Moldova Matters

Young Mayor - European Capital

October 14th, 2007 by Ecaterina Sanalatii

Two months passed since Dorin Chirtoaca was elected Mayor of Chisinau. It seems that the new mayor is doing his best in keeping his promises ? he is tackling existing problems and doing what others failed to do ? transforming the city and making it more European.

In the past two mont hs the 28 years old mayor managed to open the ground for important dialogues in many social and economic spheres. Since Chirtoaca’s election as Chisinau Mayor this past June 17, the City Hall has witnessed discussions with various foreign diplomats - Ukrainian Ambassador Sergei Pirozhkov, Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Moldova Kyriakos Nicolas Pattihis, Head of the Political and Economic Department of the European Commission’s Moldova Country Office Paolo Berizzi, and other. Moreover, from the second day in the office, Dorin Chirtoaca paid a visit to Traian Basescu, Romanian President, which cannot be said about the Moldovan authorities, which failed to congratulate the new mayor with his post.

While the Moldovan President and the Prime Minister remained cold hearted to the newly elected candidate, Dorin Chirtoaca opened an international dialogue with the US Ambassador Michael Kirby. The U.S. Ambassador said his country stands ready to further help Moldova in its development, to invest in the Moldovan economy and to thus promote the republic’s economic development. The Chisinau City Hall has inherited debts in the value of millions from the previous city governors. This along with problems linked to central heating and hot water supply and others, such as the Transnistrian conflict settlement, attracting FDI, were discussed by the mayor and the ambassador.

From this meeting only, it truly seems that he is negotiating to achieve policies which he has proposed when he came in power.

- develop business environment, attract investments, create jobs

- build social apartments for disadvantaged and young families, encourage mortgages which are supported by the government

- free competition in emerging market;

- repair roads and achieve European standards in this area and that of providing services (i.e.: cleaning roads, providing street lighting, bystreets and internal courtyards, etc.)

- modernize and optimize the residual water cleaning station through European finances, and build a waste processing plant.

 Dorin Chirtoaca started honouring his electoral promises regarding the business environment. Thus, he intends to initiate discussions referring to the prolongate by five years the validity term of the authorization for the location of commercial units and provision of services, which economic agents obtain from the Chisinau Mayoralty, DECA-pres communicates. Dorin Chirtoaca mentioned that ?The Mayoralty wants to cooperate with economic agents, and not prohibit their activity or influence them?. He asserts that the Mayoralty and the economic agents have a common goal ? development of the capital. He called the economic agents to insure a fruitful cooperation in order to carry out this goal.

A young mayor, a liberal team ? a European capital! This was the slogan of the new mayor of Chisinau and it looks like he is truly getting there, even if the process has just been initiated.

Ecaterina Sanalatii and Ana Barbacari

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