5 local councilors demand to oust Cahul's mayor

Five local councilors from Cahul town demand for the dismissal of the mayor and deputy mayor, on reason they would hide the results of an auditing unveiling multiple embezzlements. The Cahul mayor rejects the accusations, Info-Prim Neo reports. Oleg Reutchii, a councilor from the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), told a news conference in Chisinau Monday that the mayor and the deputy mayor, members of the Communists Party (PCRM), “use their posts to do business.” The councilor especially referred to the selection of the firm revamping the town's Culture Palace. Thus the entrepreneur selected in a tender – SRL Gentilom – is managed by the wife of deputy mayor Gheorghe Ghetivu. He is the founder of the company owning 50% of stocks. He is also the president of the agency implementing the project. The firm won the tender offering 1.9 million lei, despite the fact that it had but 3 lei and 55 bani on its bank account, and no building materials in its reserves. Later the works were increased to 2.9 million lei to be paid from the local budget, without the approval of the town council. According to the councilor, the Financial Control Direction from Cahul established that officials from Cahul's town hall embezzled over 500,000 lei from the municipal budget. The auditing unveiled power abuses, bad management and irresponsible attitude toward the public assets, Oleg Reutchii said. He says the mayor did not inform the councilors about all the breeches, and the guilty officials have not been sanctioned. That is why, five councilors (two from Moldova Noastra Alliance, and by one from PLDM and the Christian Democrats and an independent councilor) want to start the proceedings of dismissing the mayor and the deputy mayor. Oleg Reutchii says the embezzlements tracked in July, have been verified by the Anti-Corruption Center since August, but the results are not publicized. “If the question was about a non-Communist mayor, he would have had one of several legal proceedings started against him,” Reutchii said. Asked by Info-Prim Neo, the mayor of Cahul town, Gheorghe Zagorodnai, has said all the councilors received the results of the auditing. He says most of the breeches noted have already been removed or are being removed. Four public servants have been fined. Gheorghe Zagorodnai thinks the idea to dismiss him “is a political game.” To start the dismissal procedure, 2/3 of councilors should vote for it.