The companies Centrul de Telecomunicatii Speciale, MoldATSA, Moldpres and Casa Presei are the most transparent state-owned enterprises in Moldova. On the opposite side are the State Railway Construction Company "Confercai", the Department for the Exploitation of Real Properties and the publishing company Tipografia Centrala.  These are the findings of a report compiled by IDIS Viitorul and the Slovakian think-tank INEKO and presented today at a conference in Chisinau, IPN reports.

 

“The Republic of Moldova is going through a period of reform and, in this context, the Public Enterprises Transparency Monitoring Report, based on a Slovak methodology, brings more clarity in the public domain,” said Liubomir Chiriac, executive director of IDIS Viitorul.

 

INEKO director Peter Golias said he hoped the assessment will help the managers of state-owned enterprises improve the level of transparency and offer quality services to the citizens Moldova. A transparent environment contributes significantly to reducing the risk of corruption and inefficiency, the expert said.

 

Transparency levels were measured, on a scale from 1 to 100, for a total of 68 enterprises, state or municipal, with full or partial public ownership. The best performers scored only 40-44 points.

 

“State and municipal enterprises have always escaped public attention, although their activity is more vulnerable to corruption risks due to their proximity to the government and civil servants. And the most effective way to prevent and reduce corruption in state and municipal enterprises is their transparency, the implementation of corporate governance standards and the opening of data on business activity, economic indicators, public procurement, employment in enterprises, and other important information about these public entities”, says Viorel Pârvan, a co-author of the report.

 

The most problematic areas in terms of transparency in state-owned enterprises are public procurement, ethics and conflict of interest, grants and charity. 50 enterprises out of 68 monitored did not publish public procurement notices on the website. Only the State Road Administration published information on winning bidders on its website.

 

According to State Register data, as of 1 January 2019, there were 1 552 state and municipal enterprises and 4 416 joint stock companies in Moldova.