How Public Money Is Lost: Monitoring the Implementation of the Court of Accounts' 2013 Decision

The main objective of the round table was to discuss the results of the study “How Public Money Is Lost: Monitoring the Implementation of the Court of Accounts Recommendations for 2013”, written by Tatiana Savva. The event was opened by Ms  Angela Pascaru, member of the Court of Accounts (CoA), who spoke about the challenges facing the institution she represents. Tatiana Savva then presented the report, stating that: “although the scale of the irregularities identified by the Court of Accounts amounts to MDL 7.7 billion, more than 60% of the CoA's recommendations, which are aimed at remedying the situation, are not implemented. Nevertheless, the interest of the law enforcement bodies, as well as of Parliament and the Government, did not increase during the past year either.”

During the panel discussion, Tatiana Badan, President of the Congress of Local Public Authorities, drew attention to the complicated public procurement procedure, while Tudor Dabija, representative of the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova, stated that the recommendations formulated by the CoA are too complex and should be simplified.

Iurie Spasov, from the Ministry of Economy, stated that the institution's internal audit does not have the necessary levers to request the intervention of law enforcement bodies. Iulia Pancu, Vice-Chair of the Ungheni District Council, stated that economic agents do not know the legislation on public procurement and that local public authorities are not prepared or trained to take over procurement procedures that comply with European standards.

Raisa Cotorobai, Head of the Internal Audit Directorate of the Chișinău Municipality City Hall, stated that at top management level the role of internal auditors is not understood, this function often being disregarded, and as a result the impact of their work is diminished. Ms Cotorobai also reiterated the need to review the quality of the CoA's recommendations, which are complex and often difficult to implement within the deadlines prescribed by law. 

The round table was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Bălți Municipality City Hall, the District Councils of Ocnița, Soroca and Leova, the National Anticorruption Centre, the National Commission for Financial Markets, journalists and representatives of civil society.

 

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