Deadlock in Chisinau Council costs the city millions

The standstill in the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) is severely affecting the activity of the municipality and results in losses of millions, and while virtually everyone in the Council agrees with this fact, an effective solution to the deadlock continues to elude the councilors. According to Chisinau Deputy Mayor Mihai Furtuna, there are hundreds of draft decisions that could bring some 175 million lei into the city coffers. “All these projects have been awaiting approval by the Council for six-seven months now”, he said. Councilor Oazu Nantoi, the representative of the Democratic Party in the Council, sees no real solution to the impasse. “No solutions exist in the current make-up of the Council. There are some underground interests, but they have nothing in common with the political appearance of the councilors. If we continue like that, the capital will face total degradation by the coming of winter”, said Nantoi. “The CMC consists of 51 councilors, but the vote of five of them is blocked by the Communists and the Christian-Democrats (5 councilors cannot occupy their seats because the CMC hasn't yet validated their mandates – e.n.) It's a strategy by the majority to satisfy their unfair interests. The continuation of the blockade will lead to the dissolution of the CMC”, said councilor Victor Savin of the Moldova Noastra Alliance. Liberal councilor Tatiana Gutium thinks the CMC members should remember the electoral slogan “We come to serve the Chisinau residents”. “I regret the fact that our colleagues from the PPCD are reluctant to collaborate and improve the situation in the city”, she declared. The faction of the Christian Democratic People's Party (PPCD), which was blamed for blocking the latest meeting of the Council, considers that any 'polarized interpretation' of the situation won't solve the impasse. “We don't agree with the statement that we blocked the validation of the mandates, we voted for it to stand at number 22 on the order of the day. To overcome the crisis we must sit at the negotiation table and stop politicizing issues. Big politics isn't decided in the Council, here we solve burning issues”, said PPCD councilor Mihai Adauge. “We want to work. But it's the duty of the Mayor to find common ground with all the faction leaders and, which is more important, to offer us concrete projects, not just informative notes”, replied Reghina Apostolova, member of the Communists faction.