The Court of Accounts found numerous irregularities in financial reporting and in the management of state assets in 2018-2020 by Chisinau local authorities.
At the same time, part of the financial deviations of 311.5 million lei identified during the audit had been eliminated even before the completion of the audit of the Court of Accounts. The Court of Accounts auditors found insufficient compliance of the financial reports, incomplete delimitation of competencies and responsibilities of the subdivisions of the local public authorities of Chisinau, non-compliance with the legal framework, etc. In particular, it was found that the Chisinau municipality does not have complete and reliable information on indicators which are basic for calculating local taxes. In 2020, revenues from three local taxes alone were understated by 11 million lei. There were deviations in the allocation of special-purpose transfers for road infrastructure; the funds allocated from the budget for the development of communication infrastructure were not fully used. Several subordinated institutions are involved in carrying out investment works or a competent institution in a certain area is not involved, and the organizational structure of the Mayor's Office and subordinated structures is not optimized, which led to duplication of powers. The deadlines for implementing the energy efficiency and thermal insulation of public buildings in the municipality were violated, which led to inefficient costs of 5.7 million lei (the amount of commissions for non-payment of loans received from EIB and EBRD). Not all the purchases made have been declared. Thus, out of 1.3 billion lei purchases made, according to the financial report, there were declared only for 755.8 million lei, of which those less than 10 thousand lei - for 201.3 million lei. Accordingly, the requirements for the declaration of purchases of 544.7 million lei were not met. The auditors noted that the video surveillance systems in public places in Chisinau were installed without the consent of the municipality council and the Police Inspectorate. It is not ensured the drawing up of municipal land use agreements related to private property, there is no coordination between the subdivisions of the Mayor's Office regarding a single transaction, which led to double recording of the value of 0.231 hectares of land worth 6.71 million lei and an unjustified increase of 46.19 million lei in the income of assets entered into gratuitous use. Also, the registration of more than 200 buildings managed by the subdivisions of the Mayor's Office has not been secured (with a value of over 380 million lei, the total surface of the real estate - 105 thousand square meters). // 21.09.2022 – InfoMarket
