Road rehab enterprises haven't paid their employees for 2 months

The personnel of several road-renovation enterprises subordinated to the Ministry of Transport and Road Management was not paid its salary for more than 2 months. Transport Deputy Minister Pavel Untura could not tell the amount of the payments in arrear, saying that the reports for October are due in several days. At the meeting of the Ministry’s Council, Untura mentioned that the employees of several companies haven’t received their wages for more than two months. The Deputy Minister did not specify the number of enterprises which owe money to their staff and the number of employees who didn’t get paid. Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev requested that by December 1 all the money be paid to the employees of the road companies in which the government holds shares. Vasile Tarlev stated that if the owed salaries are not paid by then the management of the enterprises will be sacked. According to Minister Vasile Ursu, about MDL 500 million have been spent this year on road rehabilitation, with more than 150 km of national highways restored. According to the 10-year Road Rehabilitation Strategy, Moldova needs USD 280 million to rebuild national roads. Governmental funds, loans and grants are not sufficient for attaining the target. There is need for a road maintenance trust funded by carriers, Vasile Ursu concluded. MDL 175 million were allocated this year from the Road Fund.