There is an increased risk that the scrap metal market will be monopolized through different legislative stratagems and nicely packed schemes. The hidden goal is to resort to the old and vicious practices of imposing a monopoly on the scrap metal market, said expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ioniță. According to him, the monopoly rent or the price of corruption is 20% of the selling price, IPN reports.
“When we had a monopoly in the Republic of Moldova, the monopolists abusively took 20% of the selling price of metal. This is US$15-20 million a year. So, our citizens were annually dispossessed in a barbarous way of US$15-20 million. Afterward, it was quiet during several years and now they try again to impose a monopoly so that the citizens are dispossessed of money. The monopolist, being every time protected by decision makers from the Cabinet, from Parliament, managed to do this,” stated Veaceslav Ioniță.
The economist said the dirty money that reaches the monopolist privileged by law is used to corrupt politicians. “The curse of money is that the political factor always intervened and tried to introduce all kinds of schemes so as to benefit from rent,” said the expert.
According to Veaceslav Ioniță, over 150,000 tonnes of metal will not be recycled this year. This is 50% of the metal recycled annually. There are major risks that this extremely negative phenomenon will expand over the next few years. There is also a big risk that most of the companies operating in the field, where about 1,500 salary earners work, will go bankrupt. Given that the vulnerable population collects scarp metal, it is estimated that about 85,000 persons will have their incomes reduced. The losses this year amount to 1 billion lei with risks of prolongation.
The expert noted that the European course of the Republic of Moldova could be compromised by using vicious practices in free trade and impacting the waste collection process, contrary to the good practices in the European Union.
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