Govt. approves draft of Chisinau's status

The Government endorsed a draft law on the status of Chisinau municipality on October 15. This issue was included in the additional agenda of the Cabinet's sitting, Info-Prim Neo reports. Local Public Administration Minister Valentin Guznac said the draft was developed during one year. It is part of the Legislature's agenda for 2005- 2009 and of the Moldova-EU Action Plan. The document has been coordinated with relevant ministries, with the Chisinau City Hall, as the opinions of experts, including of the Council of Europe, have taken into consideration. According to the Minister, the draft establishes “clearly and expressly” the powers of the Chisinau Municipal Council, of the City Hall, the principles of activity of the Council's chairman, regulating the relations between parties. “The regulations have been developed in accordance with the Law local public administration and will solve the divergences existing now between the Municipal Council, the CMC chairman and the Chisinau City Hall,” Guznac specified. The draft envisages that the direction heads and the sector praetors will be appointed in coordination with the Municipal Council. The Minister wanted to stress that, although the law provides for this procedure, the City Hall breeches the law in appointing direction chiefs. At the same time, the document establishes the relations between sector councils and sector mayor's offices, as these provisions will enter force in 2011. “Article 110 of the Constitution provides that the activity of the local public administration in Chisinau is regulated through an organic law. The present Law on Chisinau's status was passed in 1995, many of its provisions are obsolete,” Guznac specified.