A number of activists who form part of the organization “My Dear City” made a call to all the dwellers of the apartment buildings managed by the municipality of Chisinau not to sign energy efficiency contracts with the City Hall. In a news conference at IPN, they said that these contracts contain numerous violations of dwellers’ rights. In particular, the price of services that will be provided is not indicated. Last week, the City Hall announced its intention to install new windings and doors in apartment buildings within the EBRD’s Moldovan Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (MoREEFF), IPN reports.
Consumer protection expert Tatiana Gogu said the people’s money will be laundered by these contracts. The contract conditions do not provide the rights of the dwellers, only their obligations. For example, it is said that the person who signed this contract is obliged to pay all the services that will be indicated in the bill. But there is no guarantee that a new service will not included in the bill, like the repair of the stair or the replacement of windows.
According to consumer protection expert Nadejda Trubitsina, another violation is the fact that the contract can be signed not only by the dwellers, but also by the lessees.
Lawyer Vadim Coltov said though the City Hall announced that the costs within the project will be covered from the current charge paid for serving the block, such a provisions is not contained in the contract.
Vitalie Voznoi, chairman of the organization “My Dear City”, said that 12,000 people signed such contracts already. The people are manipulated to sign financing contracts that weren’t approved by the Consumer Protection Agency. This fact is dubious.
Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said that for the municipality to obtain financing for the project, the dwellers must give their consent and sign the financing contract. If the block managers manage to collect the signatures, the municipality will get financing and a grant of 30% of the size of the loan. The rest of the sum will be repaid in five years.
