The order by which acting mayor of Chisinau Silvia Radu bans municipal councilors from communicating directly with journalists does not match the obligations assumed by the central and local public authorities to make decision-making more transparent, consider media experts from Chisinau. These said that Silvia Radu’s decision runs counter to the European and democratic values.
Contacted by IPN, executive director of the Association of Independent Press Petru Macovei said the order should be reviewed and Silvia Radu should have another attitude to the mass media and to transparency in the work of the municipality.
“Probably Missis Radu perceives the Chisinau City Hall as a private business. I would recommend her to think about the City Hall as about a totality of services that are provided for the citizens and acting as intermediaries between the authorities and the people is one of the duties of the media outlets,” stated Petru Macovei. “If she saw a problem in the fact that a particular division head gave a news conference without her permission, this seems a completely unsuitable approach to me. There should be interdepartmental subordination, but this should not be to the detriment of the public interest.”
Director of the Journalistic Investigations Center Cornelia Cozonac said Silvia Radu’s decision is fully contrary to the European and democratic values. “She manages a public institution were decisional transparency is mandatory and is not something left to her discretion. Missis Radu is paid with the money of citizens and should work for them. Maybe she is paid from other sources and considers she has the consent of those who propelled her to this post. This case is then within the remit of the law enforcement agencies,” stated Cornelia Cozonac.
Under the order signed by Silvia Radu, the information concerning the municipal administration will be transmitted exclusively through the Public Relations Division of the Chisinau City Hall. Acting head of the General Public Transport and Communications Division Oleg Poiata informed about such an order after the November 27 ordinary meeting of officials of Chisinau services and divisions. “You should not be angry if I do not answer the phone. This is stipulated in an order signed by Missis Radu,” said the Division’s acting head.
Silvia Radu provided details about the signed order. She said the press will be able to communicate with division heads, but the head of the Public Relations Division should know about this. The order was made after an incident occurred at a kindergarten in Chisinau and the head of the Division of Education, Youth and Sport swiftly called a news conference to provide justification. “This thing seemed incorrect to me as there should be an internal rule to regulate communication with the press,” said the acting mayor.
