Vlad Filat: Gravity of corruption that expanded during the Communist government should not be underestimated. Info-Prim Neo poll

{Info-Prim Neo News Agency is conducting an opinion poll among leaders of the parties running in elections. The subject of the poll is corruption in Moldova and solutions for fighting it. All the participants were asked two similar questions. This time, the answers are given by Vlad Filat, president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova.} [ - What does the party that you represent think about corruption in Moldova?] - The gravity of the phenomenon of corruption that expanded during the Communist government should not be underestimated. During the eight years in power, the Communists instituted a quasitotal system of control over the business. The large businesses are directly controlled by the senior administration of the country, while the small and medium-sized businesses are at the discretion of the state functionaries and the police. Since 2001 until present, the Communist government has established a powerful mechanism for corrupting and blackmailing the businesspeople. The indirect corruption, favoritism and nepotism became working principles of the Moldovan states. As a result, we are among the most corrupt countries in Europe. [ - What will the PSD do to combat corruption if it comes to power?] - The PLDM has a complex program aimed at fighting corruption. Besides legal mechanisms and schemes for insuring transparency in the fight against corruption, it also includes a set of economic measures. We will modify the present legislative-normative and institutional framework so that all the state institutions are engaged in the fight against this phenomenon and it becomes efficient. A first step in this direction will be the liquidation of the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime so that it is not used as a political instrument. A National Anticorruption Division will be created instead. It will focus only on the prevention and combating of corruption. Also, we will aim to reduce the bureaucratic burden and will center on the decentralization and deregulation in economy that produced notable results in some of the countries in transition. The personal responsibility of those that hold public posts must be increased by introducing modern contracts and by making the officials take responsibility for the serious cases of corruption in the state institutions where they work, even dismiss them. The Audit Office must be depoliticized and re-empowered with the role of fundamental state institution that monitors the use of public resources. The state, together with the civil society, must create an atmosphere of intolerance of corruption. An important role is played, as in the states with democratic traditions, by the mass media whose investigations and disclosures can stimulate the fight against corruption and foil the attempts to hide cases of corruption involving senior state officials from the society. {Info-Prim Neo Note: In ballots, the PLDM is preceded by the Christian Democratic People’s Party and the Communist Party of Moldova, which have not yet provided answers to the questions posed by the agency.}