PLDM accuses PCRM of intentionally degrading investment climate

The Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) criticizes the Communist Party (PCRM) for deliberately worsening the investment climate in Moldova. According to the Liberal-Democratic leader Vlad Filat, the Communists exert pressure and make arrests among businesspeople and carry a lot of financial and fiscal inspections with the aim of obtaining money from them, Info-Prim Neo reports. At a news conference on Thursday, the PLDM leader said that through the crisis has affected all the sectors of the economy, the ruling party has not set up an anti-crisis committee that would thoroughly analyze the situation and propose solutions. “The Government adopted for this year a populist and unreal budget, basing on the electoral goals of the PCRM, and stimulated and extended the social and economic crisis. Consequently, the economic activity and revenues to the budget declined during the last months. Most of the Moldovan companies resort to layoffs as the unemployment rate goes up. The salaries and pensions in the public sector are paid with delay,” Vlad Filat said. According to him, all the sectors of the national economy sustain significant losses. The construction sector in the first quarter of this year saw a 42% decrease compared with the corresponding period last year. The volume of freight fell by 65%, while passenger transportation – by 20%. Industrial output dropped 25%, trade - 13%, exports – 19%, imports – 25%, Vlad Filat said, making reference to the official statistics. Remittances continue to shrink. Compared with the fourth quarter of last year, they fell by 40%. The state budget deficit for the first three months was 1 billion lei, twice more than projected. The foreign exchange reserves over three months decreased by 32% ($32 million). The salary arrears rose to over 150 million lei by the end of March. The PLDM says that the Government practically used up the salary funds for September-December, raising the salaries as they promised during the election campaign and shifting then the responsibility onto the local public administrations. The Ministry of Finance recently demanded that the local public authorities cut expenditure by minimum 20%.