Eight of the 15 posts of community mediators that were to be instituted this year in settlements inhabited mainly by Romanies remain vacant. In a working meeting at the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, the mayors of a number of settlements said they were unable to hire mediators owing to the strict provisions of the framework regulations and to the lack of financial resources, IPN reports.

Mayor of Soroca town Elena Botnarenko said there were submitted only two applications, but the candidates weren’t Romanies, as required, though they lived among Romany people and knew their language. The money allocated by the state for paying salaries to mediators hasn’t reached the mayor’s office. The amounts were transferred to the district council, which is in conflict with the mayor’s office of Soroca. The mayor’s office does not have rooms for mediators. If a person is selected to work as a mediator, he/she will have to stay in the office of the mayor.

In Straseni the problem is of a different kind. The state allocated over 61,000 lei for instituting two posts of community mediators in the villages Huzun and Stejareni. The mediators cannot be employed as the inhabitants of the two villages do not consider themselves Romanies and regard such a state approach as discrimination. Neither the Sangerei district council accepted to institute the post of mediator, arguing there are no specific problems for which such a post would be needed.

Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Valentina Buliga said the local public authorities can adopt the own regulations for employing community mediators so that they are not necessarily Romanies, but persons proposed and supported by the Roma communities. If the local authorities do not consider it necessary to institute the post of community mediator, the financing of this service will be stopped. In 2014, there will be launched the second stage for hiring the next 33 mediators.

Under the framework regulations concerning the organization of the work of community mediators, the mediators will work in settlements where the Romany people total over 150. The mediator will be an intermediary between the people of Roma ethnicity and the public services provided at community level. Until 2016, there will be 48 community mediators in Moldova.