruslan Popa said that the contract signed with the Romanian firm is aimed at making the CFM bankrupt and purchasing its assets at a very low price. Train chief at the CFM Victor Topor said that the company is managed by corrupt persons and all the posts there are bought. “When a person pays US$3,000 for becoming conductor, what will he do afterward? He will surely accept passengers without tickets and will smuggle contraband, including drugs. This is the image of our trips,” he stated, adding that he criticized the company’s administration and is now forced to resign. Conductor Vitalie Soimu said that he pays for the cosmetic repairs in the train himself, as many other conductors, but the company reports that the costs of repair works were covered from the budget. The employees of the CFM said that the company employed more persons than necessary because it takes money from those who want to get a job there.