Parliament of Moldova approved the new government formed by Natalia Gavrilita.
61 MPs from the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) voted for the approval of the Action Program of the new Cabinet and the expression of a vote of confidence. MPs from the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists and the SOR Party did not vote for the new government. The Action Program of the new government “Moldova in good times” sets a number of development goals structured in many strategic directions: economy, social protection, education, infrastructure, anti-corruption, justice, culture, etc. While presenting in parliament the Action Program of the Cabinet formed by her, Natalia Gavrilita noted that the new government intends to introduce the electoral platforms of Maia Sandu and the PAS party, which received the support of the majority of the population. “Both in the presidential elections in November 2020 and in the snap parliamentary elections on July 11, 2021, citizens supported the country's vision, which implies the introduction of a European model of development and an increase in living standards in Moldova, and therefore the Action Program of the new government, formed by the political majority in the new parliament, will focus on ensuring fair justice and punishing corruption, strengthening government institutions to respond to the public interest and apply principles of good governance, investing in human capital and increasing economic productivity to create well-paid jobs, ensure social justice and decent minimum income for the elderly and vulnerable people, improving living conditions, providing a stable and favorable international context for Moldova’s development,” said Natalia Gavrilita. According to her, proceeding from the wishes and expectations of the citizens of Moldova, and also taking into account the main development problems Moldova is facing as a state, the new government sets the following development goals: to provide a legislative package for the effective cleaning of the justice system and the seizure of illegally accumulated assets; development of a universal legal mechanism for an independent assessment of each state institution and enterprise and the definition of appropriate performance criteria; simplifying business rules for small and medium-sized enterprises, encouraging young people and women to start a business; supporting the creation, development and internationalization of businesses, supporting SMEs through funding and entrepreneurship training programs; ensuring the annual volume of state investments totaling up to 4.5 billion lei for the development of water supply and sewerage infrastructure, mobility, international interconnection and public infrastructure; including about 2 billion lei - for the modernization and economic diversification of villages; an increase in the inflow of foreign investment to 4% of GDP, including in agricultural processing enterprises and post-harvest infrastructure. It is also about increasing the minimum pension to 2,000 lei in the 4th quarter of 2021 and ensuring its sustainable growth, as well as full compensation of medicines for the recipients of the lowest pensions; the creation of a "Silver Fund" to finance the care of the needy and lonely older people, including home care, hot meals, and other services; providing an effective sector of advisory services and agricultural advice for effective adaptation of the agricultural sector to climate change; developing coherent policies and measures to accelerate the transition to a circular economy and a green economy; promoting an active and respectable foreign policy aimed at restoring and strengthening good relations with Romania, Ukraine, EU, USA, Russia and other countries; export promotion, access to investment and financial resources; modernization of at least 100 of the most popular public services; providing access to electronic government services for 100% of the active population of the country; an increase in the number of cultural events by 20% by 2025; growth of new jobs in the cultural and tourism sector by 15% by 2025. The new government proposes to set a number of basic goals by 2025: reduction of poverty to 20% and extreme poverty to 5%; achieving an employment rate of at least 50% for men and 46% for women and reducing the gender pay gap by 20%; 50% reduction in commercial and transaction costs; an increase by at least 5 percentage points in the proportion of children and young people in gymnasium education cycle with minimal knowledge of mathematics, science, reading and math (indicators of the International Student Assessment Program); increasing labor productivity to a level supporting the average wage in the economy of at least 15 thousand lei; a 15% reduction in the volume of household waste discharged into the environment; reduction by 10% in the amount of pollutants discharged into water and atmosphere. Natalia Gavrilita stressed that among the 4 urgent priorities of the government are: effective management of the sanitary crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; launching justice reform and anti-corruption package; increasing incomes of the population and social protection of vulnerable groups; restoration of external financing. According to Natalia Gavrilita, within the framework of the last priority, an adjustment to the 2021 state budget will be initiated in order to determine the sources of financing the expenses provided for in the support package and to ensure an equitable distribution of capital investments. In addition, it is planned to fulfill the necessary conditions for access to macro-financial assistance from the European Union. It is also planned to resume dialogue with the IMF with the aim of concluding a new Memorandum and securing external financing for the medium term. In addition, it is planned to create a mechanism to monitor the implementation of large projects and the use of external funds, in particular those intended to combat the pandemic and support small and medium-sized enterprises. Along with this, it is planned to mobilize lending instruments to reduce interest rates on domestic and foreign loans. Natalia Gavrilita explained that immediately after the approval of the new government, the program of her government will undergo public consultations in order to develop action plans in all areas. // 06.08.2021 – InfoMarket
