Negrescu: Failing to meet the target for the pay bill shows that reform of the civil service remains merely a matter of rhetoric

  Failing the target in the PNRR regarding the pay bill shows that the reform of the civil service in Romania is still only at the level of discourse, and the loss of the 770 million euro will mean the suspension of certain infrastructure projects and an additional outlay of public funds, said economic consultant Adrian Negrescu.'The Pay Act was the cornerstone of the PNRR reforms, a law that was due to be passed in 2022 but which kept being postponed for purely electoral reasons. The Act was beneficial to public sector employees because it offered them financial predictability; in effect, it guaranteed their salaries for the next five years. Furthermore, it was an extremely important element in the Romanian state’s financial architecture, given that it was intended to set a maximum level of public expenditure allocated to civil servants and the state apparatus in general. ‘The fact that we have missed this target proves that the idea of reforming the public sector in Romania remains merely a matter of public discourse, whilst the reality remains purely hypothetical,’ stated Negrescu. The economic consultant explained that the present situation is the result of the lack of coherence in the state decisions and in the preparation of the projects of national importance.'How did we end up here? Unfortunately, there is no consistency in the Romanian state’s decisions or in the way political parties prepare these projects of national importance. The pay bill should have been part of any government programme. Over the last 10 years, it has been absent in Romania, and here we are. Unfortunately, the failure to absorb the 770 million euros effectively means putting infrastructure projects on hold – investments that Romania needs – and yet another round of public borrowing that the state will have to undertake to plug the gap caused by the failure to implement this reform. The Pay Act demonstrates that, unfortunately, there is a lack of coherence in our governance; it shows that we have put the cart before the horse. ‘Instead of discussing the restructuring of the public sector and then, afterwards, assessing how much money we need, we have prioritised salaries first, in a purely electoral move in which, unfortunately, conspiracy theories and the fear-mongering of public sector employees have taken centre stage,’ added the expert. Negrescu drew attention to the issues regarding the PNRR implementation and the necessity of some coherent governing strategies.'The failure of the PNRR proves once again, if proof were needed, that the Romanian state needs coherent governance strategies and administrative projects in which objectives, targets and decision-making form a coherent whole that transcends political rhetoric. The PNRR is proving to be what we, unfortunately, anticipated: a national plan of failed reforms, given that, to date, we have attracted only 13 billion of the more than 30 billion initially made available to Romania. We have missed out on over 8 billion lei in investments in infrastructure, in hospitals, in educational infrastructure, and in a great many projects we undertook which have turned out to be a sort of mirage, from both an economic and administrative perspective, highlighting the inability and impotence of the public administration to meet very clear objectives and targets relating to the reforms Romania needs. The PNRR proves, if proof were needed, that Romania is not ready for a fundamental change in the way politics is conducted, in the way this country is governed, and the efforts we have made so far, including in terms of reducing the budget deficit, are merely ‘flowers that do not herald spring’, from an administrative point of view,’ the expert added. The economic consultant warned on the effects of missing PNRR on Romania’s image among the investors.'Unfortunately, the failure of the PNRR is a black mark on Romania’s image, yet another negative factor for investors wishing to enter our country and develop businesses, and proof that legislative inconsistency and a failure to take ownership of projects of national importance are, regrettably, the norm in a Romania where the political class has failed to pass its coming-of-age test through this PNRR,’ he added.