Parliament refuses to interpellate Government on drought issue

The communist deputies rejected on Thursday, June 21, the proposal of certain deputies that suggested hearing Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Anatolie Gorodenco on the actions supposed to be undertaken by the Government in order to remedy the negative consequences of drought. Democrat MP Valdimir Filat requested to summon Gorodenco in Parliament to hear his report on the state of affairs in agriculture and on the specific actions planned to reduce the destructive effects of drought. It is important for the Members of Parliament as well as for the public opinion to be well informed about the measures undertaken by the Government, which traditionally says that it “keeps the situation under control”, Filat said. Communist MP Dmitri Todoroglo said for his part that the Government has been requested this information within the Parliamentary Commission on Agriculture and Food Industry, and it is to be presented during one of the next sittings of the Parliament. In retort, Filat said that “there are certain things that can not be postponed and that the public opinion has to know exactly what is happening”. The Democrat Party’s proposal was supported by some other MPs, including Leonid Bujor, representing the Moldova Noastra Alliance, who labelled such excuses “ridiculous”, given that “the country experiences a drought comparable to the one occurred in 1946.” This proposal was endorsed by 41 deputies, but it was rejected by the communist lawmakers.