Municipal councillor accuses local authorities of lobbying for a Austrian company

Municipal Councillor Oleg Cernei accuses local authorities of lobbying in the favour of an Austrian company. The representative of the “Moldova Noatra” Alliance in the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) stated during the CMC session on Monday, January 22, that the “EPA MEDIA” Company won the tender within the public partnership on building and illuminating stations, together with the possibility of placing outdoor advertisement, only due to the lobby from local officials, Info-Prim Neo reports. In his public interpellation, voiced at the beginning of the session, Cernei stated that the so-called winning of the tender for building 300 waiting stations in Chisinau is the result of a lobby of the independent councillor Mihai Severovan and support from the City Hall leadership, after CMC decided on November 28, 2006, to announce a tender in order to organise a commission for analysing projects, which has never summoned, Cernei asserts. Illegalities went on with the violation of the terms established for submitting offers. According to the legislation, offers can be accepted in a 45-day term after the announcement of the tender. However, the tender was held on January 16, only 11 days after the announcement was published in the “Official Monitor”. Oleg Cernei claims that “EPA MEDIA” advertises cigarettes so that, during 10 years of the contract’s term, tobacco products would be advertised on the 300 waiting stations. AMN councillor added that 4 world well-known companies informed about the manner of organisation of this so-named tender and requested the representative of the Government, the public prosecutor of Chisinau and the responsible officials in the City Hall to give explanations. Interim mayor Vasile Ursu hasn’t commented on the councillor’s interpellation. Earlier, he stated that local companies did not participate in the tender because of the “too tough participation conditions and the municipality’s great requirements”.