Secretary of state at the Ministry of Finance Dorel Noroc said the initiative proposed by President Igor Dodon, for a part of the profit made by the National Bank of Moldova to be directed to the state budget for covering the costs incurred by the people as a result of the adoption of the so-called “billion law”, was discussed with foreign experts, including a delegation of the International Monetary Fund that visited recently Moldova. The initiative is balanced as half of the NBM’s profit remains at the central bank and half goes to the state budget, IPN reports.
According to Dorel Noroc, the central banks’ profit is directed to the budget in all the countries. “It is important to ensure a particular lower limit of the profit so that the NBM has guarantees for its capital. Currently, this limit is of 10% that is very rigid, but it can be diminished. The bill that will be submitted to Parliament will propose a lower limit of 4% after which the profit could be distributed to the budget,” the secretary of state said in the talk show “Emphasis on today” on TVR Moldova channel.
Dorel Noroc noted that on the one hand, the central bank will be able to further strengthen its financial capacity and, on the other hand, the profit that will come to the state budget will represent a component of the revenues and the expenditure could be raised to a similar extent.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Alexandru Slusari said there are risks related to the political part of this matter. “Igor Dodon lies crassly when he says that the burden of the stolen US$ 1 billion will be reduced. He somehow tries to hide his incapacity to do what he promised in 2016 – to annul “the billion law”. Regrettably, Igor Dodon is preoccupied with the election campaign. “He does not think about macro-financial stability and about prospects, but follows the principle “Apocalypse can come after me”. He has to show to the voters that he did at least something in this regard and needs at least a part of the money to appear and to be redirected for electoral purposes,” stated the MP.
Economic expert Sergiu Gaibu said this initiative has indeed a political aspect. De facto, the burden wasn’t modified and the debt remained the same. “What they try to do is to direct one more additional resource to the state budget. This action will somehow help the Ministry of Finance in an apparently more difficult situation,” he stated, noting such a practice exists in other states, like the U.S., but the central system there is very powerful and generates revenues and ensures a stable economy.
On February 10, President Igor Dodon said a part of the central bank’s profit will be directed to the state budget so as to cover the costs made the people’s burden by the so-called “billion law”. According to him, the measure forms part of a bill that provides for the reduction of the burden borne by the people. The bill will be examined by the Government this week and will be presented to Parliament for adoption.
