The business environment in Moldova has continuously worsened over the last few years owing to the major constraints faced by the Moldovan businessmen. The National Employers Confederation (CNPM) will stage a forum of businessmen where it will make public these constraints and the policies they propose for overcoming them.
CNPM chairman Leonid Cerescu, in a news conference at IPN, said that all the efforts made by the employers to inform the government about the negative effects of the policies pursued by them on the business environment failed. “There was created the illusion that some of the costs of the state must be put on businessmen’s shoulders,” he stated.
When the businessmen are constrained, they look for a way out of the situation – they either resort to redundancies, go bankrupt or start to work in the underground economy,” said the chairman of the CNPM. “The Confederation decided to commission an independent study. Within this study, there were identified 14 major constraints. We decided not to stop to the constraints and will propose policies for dealing with them in the forum,” said Leonid Cerescu.
CNPM deputy chairman Alexandru Slusari, who heads the Farmers Union UniAgroProtect, said the government pretends to have a social dialogue with the employers and ignores businessmen’s proposals. The business climate has worsened, despite all the rankings showing improvements.
Raisa Bejan, deputy head of the Union of Sugar Producers, said that both the state and the sugar producers suffer losses because the VAT on sugar was raised from 8% to 20%. In the first quarter, the state budget lost over 14 million lei as the smuggling in sugar extended.
CNPM deputy chairman and president of the Small Business Association Eugen Roscovan said all the employers want a modern business sector, but the constraints, the disloyal competition and the fact that some companies benefit from concessions according to political criteria do not enable the sector to develop.
Igor Crapivca, president of the National Businessmen’s Club “Timpul”, said the regional business environment is in a very bad situation because the government acts very irrationally, the banking system is inefficient and the underground economy develops. He believes that if no measures are taken immediately, the Moldovan business sector will face serious difficulties.
The forum of Moldovan businessmen will take place at the Place of the Republic on November 12, starting at 10.00. In the forum, the CNPM will propose a memorandum of understanding for overcoming the difficulties in this area between employers and the government.
