CMC seeks money from Government for paying debts to Termocom

The councilors of the Chisinau Municipal Council will ask 240 million lei from the Government for settling the municipality’s debt to SA Termocom. A relevant draft decision was adopted at the CMC’s meeting on September 16. Only the councilors of the Communist faction voted against, Info-Prim Neo reports. The debt represents the difference between the approved heating charge and the charge paid by the population. The proposal to ask the Government to intervene was put forward by the councilor on behalf of the Moldova Noastra Alliance faction, Oleg Cernei. “After you came from the meeting with Voronin, you boasted and promised the voters that the central authorities will help you. If the central authorities are so willing to help, they should allocate money for paying the debts,” Cernei said, addressing to the CMC chairman Eduard Musuc. According to the municipal authorities, the debts to the heat supplier amount to 197 million lei. Termocom says that the debt totals 220 million lei. The difference of 23 million lei represents the heat compensations for April-September 2008, which the Chisinau City Hall was obliged to pay under a decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of August 20. Following a decision made by the CMC, a lower heating charge took effect on April 14. The regulations concerning the payment of nominal compensations were to be worked out later. But the given decision was cancelled by the Supreme Court of Justice so that the old charge was restored and the City Hall was obliged to pay compensations to all the Chisinau residents. Termocom commercial director Mihai Arusoi said that the company is on the brink of a financial crisis as the municipality does not pay its debts and “it is quite probable that the heating season will not start on October 15.”