Vladimir Voronin wants Chisinau City Hall’s “Horn”

President Vladimir Voronin instructed the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to prepare a draft law under which the National Creation Centre “Moldovan Village – Buciumul (Horn)” would become state property even if the Chisinau administration to which the facility belongs does not want it. “The Parliament has the right to nationalise and denationalise, to establish different subordination forms. It has these rights because this is state patrimony and not personal property of the Ghimpu clan or of somebody else,” the president said at the meeting of the Ministry’s Board on January 24. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the director of the National Creation Centre “Moldovan Village – Horn” Tudor Tataru expressed his dissatisfaction at the fact that the local authorities give him no money and did not transfer the salaries for 2008. Tataru said that the suppliers disconnected the Centre from water, heat and electric power supply systems about two weeks ago because the City Hall does not financially support this facility. Therefore, the institution cannot work properly and cannot organise the cultural-artistic activities planned, the cited source said. Tudor Tataru stated that the City Hall fixed salaries of about 400 lei for the institution’s employees, some of whom are honoured artists. Tataru himself, as director, gets a salary of about 600 lei. Referring to the state’s interest in this facility, Tataru said that the central authorities will find a way to take over the “Horn” from the City Hall because it should be part of the national heritage like “Milestii Mici” and “Cricova”. Tataru said that he appealed to the chairman of the Chisinau Municipal Council Mihai Ghimpu and to the deputy mayors of Chisinau asking them to solve the problems faced by the Centre, but all of them said their was no money. “If there is no money, why shouldn’t they let us develop,” Tataru wondered. Sources in the City Hall said that “Horn” is not a priority for the municipality when the budget is in deficit. The reconstruction of the facility was stopped before elections as the Government did not allot the money it pledged. They said that the local budget for this year includes money for covering the costs of the institution and it was cut off from the water and power supply systems probably because Tudor Tataru forgot to pay the bills. Before the local elections, the Government issued a decision which said that “Horn” should be transferred to the Ministry of Culture. But the municipal councillors rejected this proposal while considering the reorganisation of the municipal enterprise “Horn” into the National Creation Centre “Moldovan Village – Horn” in 2006. During those debates, Tudor Tataru was labelled as a talented artist, but a poor administrator of the enterprise. The councillors said Tataru was allegedly involved in embezzlement of public funds and was to be held accountable. Last August, Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca expressed his indignation at the fact that the central authorities managed in the past to take over municipal properties without the consent of the Chisinau Municipal Council. He supposed that the state would still try to appropriate municipal facilities by laws or Government decisions in the future.