Chisinau councilmen return to heated discussions on size of their pays

The issue of the pays that the councillors will get for their work has aroused much controversy again at the Chisinau City Council (CMC) meeting on Thursday, February 21. CMC Chair Mihai Ghimpu told the councillors he would not sign the decision adopted earlier, arguing that it was backed by 24 votes instead of the 26 required in the case of financial matters. According to him, the Liberal-Democratic group abstained at first, but was quick to add two yeas after the voting process brought about an unfavourable outcome. Ghimpu said he wouldn’t want to see criminal proceedings brought against him as a result of signing that decision. He proposed the faction leaders to come together for a special meeting and consider scheduling this issue for another CMC meeting. Ghimpu’s intervention made prior to voting the order of the day was labelled by the leader of the Social-Democrats, Eduard Musuc, as another example of the Liberal Party’s populist approach. Musuc said that the CMC chairman should observe the laws and refrain from puffing up the merits of the Liberal Party at CMC meetings, as he has recently done during a televised programme. Councillor Oleg Cernei of the Moldova Noastra Alliance faction also levelled criticism at Ghimpu. According to him, the fact that the CMC chairman advertised his intention of not signing the respective decision on television is another violation of the laws committed by Ghimpu. Oleg Cernei believes that the decision to raise the pays for councillors is well within the law, and if Ghimpu doesn’t sign it, any other three councillors will. The Communist councillors reiterated their intention to donate the money they will get for their work in the Council to orphanages in the city. On February 5, the municipal councillors fixed the pay they will get for a meeting day at 400 lei, as against 90 lei paid to the councillors of the previous City Council. The decision to raise the councillors’ pay has not taken effect yet, and if the remuneration remains 400 lei, the working meetings will cost the municipal budget 938,000 lei for September 2007 and December 2008.