CMC contents itself to familiarising with information about inspection at Memorial Complex “Eternity” and only

The Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) limited itself to taking notice of the information about the check carried out at the Memorial Complex “Eternity” to see how it was reconstructed. At the meeting of November 27, the councillors heard a report on the results of the inspection conducted by the Audit Office (AO) and unanimously passed the decision about the familiarisation with the given information. Municipal councilman Alexandru Tanase explained that CMC cannot modify the content of the AO report, only familiarise itself with the provided information. Vasile Panfil, head of the Municipal Construction Division, said that the AO discovered irregularities related to the reconstruction works during the inspection, but the last commission set up on the Government’s instructions, of which he formed part as co-chairman, identified no violations. Vasile Panfil also said that the measurement made at the place revealed the same dimensions as the ones indicated in the relevant documents, while a state-run audit company confirmed that the building materials were purchased at market prices. Panfil explained that the additional works assessed at 11.5 mln lei that must be covered from the state budget were carried out by order of President Vladimir Voronin, of Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev and interim mayors Vasile Ursu and Veaceslav Iordan that held office in that period. Panfil informed the councillors that now “Eternity” is taken over by the Chisinau City Hall. But recently, the Ministry of Defence asked to be entrusted with the administration of the memorial. According to Valentina Vazdautan, interim head of the General Finance Division, about 34.7 mln lei, the sum stipulated in the contract, was spent on the reconstruction of the memorial complex (7.8 mln lei from the state budget and 26.9 mln lei from the municipal budget), while 11.5 mln lei on additional works. According to the report presented to the councillors, a commission of the Audit Office ascertained that the Memorial Complex “Eternity” was renovated with serious deviations from the legislation, illegally and seven times quicker than normal. The reconstruction works were carried out simultaneously with the formulation of the project documentation and expenditure estimate, while the relevant authorization was issued by the Agency for Construction and Territorial Development. The public tender contest for selecting the first contractor “Moldconstruct-Market” was organized in the absence of project documentation and of the expenditure estimate. Also, the AO’s report says that the paving slabs of concrete and the mixture of sand and concrete in the substratum do not met the quality standards, while the cost of the slabs for pavements is by 1.7 mln lei higher that the one indicated in the last expenditure estimate. The inventorying of the granite pieces revealed the absence of granite objects worth over 60,000 lei. Earlier, the former municipal councillor Mihai Roscovan, director of the Business Consulting Institute, stated that CMC must not only take notice, but make a political and legal decision over the illegalities committed when reconstructing the memorial complex. Roscovan said that a special commission of the CMC should examine all the project documentation, identify the abuses and illegalities and send the matter to the relevant institutions so that the persons to blame are held accountable.