Businesspeople intensify criticism of Goverment

Businesspeople, who believe the measures announced by the authorities to be long overdue, say they cannot comprehend why the Government does not stop wasting money on public procurement and say any further delay in implementing measures agreed with the IMF will only create the premises for tax hikes in autumn.

“It would have been much better if public sector workers’ salaries had been cut earlier, but history is not written with ‘ifs’. Implementation remains the big issue,” believes Doru Lionachescu, main partner of boutique investment bank Capital Investment.

Businesspeople have been harsh critics of the Government’s lack of a long-term strategy amid increasingly pessimistic economic forecasts. The private sector sees a differentiation in pension cuts as necessary.

“Dignitaries should put together coherent measures instead of the populist ones of donating their salary for a few months. But I think when it comes to cutting salaries and pensions a differentiation needs to be made, between people who earn less than 1,000 RON and those who earn more, and between pensioners who receive a 300-RON pension and the rest. They too need to contribute, but less,” says Stefan Poienaru, owner of Agrofarm Holding, an agricultural company with over 30 million euros in turnover.