The World Bank considers the recently adopted amendments to the law on voluntary declaration and fiscal stimulation are a step forward. Moreover, the World Bank said it will cooperate with the Moldovan authorities in assessing the impact of the law on voluntary declaration and fiscal stimulation, focusing on implementation, both before and after the adoption of these amendments. It will also monitor the adequacy of controls for managing fiscal risks and related governance risks.
It is interesting, will the “forgiveness of fiscal sins” be somehow connected with the implementation of a number of important projects to modernize the Republic of Moldova that are financed with foreign funds?
Thus, 1.64 billion lei provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank will go to support the Moldova Road Sector Program. The World Bank will finance the Moldova Local Roads Improvement Project with 150 million lei.
Among other projects financed with foreign funds are “Consolidation of Institutional Framework in Water Supply and Sanitation Sector” (70m lei), the UNDP-funded project “Improving Energy Efficiency in Public and Residential Buildings” (60m lei), building of the Vulcănești-400 kW Back-to-Back station and of the 400 kW Vulcănești-Chișinău overhead transmission lines (50m lei) and others.
Under the draft state budget law for 2019, the state budget allocations intended for education in 2019 will be by over 647.2 million lei or 6.5% higher compared with this year. The planned financial resources will be used to renovate education institutions, to replace the equipment and furniture in classrooms and laboratories, to stage professional development courses for teachers and managers of general education institutions and to develop the content of curricula in primary, secondary and lyceum education.
A sum of 152.1 million lei will be allocated in the framework of the Moldova Education Reform Project supported by the World Bank.
In the context of these budget growths aimed at increasing the people’s confidence, the credit rating agency Moody’s confirmed Moldova’s rating: B3 with a stable outlook. The authors of a new Sic! article said the press affiliated to the government presented the news as a good thing that should gladden us.
“With B3, Moldova is in a select company alongside Mongolia, Ecuador, Pakistan or Greece, which are still struggling to overcome the crisis. This rating is another negation, at international level, of the alleged successes of the government. The fact that the media outlets controlled by the PDM presented it as a positive thing is another confirmation of the ridiculousness of Moldovan politics,” says the article.
The findings of a Delegation by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe that assessed the early local elections held on 20 May in seven Moldovan municipalities including the two largest cities, Chisinau and Balti, was at the center of a discussion at the 35th Congress Plenary Session in Strasbourg. The Congress expressed concern about the decision taken on 19 June 2018 by the Chisinau Court to invalidate the results of the second round of local elections in the capital city. “The cancellation of the election result raised questions about the proportionality and transparency of court decisions in the Republic of Moldova,” said the Head of Delegation Gunn-Marit Helgesen.
In Chisinau, the commission of inquiry for elucidating the circumstances of the presupposed interference by the “Open Dialog” Foundation in Moldova’s internal affairs and financing of political parties held the second and last round of hearings on November 12. The commission’s chairman Igor Vremea said they will compile and approve a report based on the accumulated information and will make approaches for the largest part of the report to be made public.
Details on IPN!
