The Supervisory Board of Teleradio-Moldova Company approved on Thursday, August 9, the institution’s draft budget for 2008, assessed at 245 million lei. The budget for the current year constitutes 60 million lei. About 180 million lei of the total sum will be used for the Company’s basic needs, and 66 million for launching TV channel Moldova 2 and resuming the program “Luceafarul”. The direct expenditures of the Company will amount to 110 million lei, of which about 50 million will be used for wages. Over 43 million lei cover the necessary supplies and services. The draft budget also considers 3 million lei for international correspondence, 2 million lei for the production of 4 episodes of fiction and 760 thousand lei for the celebrations dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Moldovan television. 67.5 million lei are earmarked for purchasing new technology, most of the sum (62.8 million) being spent for TV and radio equipment, but also for decoration, vehicles, licensed software etc. The Company plans to acquire extra-budget funds totaling 13.25 million lei, most of the sum (about 9 million lei) representing the income from advertising services. Some of the SB members criticized the draft budget. Igor Munteanu insisted that a new approach for solving the Company’s problems is needed. One solution, besides seeking extra money, would be to optimize costs. “A lot of money is being spent on unnecessary things”, said Munteanu. Veaceslav Ionita also insisted that the draft budget must be well backed up, in order not to raise any further questions and to be approved by the Parliament. SB approved the draft budget, and the Company’s administration is expected to supplement it with a detailed explanation.