War of those 1,3 billion lei allocated to the local authorities

Last month the government has allocated 1,3 billion lei from the budgetary reserve fund for current and capital expenditures, to over 2000 mayoralties. The mayoralties managed by PSD and liberals have received the largest sum of money, PDL accusing the Government that the budgetary allocation was made on political criteria. On the other hand, PSD says that PD acted the same.

According to a decision of the Executive from September 24, 1.100 mayoralties directed by the social-democrats have re-ceived from the Government 540,6 million lei, plus 19,9 million lei, for the mayoralties of the sectors 2 and 5 of the Capital City, otherwise being the only ones that have received money. In the same time, 685 mayoralties owned by liberals have obtained 357,9 million lei, while for 319 localities with PDL mayors were allocated 115,9 million lei. Other sums of money were granted to the UDMR mayors - 93,2 million lei for 179 mayoralties, PNG - 4,6 million lei, PRM - 2,9 million lei and PC - 1,3 million lei. Thus has the Government allocated an amount of 1,3 billion lei for current and capital expenditures to over 2.000 mayoralties. The PDL administrations reacted harsh to HG 1152 and HG 1155, threatening with protests, the County Council from Arad even saying that it wouldn’t pour money in the public budget, in terms in which the allocation is made on political criteria, without being taken into account the contributions to the public budget. “Arad ranks fifth in what concerns the contribution to GDP and according to the figures ranks on the last but one in this top of sums of money allocated by the Government. The much smaller counties, which have a smaller contribution to GDP, have received much larger sums.  Dolj ranks first, with 94 million lei, although is ranked 24 for contributions, and Arad pours to the state a value of 1,5 times higher”, Gheorghe Falca (PDL), mayor of Arad, stated. These added that the alliance between PSD and PNL “is visible to the naked eyes by allocating these sums of money before elections”. The counsellors from Arad have voted a measures plan, through which have protested in the Revolution Square (Piata Revolutiei) from Arad. The plan stipulates also to attack the decision of Government through which were allocated money for the local administrations.

PDL Mayors from Dambovita threat with hunger-strike

The PDL Mayors from several localities from Dambovita have threatened with the hunger-strike.” The mayoralty, counselors and employees will start the hunger-strike and eventually we’ll go to the Government and stay on the stairs of Victoria Palace. It’s unacceptable not to receive money because we are a mayoralty directed by PDL”, Ion Surlea, mayor of the locality Visinesti, stated. The mayoralty from Razvad didn’t receive any leu from the Government, the democrat-liberal mayor asserting that PNL has taken advantage of this situation for blocking PDL. “I will propose to the National Permanent Office to organize in front of the Government a protest of all the PDL mayors from the country. All those almost one thousand mayors will go the Government to explain why they aren’t beneficiaries of the public money, why they are marginalized and avoided in this action of financial support, they being payers of taxes and the inhabitants of those about one thousand communes”, Ioan Oltean, vice-president PDL states. He showed that “the Prime Minister allocates in his College 100 billion old lei (10.000.000 lei - n .r.) of those 149 billion old lei (14.900.000 lei  - n.r.) allocated to the countyt Ilfov. It’s a mockery which our country hasn’t faced since 1990 till now”, Oltean added.

Charges on both sides

PDL president, Emil Boc has accused a week ago the Government that uses the public money as “electoral bribe for buying votes”, allocating preferential sums for the mayoralties directed by the mayors of those two groups. “The PNL-PSD governing uses public money, the money of the citizens, as electoral bribe for buying votes. PNL and PSD buy votes with our money, with the public money”,  Emil Boc sustained. He added that for the local elections, PDL and PSD proved to be forces sensitively equal, and despite all these PSD has received more money. “The electoral Colleges of PSD and PNL were filled up with tens of million euro. The College of Mircea Geoana from Dabuleni received 12,2 million lei, the one of Teodor Melescanu 10,6 million lei, the one of Varujan Vosganian 15,5 million lei, and the one of  Cristian David 15,7 million lei. The counties Dolj and Teleorman have received almost 100 million each”, Boc said.  

In return, on Wednesday, the PSD deputy of Suceava, Eugen Bejinariu has accused the PDL president of “hypocrisy” requesting him the list with the sums of money allocated to the localities with PD mayors, in the period in which Vasile Blaga was Minister of Interior and Administrative Reform. He transmitted to Boc that it doesn’t fit him the role of the “persecuted” in the “one-act play of budget readjustment” and that the way in which he approached the problem of readjusting the budget, Boc plays the role of “lamenter paid for the PDL funeral”, which will take place after the general elections from next month.  

With the petition to the EU

The mayor of Targu Muresului, Dorin Florea (PDL), stated that he would write to the Chief of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, to claim back the “electoral alms” of the Government. He explained that the sum of money amounted to 4,1 million lei which he had received, represented the money from the Ministry of Education and not from the reserve fund, being a sum of money established from the beginning of the year for modernization of the schools, and by no means money from the balanced budget. “You say to the teachers that there aren’t money, you announce that in Romania there is a crash, that there are big existential problems and you turn up with sums of thousand billions, throwing them in electoral alms. It’s the biggest mockery which we can present as curiosity to EU”, Florea added.

Allocation on counties

For some districts directed by the presidents from PDL the allocation decided by the Executive was very small. Alba received 50 billion old lei (5.000.000 lei - n.r.), Arad - 50 billion old lei (5.000.000 lei - n.r.), Cluj - 10 billion old lei (1.000.000 lei - n.r.), Suceava – 5 billion old lei (500.000  lei - n.r.), Neamt - 5 billion old lei (500.000 lei - n.r.). On the other side, Arges (PSD) received 330 billion old lei (33.000.000 new lei - n .r.), Bacau (PNL)- 330 billion old lei (33.000.000 lei - n .r.), Bihor (PNL)- 250 billion old lei (25.000.000 lei - n.r.) etc. “Dolj receives through HG 1155, the sum of 729 billion old lei (72.900.000  lei - n.r.) to which are added 210 billion old lei  (21.000.000 lei - n.r.) through HG 1152, thus has 940 billion old lei (94.000.000 lei  - n.r.). It’s absolutely revolting. Another district, Teleorman, receives almost 900 billion old lei (90.000.000 lei - n.r.). Almost 2.000 billion old lei  (200.000.000 lei - n.r.) in two districts. It’s the payment of Tariceanu for PSD, for their co-operation”, Ioan Oltean stated. On the other hand the county’s residence cities Cluj-Napoca, Alba Iulia, Arad, Slatina, Ploiesti, Tulcea, Brasov with PDL mayors didn’t receive any penny. On the other hand, there are residences of countiesin which the mayors are from PNL or  PSD and receive money: Calarasi - 20 billion old lei (2.000.000 lei - n.r.), Giurgiu – 50 billion old lei (5.000.000 lei - n.r.), Constanta – 50 billion old lei (5.000.000 lei - n.r.), Baia Mare - 20 billion old lei  (2.000.000 lei - n.r.), Zalau - 30 billion old lei (3.000.000 lei -n.r.), Alexandria – 41 billion old lei (4.100.000 lei - n.r.), according to Oltean.