Of the series of IPN interviews with all the candidates for mayor general of Chisinau municipality: Ion Ceban, candidate of the Party of Socialists.
– What made you run for the mayoralty of Chisinau municipality?
– I was born in Chisinau and was brought up, studied and distinguished myself as a personality here. A lot of people about whom I care live here. I love my native city and these are not just nice words. To be able to fully devote myself to Chisinau, I vacated the seat of MP in 2015 in favor of the post of municipal councilor. During these years, I permanently proposed solutions to the problems of the capital city and all the good things we managed to do for Chisinau were presented in a series of thematic conferences. I know very well the situation in Chisinau and know what should be done to have a modern, developed city. My platform for the upcoming elections is the best proof in this regard.
– Why do you think you should be voted in the May 20 elections?
– I would call on the voters to analyze both the performance of each candidate for mayoralty (and not only in the current campaign) and also their electoral platforms. Regrettably, some of the candidates showed that they do not have the slightest idea about the efficient management of such a large and important municipality as Chisinau. They don’t know even the most elementary problems faced here and making a lot of noise is all they can do. I do not want to criticize as it is ultimately up to them to decide how to appear before the voters, but I think that the way in which some of the candidates presented themselves is defiance and disrespect for the voters. One cannot appear before the people without suggesting concrete solutions to the problems these face, without showing they have a minimum of knowledge about the situation in Chisinau and the way in which a capital city should be managed. I was correct towards everyone in the current campaign, first of all towards the inhabitants of Chisinau municipality. I attacked no one and didn’t respond to the dirty attacks against me, some of which went beyond any limit. I preferred to use the available time to present my electoral platform and the solutions for Chisinau. I’m very glad that an increasing number of people ascertain that I have the most complex and professional electoral platform. I’m sure that the inhabitants of Chisinau also convinced themselves of this and this will have an impact on the election outcome.
– Which are the most pressing three problems in Chisinau and how quickly can they be solved?
– During the current election campaign, I held 26 news conferences (until May 14). In each of the conferences, I presented the view on a concrete area, on a concrete category of people. Each presentation of the kind centered on 7-10 problems in each area, which need involvement and resolution. We speak about over 200 problems we see and for which we have concrete solutions. They are all important because they all have a direct connection with the life of the citizens of Chisinau municipality. It is hard to prioritize them, but I will try: 1) poor management of the municipality (lack of any view and strategy in this respect); 2) corruption, especially during the last few years, reached worrisome proportions; 3) bureaucracy, whose negative effects are felt by each private individual and legal entity that come in touch with the municipality. But I repeat that these are rather mega-problems or even phenomena that hide dozens and hundreds of other problems behind them.
- What solutions do you suggest to them?
– The efficient administration of Chisinau municipality is one of the most important aspects to which the inhabitants of Chisinau should devote attention because most of the problems faced so far were due including to the inability of those who managed the City Hall until now to handle the affairs in the municipality.
We suggest a complex approach in this regard and, by next April, will present a new general development plan of Chisinau based on which the capital city will develop and will become a modern city. Without such a plan, the development of the municipality is impossible as the good things, even if they are done, cannot generate efficiency as long as they are something fragmentary. We consider each effort should be a piece of a complex puzzle that, when it is put in its place, should contribute to the achievement of the common major objective – to have a modern, developed city.
The proper management of the municipal property is an important aspect of the efficient administration of the city. That’s why we aim to fully review the municipal property and to classify all the green areas of the city so that when we speak about each concrete project that would contribute to the development of the capital city we know exactly what we have and what are the limits. Unfortunately, until now these things that seem simple at first sight weren’t done not only because of bad intentions, but also because of incompetence. As long as it is not clear what municipal property we have exactly, this can be used as different decision makers of the City Hall want. As long as the green areas are not appropriately classified, any abuses are possible based on corruption schemes that were developed in time. This chaos that is orchestrated in parts and is used for evil purposes can no longer continue and I will stop it immediately after I take up my duties as the mayor general of Chisinau municipality.
As to corruption, I can say that I and those from my team are aware of the resistance that the corrupt system in the local administration, which has been cemented for decades, can put up. I mean those functionaries that constantly applied corruption schemes that had a maximal output for them. That’s why, during the first six months of my mayoralty, all the functionaries of the City Hall will be attested for the post held. All the municipal functionaries suspected of corruption will be examined by the competent bodies and, while being under investigation, will be suspended from posts or fired. I have a clear message for the functionaries who do their job honestly: they will continue to hold their posts! The corrupt functionaries, not those who work appropriately and in accordance with the law are our target!
Immediately I take up my duties as a mayor, I will launch a comprehensive audit of all the divisions and enterprises managed by the City Hall. Based on this audit, there will be designed a new organogram of the City Hall. It’s not a secret that the current organogram is not only outdated, but is also mainly inefficient. Moreover, the current organogram is powerfully anchored in the broad corruption schemes that stifle the capital city and do not allow it to develop as it should. We do not think the capital city can be developed without an efficient City Hall. Radical changes are needed to make the City Hall efficient and these will be made!
You and your workfellows, NGOs and citizens not only once warned about the lack of transparency in the activity of the City Hall. This is a real problem whose size is worrisome. The lack of transparency generates corruption. That’s why the improvement of the situation in this field will be a priority for us. We aim to make sure that all the decisions at the City Hall are taken transparently and openly. These will be published on the website of the City Hall and on billboards. We will continue the practice on which we have insisted during the past three years – live broadcasting of the meetings of the commissions of the Municipal Council. Each division of the City Hall will be obliged to publish the plan of actions, concrete data and to report publicly on the implementation of each document at least once a month or at the end of each stage of the municipal projects and programs.
To ensure transparency, I will also make sure that the city fully switches over to a modern system of managing projects and programs. The people should be able to follow this process step by step so that no suspicion and no preconditions for new acts of corruption appear.
Special attention in this regard will be devoted to the sale and leasing out of municipal property as the biggest acts of corruption occur here. We, the Socialists, warned about this not only once, putting up strong resistance to all the illegal attempts taken by the corrupt administration of the City Hall. Our objective is to make sure that the municipal property is sold and leased out only by tender contests as it is done in all the developed countries that really fight corruption.
The problem is pressing as it is known that the municipal budget has been robbed of over 6 billion lei as a result of frauds and thefts during the last ten years. This money could have been used to develop the city and, believe me, if this had been done, Chisinau would have looked differently now.
The adoption and implementation of the municipal budget is another area where serious abuses and deviations are witnessed. That’s why we will insist that the practice of the previous years should not repeat and the municipal budget should be adopted on time and in conditions of maximum transparency. Furthermore, we will ensure the public reporting on each leu spent from the municipal budget.
There will be named competent managers whose task will be to monitor the implementation of the budget so as to make sure that everything is done on time and in a proper way. Each division of the City Hall will provide regular reports on the fulfillment of budgets and those who will not implement the budgets on time will be fired.
The introduction of the personal responsibility of functionaries will be a key moment on which we will insist. Thus, each functionary of the City Hall will bear personal responsibility for an area of activity and will publicly report on the state of affairs in this area. Each deviation and each step showing incompetence will be punished harshly as we will be able to ensure optimal conditions for the development of Chisinau municipality only this way.
Also, to ensure openness and transparency, each month we will organize meetings at the local level with the participation of the mayor of Chisinau, heads of the districts of the capital city and mayors of suburban communities. A particular functionary will be responsible for each raised issue and this will supervise how the decisions that will be taken are implemented. This way we will make sure that such actions generate maximum efficiency.
At the City Hall, we will continue the efforts made so far to introduce the electronic public procurement system. On this occasion, I remind that at the suggestion of the Party of Socialists, the City Hall this February introduced electronic procuring procedures in particular areas. Consequently, about 25% of the funds were saved. My task and the task of my team are to make sure that an increasing number of divisions of the City Hall and municipal enterprises join the electronic procurement system during a year. We will also implement the electronic trade platform at the City Hall. This way the right to trade on the street will be obtained by municipal tender contests through the agency of one electronic transactions platform.
– How will the pay parking spaces project end, in your opinion?
– This will definitely not be the one on which Dorin Chirtoaca and those close to him banked.
– What solutions do you have for the waste disposal problem in the city?
– It is not a secret that Chisinau during the last few years turned into one of the dirtiest cities in Europe. That’s why I and my team intend to institute harsh ecological inspections in the municipality and to introduce the system of municipal inspectors who will take care of the cleanness in the city and will impose fines for relevant violations.
In the current election campaign, I presented the concept of a safe city that implies the ensuring of an appropriate environment. I refer especially to the quality of air. We intend to launch a municipal project to measure the level of radiation and air pollution. We will every time warn the people about the quality of air and will suggest concrete measures to reduce the pollution level. We must understand that there is no commercial, economic or any other type of excuse when it goes to the public health, the people’s health.
To answer directly to your question, I will say that we will act in two directions: 1) modernization of the current waste storage system and identification of new opportunities; 2) building of a waste processing plant.
– What is the stake of the upcoming elections?
– This is enormous! The upcoming elections will show if we allow the chaos and destruction in the capital city to continue or give a new chance to Chisinau to become a prosperous and modern city. I explained above how this can be done.
– Is the City Hall a trampoline for obtaining higher posts? Do you see yourself in big politics?
– If I had wanted to enter big politics, as you said, I wouldn’t have renounced the seat of MP in 2015 in favor of that of municipal councilor. I already set the priority and this is to ensure the proper management of Chisinau city for the citizens’ benefit. All the efforts I made during the last few years were concentrated on this, but, regrettably, I and my colleagues were most of the times hampered, including by decision makers of the City Hall. I’m concerned about the present and future of Chisinau, not about politics.
– Will you run in the local elections of 2019 too?
– I presented the strategic plan for developing the municipality of Chisinau for 2018-2040. It is evident that my plans related to Chisinau are long-term ones and I hope I will enjoy the support of the citizens of the capital city so that I could put them into practice for the common benefit of the inhabitants of our municipality.
Ion Ceban will be under No. 5 on the ballot.
Earlier, IPN published interviews with Silvia Radu, independent candidate, and Maxim Braila, candidate of the People’s Party.
