Vasile Tofan
In his analysis of the future of the Republic of Moldova, Tofan argues that the executive branch can no longer postpone key structural decisions. He compares the current state of the country to a serious medical crisis that cannot be treated superficially—radical measures on the level of intensive care are needed here.
Among his top priorities, the businessman lists a drastic reduction in the size of the government bureaucracy—which he considers bloated and stifling to the economy—as well as a complete shift in approach toward the private sector: Moldova needs a much simpler business environment than its neighbors to become attractive. In this regard, he emphasizes that the main task must be to create an ultra-favorable business environment.
Restoring Lost Trust
At the same time, Tofan advocates for restoring citizens’ trust in state institutions.
“After the ‘cousin drama,’ trust must be restored in order to be able to carry out the necessary reforms. This includes making cuts in areas where ordinary people want to see more transparency and fairness. Capping public sector salaries at 4–5 times the average wage—including bonuses for state service, hard work, or other peculiarities—would be the first step,” asserts Vasile Tofan.
Tofan also calls for immediate structural reforms in vulnerable sectors. These include the rapid privatization of state property, the listing of state-owned companies on the stock exchange, and a complete overhaul of the Labor Code to increase labor market flexibility. His reform program includes extremely tough measures in the social and administrative systems: a gradual increase in the retirement age alongside the elimination of special pensions, as well as a sweeping territorial reform that would reduce the number of municipal administrations to just 40 and completely eliminate districts.
Introduce a limit on public debt and the budget deficit
In terms of macroeconomics and public administration, the proposal is to completely rethink agricultural subsidies, implement a strict water pricing system due to water scarcity, and enshrine in organic law a limit on public debt of less than 40% of GDP and an annual budget deficit of less than 3%. At the same time, he firmly demands an end to unwarranted business inspections and raids by masked individuals at 6 a.m. over routine tax matters, which are perceived as major obstacles for investors. All these domestic reforms must be synchronized with the maximum acceleration of negotiations on accession to the European Union.
The author of these proposals acknowledges that this package of measures will provoke fierce resistance and will be extremely difficult to implement, but nevertheless remains optimistic. As an example, he cites other countries that have overcome deep systemic crises through political courage.
“Saakashvili and Bendukidze were able to achieve results in a far worse situation in Georgia, and Milei—in what was effectively an apocalyptic one in Argentina. So it can be done in Moldova as well,” Tofan believes.
