Draft

Decree of the Government of the Republic of Moldova

to Establish the

Animal Disease Control Caisse

of the Republic of Moldova

To provide the institutional arrangement for the administration of financial resources dedicated specifically for the support of activities mandated by the Government of the Republic of Moldovato prevent, control and eradicate epizootic and enzootic (endemic) diseases among the livestock population of the Republic and to help compensate livestock owners -- physical or legal entities -- for animal losses suffered in the Republic of Moldovaas a result of epizootic diseases and/or of culling and slaughtering carried out by order of the Government,

the Government of the Republic of Moldova has decided:

1.To establish the Animal Disease Control Caisse of the Republic of Moldova, according to the Annex;

2.This Decree comes into force on the first day following its publication.

I. Legislative Basis

  1. In order to facilitate and support the implementation of the provisions of the “Law concerning Sanitary Veterinary Activities” of March 2008 with regard to the prevention and control of epizootic diseases, the Government of the Republic of Moldovaestablishes an Animal Disease Control Caisse.

II. Legal Status

  1. The Animal Disease Control Caisse (hereinafter:“the Caisse”) is an autonomous public non-commercial institution. The Caisseacquires the status of a legal entity,аs well as the rights and obligations of performing its activities, from the time of its state registration and can act as a plaintiff and defendant in court.
  1. The Caisse carries out its activities in accordance with the provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Moldova and of its Charter, without outside interference. Its charter is approved by the Authorized Body.
  1. The Caisse has a seal and a stamp and may open bank accounts.

III. Assets, Funds and Resources

  1. The Caisse’s assets, funds and resources are formed by:

(a)State budget funds transferred to the Caisse;

(b)funds received through grants, credits and loans;

(c)voluntary allocations by legal and/or physical entities of the Republic of Moldova and foreign states;

(d)fees collected from livestock owners;

(e)income from financial investments and/or sale of physical assets;

(f)other resources that are not prohibited by legislation.

  1. The Caisse shall use its assets, funds and resources solely for the objectives specified in this decree and in its Charter.

IV. Governing and AdministrativeBodies

  1. The Governing and Administrative Bodies of the Caisse are:

(a)the Management Board as its supreme governing body;

(b)the Administrative Director [Business Manager/Director] as its administrativeorgan.

  1. Composition of the Management Board. The Management Board comprises nine members, who are appointed by the Authorized Body:

(a)two representatives of registered livestock enterprises,

(b)three representatives of household livestock producers,

(c)one representative of the Directorate of Veterinary Medicine,

(d)one representative of the Livestock Department,

(e)one representative of the Raion Administrations,

(f)one representative of the Ministry of Finance [Could be replaced by a representative of the community administrations – or add one more household farmer plus a community government representative for a total of eleven members]

  1. Term of Office. The term of service of the Management Board is three years. Members of the Management Board under para. 8(a) and 8(b) may be reappointed for two consecutive terms. [Could add a second sentence here on a system of rotation for the private sector members, so that there is one or more new members each year to replace those that rotate out.]
  1. Nomination. The members of the Management Board under para. 8(a) and 8(b) shall be appointed upon nomination by their respective associations or federations and shall include at least two women.
  1. Chairperson. The Managing Board elects from among its members under para. 8(a) and 8(b) the Chairperson.
  1. Deputy Chairperson. The Managing Board elects from among its members under para. 8(c) and 8(d) the Deputy Chairperson.
  1. Jurisdiction. The Managing Board is responsible for:

(a)the annual business plan and budget;

(b)the investment of financial assets;

(c)the annual schedule of fees to be collected from livestock owners;

(d)the annual schedule of financial assistance categories and activities that are not mandated by law or governmental decree;

(e)implementation regulations and guidelines concerning the collection of fees and the provision of financial assistance;

(f)review and acceptance or rejection of the annual operational and financial reports;

(g)the employment and/or dismissal of the Administrative Director [Business Manager/Director];

(h)proposed modifications of the Charter.

  1. Publication of Essential Documents. The Charter, the annual schedules of fees, and the annual schedule of financial assistance activities shall be published in the ____Gazette (?)______of the Republic of Moldova and in ______.
  1. Meetings. (a) The Managing Board shall meet as required, but not less than twice per year. (b) The Managing Board shall meet within one week of a written request for such a meeting having been provided to the Chairperson by the Administrative Director [Business Manager/Director] or by the Authorized Body. If the Authorized Body has requested the meeting, it shall be invited to be represented at the meeting. (c) The protocols of its meetings shall be submitted to the Authorized Body within two weeks of the meeting.
  1. Administrative Director [Business Manager/Director]. (a) The Managing Board delegates the responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Caisse to the Administrative Director [Business Manager/Director] who discharges his/her responsibilities in accordance with the Caisse’s Charter and the instructions of the Chairperson of the Managing Board. (b) The Administrative Director [Business Manager/Director] participates in all meetings of the Managing Board, without a right to vote.

V. Oversight

  1. The Caisse is subject to supervision by the Authorized Body. Authorized Body is the national Ministry responsible for veterinary services.
  1. The Charter of the Caisse and any modifications thereto are subject to approval by the Authorized Body.
  1. The Authorized Body may, within two weeks of receipt of the protocol of a Managing Board meeting or of a decision of the Managing Board, object to a decision of the Managing Board if it considers such a decision to be detrimental to essential aspects of national animal disease control or to be incompatible with sound veterinary policy. Actions already taken by the Caisse under a decision thus opposed by the Authorized Body shall be reversed.
  1. The Authorized Body may take actions required to ensure that the operations and activities of the Caisse are carried out in accordance with national legislation, other legal norms, the Charter and any nationally binding administrative norms.

VI. Financial Assistance

  1. The Caisse provides financial assistance to livestock owners.

(a)This assistance may consist of:

(i)compensation for animal losses caused by death or by mandatory culling or slaughter due to specific animal diseases;

(ii)contributions to the cost of mandatory disease prevention, control and eradication measures;

(iii)full or partial reimbursement of the cost of disease prevention, control and eradication measures.

(b)Such assistance is provided only for livestock that was on the territory of the Republic of Moldovaat the time of death or of slaughter.

  1. The schedule of financial assistance categories and activities and of the applicable levels is established annually.
  1. Compensation for Animal Losses. Compensation for animal losses is provided in the event of livestock death or Government mandated slaughter in the following cases:

(a)Cattle:[list applicable diseases]

(b)Sheep:[list applicable diseases]

(c)Goats:[list applicable diseases]

(d)Horses:[list applicable diseases]

(e)Pigs:[list applicable diseases]

(f)Poultry:[list applicable diseases]

  1. (a) The upper limit for compensation under para. 23 shall be 75% of the national average wholesale market value of the lost animalno more than three and no less than one month before the death or slaughter of the animal [or: at a fixed date early each calendar year], as established through periodic market surveys carried out by the National Agency for Rural Development (ACSA)]]of the Republic of Moldova. (b) The upper limit for compensation for animals slaughtered under Government mandate, but which are suitable for partial post-slaughter use is 75% of the difference between the slaughter value and the national wholesale market value.
  1. Cost Sharing. Contributions to the cost of mandatory animal disease prevention, control and eradication measures may be provided in the following cases:

(a)Cattle:[list applicable measures, such as mandatory vaccination, blood

or serological testing, etc.]

(b)Sheep:[list applicable measures, such as mandatory vaccination, blood

or serological testing, etc.]

(c)Goats:[list applicable measures, such as mandatory vaccination, blood

or serological testing, etc.]

(d)Horses:[list applicable measures, such as mandatory vaccination, blood

or serological testing, etc.]

(e)Pigs:[list applicable measures, such as mandatory vaccination, blood

or serological testing, etc.]

(f)Poultry:[list applicable measures, such as mandatory vaccination, blood

or serological testing, etc.]

  1. The activities eligible for contributions under para. 25 and the level of such contributions shall be established annually by the Caisse in consultation with the Authorized Body.
  1. Cost Reimbursement. Full or partial reimbursement of the cost of animal disease prevention, control and eradication measures may be provided in the following cases:

(a)Cattle:[list applicable measures, such as carcass disposal, stall

disinfection, etc.]

(b)Sheep:[list applicable measures, such as carcass disposal, stall

disinfection, etc.]

(c)Goats:[list applicable measures, such as carcass disposal, stall

disinfection, etc.]

(d)Horses:[list applicable measures, such as carcass disposal, stall

disinfection, etc.]

(e)Pigs:[list applicable measures, such as carcass disposal, stall

disinfection, etc.]

(f)Poultry:[list applicable measures, such as carcass disposal, stall

disinfection, etc.]

  1. The activities eligible for reimbursement under para. 27 and the level of such reimbursements shall be established annually by the Caisse in consultation with the Authorized Body.
  1. Eligibility. To be eligible for financial assistance from the Caisse the livestock owner must have:

(a)registered his/her livestock with the Caisse for the current year and

(b)paid the mandatory fees to the Caissefor his/her livestock for the current year.

VII. Registration and Fees

  1. Registration. All owners of [cattle], [sheep], [goats], [horses], [pigs][and] poultry are required to register annually with the Caisse and report the species, number and type of their livestock.
  1. Fees. (a) To help cover its administrative and operational costs and its obligations to provide financial assistance to livestock owners, the Caisseis authorized to determine and collect mandatory annual fees from livestock owners. (b) The collection of such fees may be suspended by decision of the Managing Board for any year and for any particular animal species if the financial assets of the Caisse are considered sufficient to cover its obligations with respect to that species.
  1. The schedule of fees shall be established by species. It may be further differentiated by size of livestock holding, by age or weight of the animals, and/or by epizootic risk of different livestock holdings. The date by which such fees are to be paid is determined by the Caisse.
  1. Financial assistance for animals of a particular species shall be provided only from the fees collected for animals of that species or from resources provided to the Caisse from other sources.

VIII. Contributions of the Government of the Republic of Moldova

  1. The Government of the Republic of Moldova shall provide to the Caisse, on an annual basis:

(a)until such time as the Caisse’s resources generated through the collection of fees from livestock owners are sufficient to cover one half [two thirds] of its approved annual budget, the full difference between the approved budget and the estimated fee revenue for that year;

(b)thereafter,

(i)one half [one third] of the approved annual budget of the Caisse;

(ii)the full cost of Government-mandated compensation, contributions and reimbursements incurred by the Caissefor livestock for which no fees have been collected;

(iii)one half of the cost of Government-mandated safe disposal of carcasses.

  1. The Caisse shall provide a full and detailed accounting of these costs, for each annual quarter, to the Authorized Body.
  1. The Caisse may take bank loans to cover costs incurred in the course of the year under para. 34.

IX. Concluding Provision

  1. The Authorized Body shall issue the implementation regulations and instructions needed to ensure the full and expeditious implementation of this Decree.

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