Moldovan PM-designate says government must focus on real efficiency, not just tick populist box

Designated Prime Minister Vasile Tofan today said that reducing the number of ministries should not be done merely to claim a reform has been carried out, without analyzing the real impact on how institutions work. The statement was made in Parliament, in response to a question from Socialist MP Vlad Batrancea, who asked why the new government structure does not include merging certain ministries and reducing the number of deputy prime ministers.

Vlad Batrancea said that Vasile Tofan had previously spoken about the need for a more efficient state and about institutions that do not function well enough, and asked why these principles were not applied in the process of forming the new government.

“The programme is called ‘European Economy, Efficient State’, and you have repeatedly said that the state is too inefficient in many areas. My first question is: why are you coming with the same structure of five deputy prime ministers? Why didn’t you reduce the number of ministries? Why didn’t you come with a governmental reform?”, Vlad Batrancea asked.

In his answer, Vasile Tofan acknowledged that, initially, he had intended to review the number of ministries, including through a possible merger of some institutions. However, the designated PM stressed that such a reform must be based on calculations and on an assessment of the consequences.

“I will give a very honest answer to this question. I admit, my first intention, my first instinct was indeed to review the number of ministries, including possibly with the idea of mergers. We had discussions and debates on this topic. However, I am a person of data and figures. Even if I would like to carry out these mergers, I need to look at the real effects,” Vasile Tofan said.

The designated candidate for the position of prime minister noted that, in some cases, the benefits of a merger could be smaller than the negative effects produced by reorganizing institutions.

“If I were to carry out a merger, its benefits would be far lower than the damage that could be caused by the reorganization process. Let us take, for example, the Ministry of Culture. At the moment, we have fewer than 50 people working there. What would be the economic effect of merging the Ministry of Culture, compared to the chaos that could be created?” the designated prime minister explained.

Vasile Tofan underlined that he does not want to promote reforms only for their political effect and argued instead for measures that produce concrete results.

“I do not want to be populist. I do not want to be someone who just ticks a political box: Look, I merged two or three ministries, creating much more chaos in the process. We must focus more on real efficiency than on ticking off something in a populist way,” Tofan said.

The designated PM also referred to the pressure placed on institutions in the context of Moldova’s EU accession process.

“We are under great pressure to deliver every day and every week for the accession program. Believe me, there is a lot of work there. That is why we must be very careful about the reforms we undertake and their real impact on the functioning of the state,” Vasile Tofan said.

The designated prime minister stressed that the efficiency of the state should not be measured only by the number of ministries or institutions, but by their ability to make decisions and deliver results.

“For me, an efficient state does not necessarily mean a state with fewer ministries. It means a state that works better, that makes decisions more quickly and that delivers results. If a merger creates more instability, delays reforms and affects the accession process, then we must ask ourselves whether this is really the right solution,” Vasile Tofan concluded.

The parliament convened today at a plenary meeting, in order to examine the government’s Work Program and to grant a vote of confidence to the new cabinet of ministers. The mandate of the new Executive will focus on the direction, ‘ Moldova – a European, safe and prosperous country, in which private initiative drives growth, and an efficient and competent state delivers quality public services that improve people’s lives.’