Rise in budget-paid employees’ salaries has electoral character, experts

The Government’s decision of February 18 to allocate 467 million lei for increasing budget-paid employees’ salaries from January 1, 2009 has an electoral character, say experts. The executive pledged to raise the salaries in several stages – from April 1, July 1, September 1 and October 1 - but the state budget includes only 600 million lei for the purpose. Veaceslav Ionita, economic expert of IDIS “Viitorul”, has told Info-Prim Neo that the decision is definitely a purely electoral move typical of several election campaigns. “When the Government wants to raise the salaries it does it before the elections and this became a normal thing,” Ionita said. According to the expert, the negative aspect is that the Government for several years approves pay rises, but does not allot money and the mayors approve the local budgets without coverage for the last two months. Therefore, they have to find money for salaries or to ‘borrow’ money from the Government for a period. “This time, the governors disburse all the money now and if the budget this year will be in deficit, I’m afraid that the new government, whatever it is, will experience payment incapacity,” the economic analyst warned. Ionita said that the state budget this year would not be fulfilled, only if the national currency depreciates and the inflation rises. In this case, the budget will be fulfilled in figures, but in reality the situation will be very bad. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the secretary of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections – Coalition 2009, Nicolae Panfil, said that the salary increase can be regarded as an electoral move, though it is well known that these resources were needed. “We must understand that such moves were made during all the election campaigns and I don’t think that this campaign will be an exception from this negative rule,” Panfil said. According to him, such a practice is condemned in Europe. “I think that the civil society in any European country will condemn such cases. “Even if we presume that the government has good intentions in this case, they’d better refrain form such actions during the election campaign as they could be interpreted and discussed by all the parties and the real problems will remain in the shadow. The real problems are not necessarily related to this money, but to reforms, development and Moldova’s vision. These issues should be discussed first of all by those that run in elections, especially the Communist Party. The Government should consider the possibility of discussing matters, not of using less democratic methods,” the secretary of Coalition 2009 said. Mircea Esanu, the secretary of the Anticorruption Alliance, also considers that the pay rise has an evident electoral purpose. “Everyone realizes that the salary increase during the election campaign has an electoral character,” he said. According to Esanu, such moves are made during the election campaigns in other countries as well. But the voters do not always swallow them. On the contrary, they can punish the ruling party and this party loses the elections. For example, the voters in one of the countries of the Iberian Peninsula realized that the pay raise is not a healthy move for the national economy, even if it is good for the personal pockets. Minister of Finance Mariana Durlesteanu said Wednesday after the Government’s meeting that additional proposals will be made for the other pay raise stages– April 1, July 1, September 1 and October 1, 2009.