PAS Crime Games – Threat to All Moldovans

The authorities got carried away with schemes, geopolitics, and Russophobia: the country’s economy is falling apart, and the people are on the verge of total impoverishment.

Vladimir ROTARI, RTA: There are only a handful of areas in the country that, thanks to the efforts of the ruling party, have not become a problem in a year and a half. Almost every day, decisions are made in the highest echelons of power that make the situation of the country and its population worse than it was before. Most often, noticeably worse. At their core is not only blatant incompetence, but also cold calculation. We are watching live on air a not very skillful surgery, and without anesthesia, to cut off all the arteries linking Moldova to the Russian Federation. It is carried out in the name of goals and intentions that have nothing to do with our republic’s interests. The consequences of such a surgery are devastating. Irrational rupture with traditional suppliers of energy resources led to their sharp rise in prices for the population and economic agents. For example, yesterday, for the fourth time this year, electricity tariffs were raised to almost five lei per kilowatt/hour. It put Moldova in the continental leaders on this indicator – only Greece surpassed us. Meanwhile, members of the ruling party and even the president personally, struck by collective schizophrenia, call it “the price of freedom”, and speak for all citizens about their willingness to live without heat and electricity in winter. In addition, austerity in the energy sector is killing the already frail economy, leading to increased crime and undermining the healthcare sector. Even if total blackout isn’t looming over the country yet, it will be extremely expensive to save the country from it. How expensive, even the useless prime minister doesn’t know. But one can imagine the scale of it, given the fact that all the electricity we get now comes from Romania, a country where it is traded at one of the highest rates in the EU on the spot market. Specifically, it is, depending on time of day, from 100 to 350 euros per MWh. On average, we are said to be paying about 177 euros. Compare this with 55-60 euros from the Moldovan GRES. Moreover, the order of emergency direct purchases in Romania is planned to remain in place until the end of the year. Gas situation is no better. Yes, now the price is not as extreme as it was a couple of months ago. But don’t buy into this. Giant tariffs for the population, which have been raised six times this year, are still in place. The authorities keep doing everything to tear up the existing contract with Gazprom. And there is an opinion that sooner or later – but more likely sooner – they will get what they want. In October, we have already received one-third less Russian gas than required. The formal reason is Ukraine’s refusal to provide additional pumping capacity. The real reasons lie in the constant disruptions of payment for supplies and deliberate violation of the terms of auditing the right-bank’s historical debt. But that is not the whole story. Apparently, the ruling regime has been playing games with Russian natural gas for some time now. There are reports that the so-called “gas savings” of tens of millions of cubic meters, which officials have been telling us about, is in fact a murky scheme to resell it to Ukraine. And then they tell us this is allegedly “storage”. Let me remind you that there is a provision in the contract with Gazprom that prohibits any re-export of gas from Russia. But if the authorities violate some clauses, then why not violate others, especially to their own advantage. One can imagine how this scheme will blossom now, given the fact that since November we have redistributed the volume of incoming gas, taking from the left bank about fifty million cubic meters compared to last month. Tiraspol is already declaring an almost humanitarian disaster: all major enterprises have been shut down, hourly supply of hot water to household consumers has been introduced, and a total economy mode has been activated. Naturally, the authorities don’t care about the region’s problems, but there are several important nuances for the right bank as well. First, in case of an absolute collapse in Transdniestria, we will have to deal with the consequences, one way or another – where else will people flee from there? Second, this situation practically puts an end to the return to supplies of cheap electricity from the Moldovan GRES, which means that the population will keep on paying the current exorbitant tariff. Third, this is yet another violation of the contract with Gazprom, which clearly specifies the volumes for the right bank and the left bank. Finally, let’s remember how Russian gas supplies were paid for last month –  through granting a loan by the government against the property of Moldavagaz, that is, Gazprom as the main shareholder of this company. In fact, this means virtually imminent expropriation of the Russian gas property in Moldova, which will certainly drive the final nail in the coffin of energy relations with Moscow. Meanwhile, “offshore” vice-premier Andrei Spinu almost gleefully reported that Moldova had first imported natural gas through the reverse system. In his words, this proves that it is possible to get gas not only from Russia. However, he did not say whose blue fuel it was and at what price was it purchased. And indeed, why bother the serfs with such stuff? Yet, a simple investigation quickly revealed that the gas was actually Russian, but repurchased. And, apparently, it cost us dearly, but arrived in Ukrainian storage facilities where more than a hundred million cubic meters have reportedly been stored. But will we be able to get it when the need arises? Maia Sandu and her coalition have already completely lost themselves in schemes, geopolitics, and russophobia. While the country’s top officials attend meaningless conferences in Bucharest and receive a friendly pat on the shoulder instead of real help, the country is on the brink of disaster. The holes in the budget are plugged by loans at huge interest rates, and there is no sign of any compensations for people who, whatever Sandu is blabbering about, can’t afford the tariffs of “good times”. But the leadership of the country does not care, as it obediently satisfies the demands of their bosses on cutting off all ties with the “aggressor country” while enriching itself at the expense of our misfortunes. And even if the population lives on the bread line, the “yellow thieves”, as it seems, will not miss their chance in any case. Especially when the opposition’s resistance is more than modest.