The officials and those who made optimistic statements about the signing of an agreement with the IMF at the start of this year probably realized that 2016 is a lost year as regards the resumption of the dialogue with the development partners, including on the financial component, ex-minister of finance Veaceslav Negruta said in an interview for Radio Free Europe, quoted by IPN.
“A possible agreement with the IMF will not be put into practice in 2016. In the best case, this can happen in 2017. The lack of the financial component will be felt in 2016 at the levels of budget and public financing and in the investment activity,” stated Veaceslav Negruta.
As to the conditions imposed by the IMF on the Moldovan authorities, the ex-minister said that these refer first of all to the banking sector and then to the public finance sector, where the correlation between incomes and costs is fully distorted. “There are other things that were announced by the International Monetary Fund, the Council of the EU and the partners from Bucharest. These conditions weren’t met. Thus, the probability of resuming the dialogue with these bodies is low. Besides the official agenda, there is another agenda that tempts them to keep the IMF far away,” stated Veaceslav Negruta.
According to him, the unofficial agenda refers to privatization and particular assets are desired. “These companies yield incomes in the form of dividends or income taxes. But particular artificial situations are created to show that these need to be taken over by other investors and the so-called investors will come from the offshore areas where a part of the stolen billions of lei is,” said the former minister.
“An agreement with the IMF actually means medium- and long-term prospects. The European Union, the World Bank or Romania need this and thus demand an accord with the IMF as they realize that this will be a lifebuoy for the Republic of Moldova. We can unblock the dialogue only if we start with the dialogue with the IMF.”
Veaceslav Negruta anticipated that no money from the external partners will come to Moldova for the central public authorities in 2016.
