The draft law on state-owned and municipal enterprises must be reviewed and supplemented, especially in order to envision the possibility of coopting members into the Administration Board and from outside the public sector such as the business sector and the NGO one. It should be also stipulated that the enterprises will be managed based on a mandate contract, while the pays of the manager and members of the Administration Board should be in line with the economic-financial performance of the enterprise. Such recommendations are contained in a report by Transparency International – Moldova (TI – Moldova) on the results of the monitoring of transparency at state-owned enterprises and joint stock companies with state capital that was presented in a news conference at IPN on December 8.
Study author, TI – Moldova expert Ianina Spinei said the legislation should provide that any decision to found a state-owned enterprise should be reasonably justified and should contain an assessment of the anticipated economic and social impact. It should be banned the delegation to enterprises powers typical of the public authorities/institutions and ensured the reorganization of IS “Registru”, IS “Cadastru” and IS “Camera Inregistrarii de Stat” (“Sate Registration Chamber”) into public institutions.
Another recommendation is to provide that the members of the Administration Board and the manager of the enterprise should be named as a result of transparent contests and more rigorous requirements should be set for the candidates for these posts, especially as regards the qualifications and work experience, and to institute punishment for damage caused to the enterprise by the deeds and nonfulfillment of duties by the Board members and manager.
Ianina Spinei added that the kinds of activity of state-owned enterprises should be “inventoried” and those that are improper to their specific activity and pose risks of unfair competition to the private sector should be excluded. The practice of providing concessions to state-run companies should be avoided.
Another recommendation is to draft and adopt a bill that would regulate the content of the websites of public authorities, including the autonomous ones, such as Parliament, National Bank, Audit Office, National Agency for Energy Regulation, National Commission for Financial Markets and others, and to institute punishment for relevant violations. The policy of conflicts of interests at state-owned and municipal enterprises should be applied. The legislation should provide that the transactions with conflict of interests whose value exceeds a particular percentage of the value of assets, but not less than a ceiling value, will be authorized by the enterprise’s Board.
TI – Moldova executive director Lilia Carashchuc said the recommendations will be transmitted to the Government, which is to review the draft law on state-owned and municipal enterprises must, and voiced hope that the authorities will take these proposals into account. She noted the state should limit its presence in the business sector, should privatize a part of the state-owned enterprises and should remain only in areas where private companies do not cope.
The study was carried out within the project “Promotion of responsibility and transparency at state-owned enterprises” that is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy.
