UCM proposes anti-crisis measures

The Centrist Union of Moldova (UCM) on March 9 launched a series of measures aimed at reducing the impact of the world financial crisis on the Moldovan economy, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The world economy experiences a deep crisis. We regret the fact that the authorities in Moldova do not speak about the crisis, hiding their heads in the sand,” the UCM president, former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev told a news conference. “The delay in adopting anti-crisis measures can have serious consequences, including the appearance of irreversible processes that can cause Moldova’s bankruptcy,” Vasile Tarlev said. The UCM leader said that the real sector of the Moldovan economy is in a deep recession caused by the world crisis. The industrial production volume this January fell by 25% from last January. Exports also decreased. Problems are encountered with the payment of the exported products. The agricultural producers lack financial resources and cannot carry out the field works, Vasile Tarlev said. According to him, thousands of people in the construction sector took unpaid leave forcedly. The unemployment rate in other sectors of the national economy also increases. The situation has worsened because the Moldovans that worked in Russia and the European Union returned home. The former Prime Minister considers that the banks and production units are exposed to the danger of bankruptcy. The situation in the manufacturing sector of Transnistria is extremely worrisome. In order to reduce the consequences of the economic crisis, UCM suggests creating immediately a national anti-crisis committee involving the head of state and representatives of the Government, the Parliament, parties, Transnistrian officials, Gagauz authorities and the civil society. The committee must devise a set of anti-crisis measures that, as the UCM considers, should envision: a considerable reduction in the costs for the state apparatus; offering of state guarantees for the preferential loans granted to industrial and agricultural companies, providing loans to businesses at a lower rate of interest and subsidies to farmers by using also the reserves of the National Bank. The UCM also suggests announcing a tax vacation for the manufacturing companies. According to the UCM, protectionist measures should be taken to support the national producers, especially those that work in industry and agriculture. The state should carry out a nationwide campaign themed “Buy Moldovan Goods” and nationalize the companies that are close to bankruptcy by purchasing assets. The state should also provide assistance to the national banking system so as to save the banks from bankruptcy. “By saving the banks from bankruptcy the state would save the deposits of the people and would create conditions for lending to the real sector of the economy,” said the UCM leader Vasile Tarlev. Earlier, other political parties also put forward proposals for overcoming the consequences of the world economic crisis for Moldova.