Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan said one of the priorities of the institution is to create a culture fund that would collect money as taxes imposed on alcohol consumption or gambling. The salaries of employees of the culture sector remain a major problem that can be partially solved if the law on pay grades is amended, IPN reports.
Sergiu Prodan said a separate Ministry of Culture was needed as culture within the former Ministry of Education, Culture and Research was completely ignored.
“I was shocked by the role and place attributed to culture under the previous system of government. In the former ministry, I found only six persons who came to work and dealt with the problems of culture. A big mistake during the 30 years of independence was that culture was perceived only as songs and dances,” Sergiu Prodan stated in the talk show “Black Box” on TV8 channel.
The minister noted that creating a culture fund and raising the salaries of employees of the culture sector are among his priorities. The pays are to be increased as from 2022.
“We will create a culture fund. Where to take money from? We should penalize the lack of culture. If we look at the countries in the immediate vicinity, we see that taxes there are imposed on gambling and alcohol consumption. The pays in the field of culture are a headache for the current government and this is due to the former governments. We must have a systemic approach, not a fragmentary one. Besides actors, there are many culture sector employees who are not seen on the stage, but their pays should also be raised,” said Sergiu Prodan, noting the law on pay grades should be modified.
