The former Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, clarified the controversial comments about employees in the public sector, emphasizing their competence and advocating for fair remuneration.

Sebastian Burduja, former Minister of Energy, was reported to the National Council for Combating Discrimination after he stated in a podcast that in the public sector work "incompetent people, people who supplement their income, and crazy people".

In an intervention on Antena 3 CNN, Burduja explained that his statements were misinterpreted and that in reality, he was referring to competent employees who are poorly paid and who choose to remain in the public sector out of a desire to contribute to the well-being of the country. He mentioned that, as a minister, he took drastic measures against underperforming directors, including abolishing positions. Burduja emphasized the difficulties in administration in motivating and sanctioning employees, but also the importance of fairly rewarding work.

"It's not about what I wanted to say, but about what I said, namely that in the public sector there are people who sign for billions of euros and are poorly paid, with poor working conditions and extremely competent. And in energy, and in cybersecurity, those people could leave for the private sector at any time and earn five, six, or ten times more. They don't do it out of a beautiful madness for Romania, because they want to do something for this country and to keep things moving.

If someone felt offended because they did not follow my statement, I certainly regret the situation. That does not excuse those who distort the statement. I publicly declare myself a madman of Romania. I am one of those people for whom money does not matter as much as what I leave behind, and I qualify that as a beautiful madness. I am glad that there are many Romanians who think like that." said former Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, on Antena 3 CNN.