Radio România Internațional

Tag: local officials

  • Will local officials be exonerated from responsibility?

    Will local officials be exonerated from responsibility?

    In recent years, against the backdrop of the fight against corruption, many high-ranking officials in the Romanian administration have been removed. From top players in the central administration, MPs, ministers and even an ex-prime minister to local officials, such as presidents of county councils or mayors of small communes, a lot of people have fallen victim, politically speaking, to the fight against corruption. That is why, there is no easy way for politicians to cover their backs without being noticed. The Senate has passed a draft bill amending the local administration law providing for local officials to have exclusive responsibility for the documents they issue, without the legal endorsement of the public institution’s secretary and without the signatures of civil servants with prerogatives in the field. As the senator of the Social-Democratic Party, the main ruling party, Ioan Denes, argues, the mayor’s signature reflects only the mayor’s authority, not expertise. Ioan Denes, secretary of the Senate Administration Committee:



    “This proposal and the amendments have made it clear for everybody, including those interpreting the laws, that the mayor’s signature is a signature authenticating the document he or she issued, and not an expert opinion regarding town-planning or other areas related to an administrative document issued by the local public administration.”



    The MPs of the Save Romania Union, USR, the second opposition faction in this country, voted against the draft law, warning that through that law, mayors might be exonerated from the responsibility of signing an administrative document. Florina Presada, a USR senator:



    “Though we believe that every civil servant should be responsible for the documents he or she signs, we also believe that the mayor should share that responsibility. This initiative is dangerous because mayors may be exonerated from the responsibility of countersigning or signing administrative documents. We demand that the errors made by the Committee be removed and we will call on Parliament, on our fellow senators to turn down the draft law.”



    The draft law was tacitly passed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate is the decision-making body in this case. As pundits note, the initiative fuels suspicions that being exonerated from the responsibility for his or her own signature, a mayor, whoever he or she might be, can very easily conceal his or her incompetence or intention to embezzle public money, the latter being a practice that has often been confirmed in court. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu facing Parliament

    Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu facing Parliament

    The Liberal opposition in Romania’s Parliament has demanded Social-Democrat Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu explanations regarding two emergency ordinances allocating 6.5 billion Euros worth of public development funds to local officials, having no ceiling of spending and sanctions. In the view of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the ordinances are an abuse, making local officials dependent on the signature of the Minister for Regional Development. Here is Liberal president Raluca Turcan:



    “What else is Ordinance nr. 9 stipulating a one-year suspension of highly important articles of the Public Finance Law, articles checking abusive, uncontrolled spending, but an invitation to plunder? In the vision of the Grindeanu government, Parliament should no longer know the way in which commitment appropriations are granted and used. The Government is putting 6.5 billion euros into the pockets of a few leaders of the majority coalition made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, by means of a procedure cloaked in utmost secrecy”.



    The Liberals’ viewpoint was also backed by the MPs of the Save Romania Union. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu replied that the 6.5 billion euros were the outcome of the mayors’ project proposals, Liberal mayors included. The Romanian Prime Minister pointed out that over 60% of rural households had no indoor sanitation and the access to education and healthcare in the countryside was faulty. Sorin Grindeanu called on the parliamentary groups, irrespective of their political affiliation, to support the projects aimed at modernizing Romania. Sorin Grindeanu:



    “We are duty-bound to ensure all citizens’ access to a minimum package of community services. Over 9,500 investment projects will be funded under this programme in the next four years, be they plumbing, sewage, roads, public lighting or school and health infrastructure. Let’s make it clear: if somebody uses the investment money for other purposes, then, that person will be held accountable before the law. During this period, I have had the opportunity of meeting a lot of mayors; one thing is sure: they are weary of coming to Bucharest looking for funding for their projects.”



    Varunjan Vosganian, a deputy with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, recalled that according to a World Bank report, 33 billion euros would be needed to ensure a minimum package of rural facilities. The two ordinances have already been passed by the Senate and will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, which holds decision-making power in this case. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)