Parliament creates inquiry commission for state-owned enterprises: hiring, salaries and management of public funds to be reviewed

Parliament has established an inquiry commission that will examine the activity of state-owned enterprises, including how public funds are managed, the legality of hiring practices, and the level of remuneration for management and employees.

During its Thursday sitting, Parliament approved the creation of an inquiry commission that will examine the activity of state-owned enterprises. The draft resolution was put forward by a group of MPs from the parliamentary faction “Party of Action and Solidarity” (PAS).

The commission is composed of 11 MPs and will be headed by PAS MP Dinu Plîngău.

“In the context of the topics that are now widely discussed in the public space, we came up with this initiative to create a parliamentary inquiry commission to investigate the activity of these state-owned enterprises. The commission’s objectives prioritize three aspects. First of all, the way people are hired into management positions in these enterprises, whether the legislation on hiring has been respected and whether remuneration does not exceed the provisions of the Government decision and no excessive payments are granted. Secondly, I believe we must also investigate the profitability of these enterprises,” said Dinu Plîngău.

The PAS MP stated that he expects the activity of this commission to be fully supported by all MPs, regardless of political affiliation. At the same time, Plîngău suggested that the commission should include MPs from all parliamentary factions. Socialist MP Vlad Bătrîncea, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, proposed that the chair of the commission be a representative of the opposition, thus ensuring transparency.

“The opposition’s report will be much more objective: the ruling faction cannot ensure this objective,” Bătrîncea underlined.

According to the adopted decision, the members of the commission will verify whether public funds and state property have been managed in accordance with the law and will analyze any potential damage caused to state-owned enterprises.

They will also assess the effectiveness of the authorities responsible for preventing and detecting irregularities or possible abuses committed by the administrators of these companies. Particular emphasis will be placed on examining cases where individuals were hired in violation of legal procedures and the principles of meritocracy, professionalism and integrity. The commission will also analyze the level of remuneration for managers and employees of state-owned enterprises, as well as the situation of enterprises undergoing insolvency proceedings or registering financial losses.

The inquiry commission will have 60 days to present to Parliament a report on the results of its investigation. The document will contain proposals for amending legislation, measures to strengthen control over state-owned enterprises, and solutions to protect employees of companies in insolvency proceedings. The establishment of the commission comes in the context of recent scandals regarding the activity of some state-owned enterprises, including controversies related to hiring and remuneration, which have generated public debate and prompted the authorities to announce extensive checks on how these entities are managed.

Speaker Igor Grosu said that the future inquiry commission on the activity of state-owned enterprises will analyze how competitions for positions on boards of directors were organized, who sits on these bodies, and what results their members have delivered. He specified that the checks will target all state-owned enterprises and will not overlook possible family ties with politicians.