While thousands of people wait for years to receive from the state a place to live, some of the privileged ones get apartments from public money, going over the lines. This happens while both categories of people live in the same country, on the grounds of the same laws.

Anatol Cuptov, ex-chairman of the Balti District Council, who worked in 2002 as the Minister of Transports and Communications, and Ion Olaru, former police officer of the “Fulger” special brigade, participated in the battles on Nistru River. Later on, Anatol Cuptov was dismissed and appointed in another post by the same Government, the one which doesn’t care about the problems and concerns of Ion Olaru.

At this moment, Anatol Cuptov is in charge of an enterprise and lives in the centre of Chisinau town, in a three-room-apartment, purchased by the state while he was a minister, and Ion Olaru is forever invalid, living with his wife and children in a dormitory, in a 16-square-meters room. Olaru keeps a huge folder, in which he keeps all the demands and complaints sent to state institutions, asking for a place to live.

The Cuptov case: a flat from public money

At the end of 2001, Anatol Cuptov was promoted Minister of Transport and Communications. Half a year later, the Government allowed the Minister of Transport and Communications (MTC) to purchase a flat in Chisinau to “improve the living conditions” of Minister Cuptov. In the 2002 Court of Accounts report, it is specified that 517, 5 thousand lei were transferred on the minister’s account from his subordinating institutions, and 230 thousand – from the State Road Administration financial sources, in order to improve Cuptov’s living conditions. With this money, Cuptov purchased a three-room flat covering an area of 109, 7 square meters and the amount of only 53 thousand lei was shown in the sales-purchase contract. The former minister’s neighbors remember that some of the MTC employees have worked at the repair works of the very flat.

The same Court of Accounts report also mentions that, due to the purposeful decrease of the apartment’s cost, which led to fiscal evasion, the Center for Fighting Economic Crimes and Corruption (CFECC) has put a siege on the apartment, and the real amount was later shown in the contract.

Based on a Government’s Decision, the apartment was to be passed on, in March 2003, as free, from the subordination of the State Enterprise for MTC buildings operating to the State Office. By the end of the Court of Accounts control, the decision’s stipulations remained unexecuted. Former minister Cuptov is still living in this apartment, which he privatized at the end of 2006.

Vitalie Zama, attorney in the Jurists for Human Rights Organization, said that, according to article 109 from the Housing Code, the persons that “ended their working relations with…the institution are to be evacuated from the work houses”, without being provided another place for living. At the same time, according to article 5 from the Law on privatizing the housing fund, the real estate that is in…work houses cannot be sold or passed on, as free, into private property, whose residents have worked for less than 10 years in this very institution. In the context of the legislation mentioned above, it is highly unlikely that, at the time of conclusion of the privatization contract, the normative requirements were followed, Zama specified.

The Olaru case: lifetime dormitory for a hero

In 2002, when the Transnistrian conflict started, Ion Olaru was 22 years old, and employed in the special brigade “Fulger”. “It has never even crossed my mind not to go and fight”, Ion remembers. He returned home injured and, after a head surgery, received 2^nd group of invalid for life. At that time, he lived in a room from work, close to “Fulger”. “After the surgery, I wasn’t good for anything. The brigade’s management asked me to evacuate the room, promising me instead a place to live in the city. I’m still waiting for it till today. I left that place. After about a year, I got married and moved in with my wife in a dormitory room. At first, it was alright, but after we had our two children, only we know how we managed with everything”, Ion says. “In 1992, I registered in queue to receive an apartment from “Fulger”, and in 2006 – at the district city hall. When a block of flats was built for the socially vulnerable people, Vasile Ursu, who was a mayor at that moment, promised to take into consideration our case. When I’ve addressed the housing Division, to see what was going on with the apartment, they couldn’t even find my folder with the documents. I could have been waiting for it for a long time”, Olaru adds.

While Olaru was sending applications everywhere, his wife got sick, ending up with a 2^nd group of invalidity as well. “All the answers we received were very kind, but I didn’t understand anything, we were never told anything precisely”, Ion says. Till today, the four of them live in a 16 square-meter-room, enjoying the repair works they have just finished with the help of their relatives. Ion Olaru doesn’t know anymore what and from whom to expect anything. “The people in charge tell me that they didn’t send me to war and, if it’s hard for me to raise my children, I should send them to an orphanage. My parents are old and they need help too. The only support that we have at the moment comes from my brothers. It’s good that I’m not alone”, Ion says.

The path to an apartment from the state budget

In 2002, after 11 months of work, Cuptov is publicly blamed by president Voronin for committing serious economic crimes and dismissed. At the time of his dismissal, there was some information in the press that the minister was investigated for funds embezzlement. This piece of information seems to be confirmed by the data in the Court of Accounts report, according to which the CFECC placed his apartment under siege. Deputy Director of the CFECC criminal prosecution general Division, Vadim Tomuz, declared that the siege takes place only in the criminal case, in order to ensure the payment of possible damage. Upon request of the Independent Press Association, after waiting for 7 months, in February 2004, the CFECC replied that “according to the stipulations in the legislation, the criminal dossier opened against the actions of the former Minister of Transport and Communications Anatol Cuptov, was closed”.  This criminal trial seized to continue after “the change of the situation”, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office. Stela Barba, the investigator who took care of the dossier and took the decision to end the criminal trial, says she doesn’t remember what was in that dossier and what “change in the situation” was meant. She suggested us to file a demand in this context. After a few months of waiting, we’ve realized that the editor’s letter “never arrived” at the Downtown Prosecutor’s Office, who suggested us to write the letter again and the reply would be according to the “importance of the case”. Despite that, after making a number of phone calls, Alina Barba admitted she remembered the dossier, but she had no right to talk about it.

The route of Cuptov’s career

A few weeks after his dismissal, Cuptov was assigned, by Government’s decision, general manager of State Enterprise “Giurgiulesti Trade Harbour”, where he worked only for a couple of months. While he was a minister, the press and international reports like Freedom House, wrote that Anatol Cuptov was involved in illegal activities while working as vice president of the Balti District Council and took advantage of his power, when he was a minister, in business related to the Giurgiulesti Terminal. The same report mentioned that, if Cuptov was found guilty, he would be sentenced to a period of 15 to 25 years’ imprisonment.

Political analyst Igor Botan believes that promoting and protecting a compromised ex-minister can be explained only by the fact that he “is part of the team, which punishes and forgives as it pleases”.

Meanwhile, Cuptov peacefully lives his life of former minister and manager, and Ion Olaru, lives his life of invalid not so calm, fighting to support his family and, during sleepless nights, which is every night, waits for the morning to come and doesn’t think anymore of the moment he will receive a new house, because, as he says, “there is little hope”. “And now, with the extremely high prices, are they crazy to give us a flat?”, Ion wonders.

State houses – a problem waiting for its turn

Petru Gontea, head of the Housing Fund Management Division of the Chisinau City Hall, declared for Ziarul de Garda that, in order to get a house from the state, one must file a demand at the sector city hall and, at the moment of inauguration of the building, the first applications are sent to the City Hall and analyzed by a special commission, who decides who will get an apartment.

At the sector city hall, the applicants register in the priority line or in the general one. There are 17 categories that have priority, including: war participants, deported or invalid people, families with a lot of children, single mothers, teachers, orphans. The ones, who are not in the first group, register in the general line. The oldest applications have been submitted in the 66s – 67s.

Center sector

General line – 1056 applications, priority line – 837 applications

Rascani sector

General line – 11150 applications, priority line – 1855 applications

In the last three years, no block of flats has been inaugurated for these categories of people. Lilian Surlaru, head of the Coordination, Houses and Communal Services Department, Rascani City Hall said that the lists change, most of the times, when a person transfers to another line or passes away.

 Published in Romanian on September 25 2008

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