Moldova defends €490,000 national day concert amid public backlash
The Moldovan government defended spending €490,000 (9.86 million MDL) on its Independence Day concert on Monday, arguing it cut costs by 21% following an investigative report into no-bid procurement.
Procurement scrutiny and budget renegotiation
The cabinet said initial plans for the 35th independence anniversary festivities totaled €626,000 (12.61 million MDL), which included 35 symbolic columns and extensive video installations in Chisinau's Great National Assembly Square. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan deemed the initial estimate excessive and instructed his control body to renegotiate vendor contracts below a 10 million MDL ceiling four days before the Aug. 27 concert.
Government spokesman Dumitru Ciorici said the compressed timeframe following the cabinet's confirmation on July 22 made an open tender impossible. The culture ministry subsequently awarded the €490,000 contract directly to Moldova Concert, a state-run entity under its own supervision.
“The government reaffirms its commitment to fiscal discipline and reducing budgetary waste, which is why the executive intervened directly to trim contractor demands by more than €137,000,” said Ciorici in an official statement.
The official explanation followed an inquiry by investigative outlet RISE Moldova, which revealed authorities expanded the celebration budget twentyfold from an initial 500,000 MDL (€25,000) allocation. Critics and civil society groups questioned the sole-source procedure and the spending surge amid broader government appeals for fiscal restraint.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
