Weekly Roundup

August 7 - August 13

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The Gavrilita Government Gets to Work

This week, the new cabinet of ministers is settling in and starting work in their departments. As we discussed in a Deep Dive into the new government’s program of action, their agenda is very ambitious. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that the first step is “cleaning house” and removing corrupt and ineffective functionaries from the state bureaucracy. And that is exactly what they did this week. 

First, Prime Minister Gavrilita addressed her new cabinet of ministers telling them “for your first months you must be 1/2 ministers and 1/2 prosecutors. Discover parasitic networks, root them out. Promote the honest, fire those who steal. Show that the government can work for the people.“ Quite quickly, these words turned into actions with massive “resignations” of dozens state secretaries. A state secretary in Moldova is a sort of unelected deputy minister. They are the top civil servants in a department and are extremely influential in implementing policy and running their institutions. These dismissals at the top of all agencies and ministries send a very sharp signal that things are changing. 

Following these moves, the Chairman of the Competition Council also resigned. It is unclear if he did it of his own accord or was forced out as well. The Competition Council is nominally an anti-monopoly regulator but has been well known in the business community to be at best ineffective, at worst a defender of monopoly interests. 

Parliament takes Also Cleans House

While the government is busy cleaning house in the executive branch, parliament is similarly working to begin cleaning up institutions under their control. This week it was announced that amendments to the law governing the National Anti Corruption Center will be proposed friday. This law would directly subordinate the leadership to parliament allowing the legislature to appoint top positions directly. Previously, these positions had been appointed on a “competition” basis whereby candidates apply for the job and a non-political panel evaluates the candidates based on a rubric of criteria. Speaking to the press, PAS MP Radu Marin explained that this process of competition was flawed. Specifically, that in the past it would result in candidates who met the rubric on paper being appointed rather than those who were best suited to fulfill the public trust. He stated that the “unprecedented” political legitimacy that the parliamentary majority enjoys right now means that they must ensure the right candidates are in a position to take swift action. Further, he stated that by putting these leaders under parliamentary control they will be able to assure greater cooperation between these investigative and law enforcement bodies and parliament. Socialist deputies in parliament strongly objected to this move stating that it represented the beginnings of “state capture.” They pledged to oppose the action and called for the law to be evaluated by the Venice Commission, the EU’s top constitutional law body, before being voted on. To say the least, watching the Socialists utilize EU institutions in order to try and resist reforms is a new chapter in Moldovan politics. 

Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice has presented legislation for parliament which would provide for the evaluation and dismissal of the General Prosecutor. The Minister notes that this legislation maintains the independence of the prosecutor’s office by allowing the independent body of the Superior Council of Prosecutors to conduct the evaluation and decide if the General Prosecutor should remain in office. This bill quickly cleared parliamentary commissions and is headed for a vote in the near future. Recall, the current General Prosecutor was the cause of the no-confidence vote in 2019 which led to the collapse of the Maia Sandu government of the time. It has long been the goal of the PAS Party to have an independent and active general prosecutor. 

An Undeclared House

The new government also faced it’s first mini-scandal this week as reporting from investigative outlet ZdG showed that Prime Minister Gavrilita lives in a large house in the city center that was not on her wealth declarations. Moldovan politicians and civil servants are obliged to report all of their wealth and property on a regular basis. The Prime Minister has lived in this house since 2019 but never reported it. When confronted with this information, her office explained that the house belongs to her parents and she lives with them. Commenting on the matter the new Minister of Justice said that there is a major difference between someone buying a house and registering it in their parents name, and just living with their parents.  It is unclear exactly how this situation is viewed in the law but it clearly represents bad optics politically.  

Local Politics Update

Chisinau’s Mayor Ceban this week found himself trying to defend his work in renovating a city park with a scenic overlook in Ciocani. The park, which was only completed last year, is now sinking after the major rains of the past month. The mayor has said it will be repaired somehow but that until then it must be closed as the whole observation deck is at risk of a landslide and simply rolling downhill. Shoddy construction work has always plagued municipal construction projects but this one takes the cake. 

Meanwhile, in Moldova’s 2nd largest city of Balti, Mayor Usatii still hasn’t resigned. If you recall, last month he declared that he would resign after his extremely poor showing in the election. Specifically, the fact that the residents of Balti, his own city, did not vote for him in large numbers was a “vote of no confidence” in his work there. After these statements various protests to try and convince him to stay were staged with anti-corruption activists noting that they seemed to be organized by the mayor himself. This story kinda slid off the radar for a while because the mayor then went on an extended vacation abroad. Well, now Usatii is back and in a video has noted that his absence has meant that the city is no longer being run as well. It’s not sure who this is meant to be an indictment of as he is still the mayor and took a very long vacation of his own accord. He says he still plans to resign but it looks like this strange local saga still has some acts to run. 

Foriegn Affairs

Dmitry Kozak paid a visit to Chisinau this week in order to meet with the new authorities. Kozak is the Deputy head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation and is known as “Putin’s fixer” in matters of international affairs. In Moldova he is notorious as the architect of a proposed solution to the Transnistria issue during President Voronin’s time. Under the “Kozak Plan” Moldova would be federalized with Transnistria and Gagauzia being separated from the rest of the country into federal states. The government structure would then allocate representation to them in such a way that these two very pro-Russian regions would have votes equivalent to the rest of the country combined despite representing far less of the population. President Voronin was set to sign the plan but reconsidered at the last moment literally forcing President Putin to turn his plan around mid air as he was already on the way to the signing ceremony. Mr. Kozak remains controversial in Moldova for just how close he came to reorganizing the country in a way that would have been very beneficial to Russia. Currently, Kokak’s portfolio also includes resolving the conflict in the Donbas making him a sort of go-to person on Russian instigated frozen conflicts. 

In his trip to Chisinau, Mr. Kozak met with President Sandu as well as the Ministers of Foriegn Affairs, Reintegration (Transnistria) and Infrastructure. Following the meeting, President Sandu stated that she raised important issues in the bilateral relationship including the importance of lifting agricultural import restrictions that Russia imposed to punish Moldova’s EU direction. She also noted the Moldovan commitment to resolve the Transnestrian issue peacefully through the currently established diplomatic format as well as her priority to resolve natural gas disputes stemming from the breakaway region. Following the meeting Kozak noted that they discussed the same set of topics and that the meeting was “constructive.”  

Before leaving Chisinau, Kozak also met with Mr. Dodon and Mr. Voronin to discuss “bilateral issues.”

Moldova Helps Greece Fight Wildfires

Moldova has dispatched 4 trucks and 25 firefighters as part of the international response to the massive wildfires consuming Greece. The firefighters were on site as of the end of the week and integrated into Greek fire command with assignments to help contain the blazes. To date they have helped extinguish 7 hectares of fire but they note that it is a very hard fight requiring lots of specialized equipment and methods. It has been heartening news reading about the international cooperation around these fires and Moldova’s determination to do their part. But it is also concerning just how large these fires are and the threat posed by a much hotter climate than in past years. 

Source https://www.facebook.com/dse.md

COVID-19 Update

The spread of the Delta variant continues to manifest in Moldova with an uptick in both new infections and deaths. Right now, the 7 day averages stand at 176 cases / day and 4 deaths / day. This represents a 145% increase in deaths and a 16% increase in new cases recorded last week. 

Meanwhile, the government has administered 1.098 million doses of vaccine with 18.8% of the population being fully vaccinated. The ministry of health announced that at this time 99% of all hospitalized patients are unvaccinated and urged everyone to go get a vaccine. 

Vaccine supply continues to exceed demand so anyone who wants a vaccine can get one. 

What’s the New Government Doing About This?

Right now, we don’t have many clear indications about what actions the new government is taking in the short term. While there has been no word on new restrictions, the Prime Minister did address some economic responses in an interview this week. She noted that the last government created confusion due to their poor implementation of a measure that was meant to decrease VAT taxes for restaurants, hotels and catering (HORECA) companies to 6% (currently at 12%). Prime Minister Gavrilita noted the severe impact on these industries and said that they will seek to reduce HORECA taxes soon. Additionally she noted their plan to implement paid furlough schemes in the case of shutdowns. 

Economic News - Inflation Coming?

The national bureau of labor statistics noted that prices jumped an average of 3.49% in the last 12 months. But this number is somewhat misleading as food rose 4.2% and non-food household goods 5.54%. Services meanwhile fell in price by 0.45%. These figures represent a basket of household goods and do not include other materials such as wood and construction materials which have jumped in price considerably this past year. 

Meanwhile, the Taxi Carriers Association has announced that there will soon be increases in prices of taxi fares. They note that the price of 3rd party liability insurance has risen dramatically for them and therefore they must pass the price on to consumers. 

Overally, inflation does not seem to be a major worry in online discussion or news reporting. But it is clear that throughout the last year prices have risen in some areas affecting people’s everyday lives. Whether this is a temporary result of the crisis or something more remains to be seen. 

Crime and Corruption Update

This week, President Sandu convened a meeting of the Supreme Security Council to discuss what more can be done by various state agencies to combat large scale corruption. Particularly, she focused on the failure of the General Prosecutor to bring Plahotniuc, Platon, Șor and Cavcaliuc to justice. It was her intention to bring in the General Prosecutor to explain himself but he was unable to attend. Speaking later, President Sandu said that the General Prosecutor is "on vacation both literally and figuratively."

Meanwhile, as if to underscore the President’s words, multiple members of the Moldovan diaspora have discovered that both Platon and Cavcaliuc are now in London. When reached for comment they both said they were there on work, though neither has made any efforts to return to Moldova and face their criminal charges. 

To further highlight the issue, Platon did not return to Moldova this week for his scheduled court date. His lawyers cited “personal reasons.” Presumably, his freedom is rather personal to him and he prefers to run. Prosecutors have put Platon on the wanted list and are reaching out to British authorities to request his arrest. 

The Saga of Judge Ceaus Continues

For the first time since he reappeared, Judge Ceaus spoke to the press about his kidnapping. Specifically, he noted that he was kidnapped and that they intended to kill him but he escaped. Following his escape he walked 50km to a nearby village and turned himself in there (recall - wearing nothing but his underpants) in order to be taken into custody. He did not explain who kidnapped him or just how he escaped but spent the rest of the press conference protesting against his current state of arrest for bribery. It will be fascinating to see if the truth behind this strange saga ever comes fully to light. 

Some Listening Recommendations!

For those of you interested in podcasts, there are now 2 english language podcasts about Moldova discussing the problems of corruption and possible solutions. From Lex21, an anti-corruption NGO in Balti there is the “Anti-Corruption Conversations” podcast (currently only available on soundcloud but soon rolling out to the normal platforms). In this podcast they will conduct interviews with various experts and activists to discuss Moldova’s problems with corruption and what can be done about it. 

Additionally, while looking for that podcast in my podcast app, I found the “EU external anti-corruption promotion. A case study on Moldova” podcast. While the name is quite long, the episodes are short and digestible if a little academic sounding. 

Ending on a High Note!

Moldovan rower Sergei Tarnovschi won bronze in the 1,000 meter individual row at the Tokyo Olympics! This was Moldova's only medal in the olympics though there were a number of high placing athletes that fell just short of medals as well. The rower was honored by the President and caused quite a local stir on social media. In response to questions about his win, he explained he was happy and very honored but would begin training for the next olympics right away - there is always the gold to aspire to. 

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