Homes of culture to become cultural centers

The transformation of the homes of culture into cultural centers may start in half a year, Minister of Culture Boris Focsa announced in a news conference on April 8. He said that there will be reorganized the homes of culture in district centers and in large villages, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The reorganization of the homes of culture implies not only the change of the exterior and interior of the buildings, but also of the management. These homes are now visited only when there are local meetings. We consider they should house libraries and host concerts and movie screenings,” said the minister. The Ministry of Culture does not yet know how many homes of culture will be reorganized and does not have the necessary financial resources. By the end of May, the authorities will file an application for a loan to the Council of Europe Development Bank. To get a loan of €150 million, Moldova needs the approval of the IMF. 60% of the money will be provided as grant, while 40% of the loan will be repaid by the local public authorities over 20 years. The local public authorities are to submit reorganization projects to the Project Management Agency of the Ministry of Culture. Afterward, there will be carried out a feasibility study. There are 1,228 homes of culture in Moldova. 617 of them are in need of extensive repair, while 71 are completely destroyed.