The Government led by Ion Chicu recently marked six months of its appointment. Recently, it was also two months of the declaring of a state of emergency in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. This practically unprecedented period actually represented the essence, the concentrated form of the current Government’s work in the last six months. Such aspects as what was done well and what was done less well and what and how should be done in the future were discussed by participants in the public debate “Government’s performance during six months since its appointment and during two months of state of emergency: pros and cons” that was staged by IPN News Agency.
Igor Boțan, standing expert of IPN’s project, said it should be mentioned from the start that the Chicu Government during half a year had worked in an absolutely unordinary situation and this is a criterion for assessing its work. During the first four months, there was a minority Government, while during the next two months there was a state of emergency. Another important aspect for assessing the work of the Government is the fact that this executive is at half of its mandate as, when it was appointed, in its government program it said that it will work until the presidential elections.
Igor Boțan said the government program is another criterion for assessing the executive’s work as this is the key document that should include the reference points. But particular corrections were made in its work given the state of emergency declared for the period between March 17 and May 15. “Another criterion for assessing the Government’s work surely derives from the self-assessment of the executive, the appraisal given by the opposition and, evidently, the opinion polls. If we take all these four factors together, we can have a picture of the way in which the Government worked during these six months,” stated the expert.
According to him, when a state of emergency is declared, in most of the states the Government adopts decisions in a swift, efficient way and later Parliament checks to see if the taken decisions are in accordance with the Constitution. The situation of pandemic caught many states unprepared and the way in which they acted was a lesson and an example that should be learned from each other so as to learn the best practices that can be applied if a second wave of pandemic is eventually witnessed.
Socialist MP Vasile Bolea said that when particular assessments need to be carried out, one should start from the official data of the Ministry of Health given that incorrect information was disseminated. Moreover, the authorities took action to combat the fake news. Debates on the cases of infection and treatment existed in the period and the WHO representatives noted that the data are much lower than the gloomy forecasts made initially.
“It should be noted that no one, including the health system of the Republic of Moldova, worked in such conditions and no one expected such a wave of infections that affected primarily the health system, and not only in our country, but all over the region and the world. In this case, we should combine forces and start to strengthen the health system, with consumables, drugs and protection measures for healthcare workers,” stated Vasile Bolea, who heads the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities.
According to him, throughout this period the Government benefitted from donations, medical support from a number of organizations and states, such as Russia, China, and Romania. “No one was prepared to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. As this scourge entered the Republic of Moldova, we evidently had to take a series of measures to fortify the health system so as to get that aid and to work out those protocols for combating this disease, for treating patients together with representatives of the WHO. Some of the measures taken by the Government looked drastic at first and were probably unpopular. But the statistical analysis and the forecasts of the WHO experts for the Republic of Moldova show that the number of infections is much lower and the number of cured persons is much higher. So, the Government and the Ministry of Health coped with the situation and the system is ready to fight an eventual new wave in autumn,” said the MP.
PAS MP Sergiu Litvinenco stated that the Government was indeed in the situation in which it had to work in less specific conditions. “But such a situation was assumed by Igor Dodon and the Party of Socialists when they, for fear of an independent prosecutor and for fear of an independent justice sector, decided to remove the Sandu Government and to name a pocket government, which is a strictly electoral government of Igor Dodon,” he stated, noting that the problems and lack of results of this executive were seen in the pre-epidemic period first.
“I want to remind everyone that this Government can boast of such an achievement as raising of passenger transport fares. This Government immediately turned into an international isolation Government as practically no one came to our country and this Government didn’t contact with anyone and didn’t have a normal relationship, as the Government of Maia Sandu had. This Government managed to immediately stop the foreign financing intended for the Republic of Moldova. The foreign partners stopped to give us money. This Government immediately resumed the smuggling schemes and halted the justice sector reform. Moreover, this Government not only stopped the justice sector reform, but also took steps backward,” said the MP.
As regards the sanitary aspect, Sergiu Litvinenco said the way in which the current Government managed the crisis is a lamentable failure, a catastrophe. An analysis of the epidemiological situation in ten states with a similar territory and population showed that 708 infections were recorded during a week. But Moldova the last week saw a rise of 1,133 cases. “What do these figures show? That this Government is incompetent. It could not provide the medial personnel with protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, at the beginning and as a result the hospitals became real hotbeds of infection and in many cases they infected whole regions as a result of the incoherence and incompetence of the Government,” said the MP.
The debate titled “Government’s performance during six months since its appointment and during two months of state of emergency: pros and cons” was the 135th installment of the series of debates “Development of political culture through public debates” that are supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.