Heating compensation fraud reports encouraged through call centre
The ruling PAS party is again encouraging Moldovans to report one another, critics say, this time over heating compensation claims.
The party has already urged people to report suspected “electoral corruption”, while pro-government activists have increasingly taken on the role of monitoring and denouncing opponents. A separate system has also emerged around complaints to the Audiovisual Council over content considered politically unacceptable.
Now the authorities have turned to social assistance. Speaking on NV8, Minister of Labour and Social Protection Natalia Plugaru asked residents to report neighbours if they have information that those neighbours are receiving heating compensation while hiding income and therefore not being entitled to support. For such reports, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has already created a special call centre.
Critics say reporting culture is becoming systematic
Opponents of PAS argue that the government is normalising a culture of denunciation under different pretexts. First it was “electoral corruption”, then complaints over allegedly subversive media content, and now heating compensation fraud.
The comparison made by critics is deliberately sharp: they accuse the authorities of pushing Moldova towards a climate of mutual suspicion, where citizens are encouraged to watch and report one another rather than challenge the system that decides who receives help.
The latest appeal is particularly sensitive because heating compensation concerns households already under pressure from rising utility costs. Instead of starting with questions about tariffs, income, or the adequacy of support, the government is now asking citizens to help identify neighbours who may have concealed earnings.
For the authorities, this may be presented as a way to prevent abuse of public money. For critics, it is another sign that PAS prefers surveillance, reporting and control to open accountability over social policy.
The call centre created for heating compensation fraud reports may therefore become more than a technical tool. It is another symbol of how social support in Moldova is increasingly being tied to suspicion, monitoring and denunciation.
