Parliament modifies Law on Government and agrees structure of new executive

The new Government of Moldova will be composed of 16 ministries, as the previous one, and of 8 central administrative authorities. Two ministries were dissolved, while the name of some of the ministries was modified. A relevant decision was passed in first reading by a majority vote on September 17. The new structure was criticized by the members of the parliamentary group of the Communists Party (PCRM), Info-Prim Neo reports. The bill to amend the Law on the Government excludes the condition to hold only Moldovan nationality imposed on the members of the executive and proposes constituting the State Chancellery and instituting the post of State Minister. The future Government will include the following ministries: the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Fiance, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of of Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Tourism, and the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications. There were created three new institutions: the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Tourism, the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, and the Public Property Agency. The Ministry of Reintegration and the Ministry of Local Public Administration were dissolved. The chairman of the legal commission for appointments and immunity Ion Plesca said that a State Chancellery bureau headed by the Deputy Prime Minister on reintegration matters will take over the functions of the Ministry of Reintegration. MP on behalf of the PCRM Vladimir Turcan said that this ministry was liquidated with the aim of delaying the resolution of the Transnistrian dispute. The Liberal-Democratic MP Alexandru Tanase said that the solving of the Transnistria conflict will be a priority for any government. “Do you realize the consequences of dissolving this ministry? Have you asked the people living in the Security Zone if they agree or not,” asked the Communist MP Vasile Sova, the former Minister of Reintegration. Andrei Popov, MP of the Democratic Party, said that the country's reunification is not the problem of a single party. The amendment bill also says that the Customs Service will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance, the Licensing Chamber to the Ministry of Economy, Moldova's Water Agency to the Ministry of the Environment, while the wine making and winegrowing sector to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. The Communist MPs expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the Customs Service was transferred to the Ministry of Finance. Vadim Misin, of the PCRM, asked if the Customs Service's employees will leave their epaulettes and if the Ministry of Finance will be transformed into a military institution. Deputy speaker Iurie Tap explained that the move is aimed at strengthening the ministry as the Customs Service's revenues account for a large part of the budget. The zonal offices of the State Chancellery will take over the functions of the Ministry of Local Public Administration. The Ministry of Construction and Regional Development will have responsibility for regional development. The eight institutions that will work under the Government are: the National Bureau of Statistics, the Agency for Land Relations and Cadaster, the Interethnic Relations Bureau, the Border Guard Service, Moldsilva Agency, the Agency for Material Reserves, the Public Property Agency, and the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime. The Communist MPs criticized the new structure of the executive and did not vote on it. According to the Communist Valentin Guznac, in the proposed format the Government will work at great costs. “The given structure runs counter to the electoral promises made by the parties that entered the Parametric and does not meet people's expectations,” he said.