Acting mayor of Chisinau Silvia Radu signed an order by which the municipal functionaries are banned from communicating with journalists. 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. According to media experts, the given order does not match the obligations assumed by the central and local authorities as regards transparency in decision-making.
Prime Minister Pavel Filip paid an official visit to Georgia during November 27-29, 2017. The Premier took part in the Tbilisi Belt and Road Forum and had meetings with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Speaker of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze and President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili on the sidelines of the forum. Pavel Filip also met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Groisman and with the Vice President of the Europeans Bank for Reconstruction and Development Alain Pilloux.
During November 27-28, Vienna hosted a meeting in the 5+2 format, which was held under the aegis of the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship. At the end of the meeting, the participants welcomed the progress made in the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol, mentioning the agreements on the opening of the Gura Bicului – Bychok Bridge, apostilling of university diplomas issued in Transnistrian, ensuring of the normal functioning of Romanian-language schools, restoration of telephone connection between the two banks of the Nistru and ensuring of free access to the farmland located beyond the Tiraspol-Rybnitsa road.
Acting mayor general of Chisinau municipality Silvia Radu on November 30 signed an order to dismiss Oleg Poiata from the post of head of the General Public Transport and Communications Division and Alexandru Fleas from the post of head of the Education, Youth and Sport Division. The General Public Transport and Communications Division will be managed by deputy head Vitalie Butucel on an interim basis, while the Education, Youth and Sport Division by deputy head Viorica Negrei. A public contest will be soon announced to fill the two posts.
The Republic of Moldova will benefit from EU support in the amount of €79 million for 2017. The money will not reach the authorities directly, but will be allocated for different projects, acquisitions, technical assistance, equipment and others and will be managed by the EU through the EBRD, EIB and other organizations. The Single Support Framework for 2017-2020 envisions €284 to €348 million in assistance. The final sum will depend on Moldova’s absorption capacity. The information was presented in a news conference on November 30 staged by the EU Delegation to Moldova.
The MPs on December 1 adopted the draft state budget law for 2018 in the first reading. The budget provides for revenues of 36.618 billion lei and for an expenditure of 42.332 billion lei. According to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, the draft state budget law for next year is based on an economic growth of 3%, an 8% increase in exports and a 6% rise in imports. The Communist, Socialist, Liberal and Liberal-Democratic MPs criticized the draft budget.
Also on December 1, the budget of Chisinau municipality for 2018 was approved in the first reading in the meeting of the Chisinau Municipal Council. The budget provides for revenues of 3.6 billion lei and for an expenditure of 3.9 billion lei. The deficit is of 279.6 million lei.
The fir tree bought in Ukraine for 15,000 lei, which the municipality of Chisinau intended to inaugurate on December 1, got to the capital city with delay and with many broken branches. This was installed in the Great National Assembly Square in the morning of December 2. Employees of the Green Areas Association tried to reanimate it, but acting mayor general of Chisinau Silvia Radu ordered to remove the fir tree. A new tree that is about 17 meters in height was installed in its place. This was cut down from the yard of a kindergarten situated in Botancia district of Chisinau. Silvia Radu said she bought the tree with her own money and paid 10,000 lei for it. The tree from Ukraine will be cut to pieces, while its upper part will be donated.
Selection by Sabina Rebeja, IPN
