The Party of Action and Solidarity’s councilors sitting on the Chisinau Municipal Council said mayor Ion Ceban opposites increasing the heating subsidy from 40% to 60%. In the morning of November 22, the councilors staged a flashmob event during which they chanted: “Winter is hard, snow is heavy, but mayor does not offer assistance!” and “Mayor’s populism does not keep warm in winter!”, IPN reports.

PAS councilor Ruslan Cojuhari said that a week ago the councilors of their group proposed increasing the heating subsidy to 60% given that the natural gas and heat rates were raised. The Government allocated 1.7 billion lei for supporting the population, but the local public authorities should also offer support. In a week, the mayor rejected the proposal.

“Moreover, the mayor promised something like this to the citizens of this city during the election campaign. If we promise something, let’s keep our word. That’s why we asked to increase the subsidy from 40% to 60%,” stated Ruslan Cojuhari.

The PAS group on the CMC said they identified the money needed for the purpose – at least 136 million lei that hasn’t been used last year. The councilors noted they will insist that their draft decision be added to the agenda of the Council’s meeting.

The mayor hasn’t commented on the accusations made by the PAS councilors, but intends to give a news conference later today.