{"id":1752,"date":"2019-10-07T03:04:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T01:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zdg.md\/eng\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2019-10-09T08:50:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T06:50:19","slug":"former-pm-filips-hometown-benefits-from-a-disproportionate-amount-of-state-funded-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/former-pm-filips-hometown-benefits-from-a-disproportionate-amount-of-state-funded-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Former PM Filip\u2019s Hometown Benefits From A Disproportionate Amount of State Funded Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Pavel Filip became Prime Minister of Moldova in 2016, the number of projects financed from the state budget and implemented in his hometown began to increase. But in the race to implement multiple projects amounting to millions of euros in the P\u0103n\u0103\u0219e\u0219ti commune, the former Government appears to have allocated a disproportionate amount of state funds to the commune. What\u2019s more, ahead of the February 2019 Parliamentary elections, Filip\u2019s website advertised the development projects as his personal achievements, despite the fact that the initiatives often came from the District Council or as a result of foreign investment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

P\u0103n\u0103\u0219e\u0219ti is a commune north of Chi\u0219in\u0103u, made up of the villages of P\u0103n\u0103\u0219e\u0219ti and Ciobanca. It is the hometown of Moldova\u2019s former Prime Minister Pavel Filip, who was nominated as the Democratic Party (PDM) Deputy for its constituency (no. 20, Stra\u0219eni) during the February 24, 2019 Parliamentary elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, Filip has become the new leader of the Democratic Party. During a Democratic Party congress on September 7, 2019, members elected him as the replacement for Moldova\u2019s richest oligarch, Vlad Plahotniuc, who stepped down from the party\u2019s leadership and fled the country after the new coalition ousted his Government in June. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite the faith the Democratic Party has shown in Filip\u2019s political leadership, the high number of development projects implemented in his hometown are drawing attention, because the allocation of state funds appears to be disproportionate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development initiatives included a number of projects like the repair of the Culture House and the local kindergarten, the installation of street lighting, the rehabilitation of roads and the renovation of the Health Center in the village of Ciobanca. But the project that outperforms them all, as well as many other projects in the country, was the construction of a sports complex, which came with a price tag of around \u20ac2.9 million (57 million lei). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, taking credit for these development projects \u2013 which were actually funded by the state or through donations from Romania\u2019s Government  \u2013 was used as a means of bolstering Filip\u2019s political image ahead of the February 2019 Parliamentary election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u20ac2.9 million sports complex “at the initiative” of Filip<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the summer of 2018, the construction of a sports complex complete with training rooms and a swimming pool began on the outskirts of P\u0103n\u0103\u0219e\u0219ti commune. It is due to be finished by the end of 2019. Although the land is public and the money being used is from state funds, both the locals and Filip are claiming that the initiative belongs to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You know, I inherited my family home here, in P\u0103n\u0103\u0219e\u0219ti. I want to come here after retirement. And I don\u2019t want to stay at home, but go to the pool instead. So, by the end of the year, we will finish the sports complex. You should go buy buy your swimming suits,\u201d<\/em> wrote the former Prime Minister on his website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Str\u0103\u0219eni District Council told ZdG that the initiative for carrying out the project belongs to the head of the district, given that this project is a district objective. That being said, both Mihail Popa, the President of Str\u0103\u0219eni district, and Valeriu Bujoreanu, the mayor of P\u0103n\u0103\u0219e\u0219ti commune, are members of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a public auction on June 18, 2018, the district authority contracted Devastcom SRL for the construction of the sports complex. The contract\u2019s value was around \u20ac2.9 million (57 million lei) and the money was allocated from the state budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The district president informed ZdG that in accordance with the State Budget Law for the year 2018, Str\u0103\u0219eni District Council benefited from around \u20ac1 million (20 million lei) for the construction of the sports complex. In 2019, the national budget was expected to allocate approximately \u20ac1.9 million (37 million lei) in transfers for the continuation of construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the construction of the sports complex, the former prime minister told ZdG that it was the initiative of the President of Str\u0103\u0219eni District and that the District Council allocated all of the funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When about how much money the Government of Moldova allocated for the construction, Filip said he could not say “how much money we have allocated and for which district; the money was allocated to the District Council.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n