The National Road Transport Agency (ANTA) set the goal of creating a sustainable and efficient road transport system that can lead to balanced development in accordance with the economic, social and environmental requirements by implementing the strategic development program for 2018-2020. The USAID-funded Moldova Structural Reform Program supports the ANTA strategy with a series of recommendations formulated after conducting a study to assess the trade corridors of Moldova, IPN reports.
In an event staged by ANTA and the USAID-funded Moldova Structural Reform Program on September 11, Sergiu Bucataru, secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, said that only by strengthening the institutional capacities and cooperation at all the administrative levels the common objectives can be achieved in the national context, with a view to fulfilling the commitments assumed before the foreign partners.
ANTA vice director Igor Guja said the strategic development program is the Agency’s key document that complements its strategic planning system. During the next three years, the Agency aims to improve the inspection process and human resources and to increase its efficiency by responsibility and transparency. To carry out the planned activities, ANTA needs technical and financial support assessed at about 500 million lei or 75% of the Agency’s planned budget.
The Moldova Structural Reform Program developed a study by which it assessed Moldova’s commercial corridors. In the event, Program Director Douglas Muir said that among the main problems is the fact that Moldova does not have access to the sea and has only one port, in Giurgiulești, which is not appropriately exploited. Another problem is related to the Transnistrian region as it was established that the circulation of goods in the eastern part of the country encounters difficulties. Among the problems, Douglas Muir also noted the poor state of the roads both towards the border with the EU and towards the border with Ukraine. This hampers the commercial activity, especially for particular products. The delays at border crossing points negatively affect the performance of trade corridors and, ultimately, the commercial flows.
Oleg Grigoroi, senior specialist at the Moldova Structural Reform Program, spoke about the state inspection reform, in particular the sector methodology for ANTA that was designed within the program. The methodology enables the Agency to assess the activity of business entities according to the risk criteria. The authorities often argue that the resources are limited and the inspections should be performed there where the risks are the biggest. The methodology provides a series of details that help choose for inspections first of all the business entities whose activity implies bigger risks. This way resources and time are saved for the public authorities and for business entities too, while the latter also enjoy activity fluidization opportunities as a result.
During the four-year implementation period (September 2017- September 2021), the USAID-funded Moldova Structural Reform Program will be supporting the Government of Moldova in the process of integrating the country into regional and global trade systems.
