Moldovan PM says government aims at strengthening civil servants' capacities by public administration reform

Chisinau, 06 April /MOLDPRES/ – Prime Minister Pavel Filip held a working meeting with representatives of local authorities in Orhei. The dialogue was referred to the priorities of activity of the Cabinet of Ministers, on the importance of strengthening interaction between central and local authorities, as well as modernization projects of Moldova, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.  

Pavel Filip noted that the visit to Orhei takes place after a series of trips abroad and discussions with Moldova’s development partners. The prime minister said that there is an opening for cooperation, both from neighbouring countries: Romania and Ukraine, and the European Union states and institutions. "The meeting of Association Council Moldova – EU was positive and constructive. We reviewed the results achieved so far and set priorities for the next period. Abroad Moldova, it is now regarded differently, we managed to get back the development partners’ confidence", said Pavel Filip.

The head of the Cabinet of Ministers made a review of government activity in 2016 and noted that those actions aimed at stabilizing the situation in Moldova and regaining the confidence of citizens and foreign partners institutions. "Last year we managed to record a 4 per cent economic growth, while inflation was one of the lowest, just 3.5 per cent. We managed to pay timely wages and social benefits, and in some cases even increased them and indexed them. Moreover, we launched a number of important reforms to the end of the year, aimed at raising living standards in Moldova," the prime minister said.

At the same time, the prime minister said that the pension reform, which was adopted and implemented since current year, aimed to establish a fair system and increase revenues to elderly people. The reform required a new approach, the pension being proportional to the salary received and taxes paid. As such, people who are already in the system will benefit pension recalculation. Also, there were canceled preferential conditions of retirement for certain categories of officials, including MPs, ministers and judges.

Additionally, Pavel Filip said that another priority was the reform of public administration. On that, the State Chancellery had already been restructured, following the optimization of functionality of ministries and state agencies. There  come for implementation the local authorities and the administrative-territorial reforms. "The state is strong through its institutions, namely the reform of public administration aims the capacity building of officials. We want a more flexible structure, also with better capacity," the Head of Government.

Referring to the priorities for the future, Pavel Filip noted that the Government initiated the fight with wages in envelopes, reforming of public health, primary health care and hospital system. Similarly, the prime minister said that there followed the social sphere reforms, such as the system of granting disability levels and the reform of the Employment Agency. The head of the cabinet urged local authorities to be actively involved in the implementation of measures aimed to improve people's living. "We have to work together, to make common efforts as to offer citizens a decent life," concluded Pavel Filip.

The dialogue with representatives of Orhei authorities was interactive, as discussed items of modernizing the infrastructure of more public buildings and the difficulties faced by businessmen in the region.