Vasile Tofan
According to him, proceeds from the sale of state property should not be used to cover current budget expenditures. Instead, they could serve as the basis for building up individual pension savings.
“In my opinion, I would like to see this money go into the savings accounts of Moldovans. That way, we wouldn’t be pouring it into some kind of black hole in the budget, but rather laying the foundation for a funded pension system. We have a massive deficit in the pension system. I have no hope whatsoever that I’ll receive anything from the state when it comes to my pension. Because the population is aging. The generation born in the 1980s is very small, and it’s unclear who will pay for my pension,” Tofan said on TV8.
At the same time, he notes that Moldova “doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel” but should draw on the experience of other countries.
“A funded pension system is being created, where each person directs a portion of their taxes to a personal account, the funds are invested, and the person can see at any time how much they have accumulated for retirement,” the prime minister explained.
However, he emphasized that the government cannot currently finance the launch of such a system by raising taxes.
“Raising taxes to create a funded pension system is unrealistic. We need to lower taxes, not raise them. Therefore, one option could be to privatize a portion of state assets and direct the proceeds to the individual retirement accounts of every Moldovan,” he explained.
Authorities Want to Restore Trust in Privatization
Tofan also stated that the government does not intend to begin large-scale privatization with major state-owned enterprises. According to him, the authorities first plan to demonstrate the most transparent possible sale of several small, unused assets—abandoned buildings or plots of land—by inviting representatives of the press, the opposition, and civil society to participate in the process.
In addition, the prime minister stated that the government is not currently considering raising the retirement age. Nor is the privatization of Moldtelecom under consideration.
He called on citizens to trust the government on the issue of privatization.
“I earnestly ask people to do so, as much as possible. I understand that trust has been severely eroded, but please trust us that we want to carry out several exemplary initiatives to attract private investors to certain assets and do so as transparently as possible and at the highest possible prices. And, as an option, I believe that if we can begin privatizing certain assets and direct that money to every Moldovan into a separate funded pension account, this could be the right step,” the prime minister said.
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