NBS clarifies census payments and contract adjustments
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Moldova has provided clarifications following public reports that enumerators involved in the Population and Housing Census (PHC) had not received their salaries.
The NBS confirms that the state budget includes the full financial resources necessary for payments to temporary census staff. The handover-receipt documents for services provided by approximately 4,300 enumerators have been prepared and mostly signed, and payments have been initiated.
The NBS explains that the census staff worked under service contracts governed by the Civil Code of the Republic of Moldova. According to these contracts, payments for services are made within 30 days of presenting the signed handover-receipt. However, the institution is making efforts to complete the payments as swiftly as possible.
The institution further announces that payments for support staff involved in organising the census, including coordinators and logistics specialists, have been processed according to established procedures.
The NBS notes that the remuneration for enumerators was based on estimates of the number of households and individuals enumerated, as well as the rates per questionnaire, which were calculated according to the projected average salary for 2024.
Following the actual data collection, the exact number of households and individuals enumerated was determined, leading to necessary adjustments in payments. The NBS specifies that, in some cases, the actual number of households and individuals enumerated differed from initial estimates, with some figures being lower and others higher.
“Therefore, according to the procedures, in addition to preparing the handover-receipt for services, it may be necessary to modify the basic contract by drafting and signing agreements to reduce or increase the value of the services provided,” the NBS explains.
Additionally, with respect to transport compensations, the NBS announces that these are adjusted based on supporting documents, which may result in discrepancies from the values specified in the basic contract.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
