Ministry of Culture will propose privatization of the Circus

The Ministry of Culture is preparing an evaluation report of the infrastructure and economic-financial activity of the Chisinau Circus. Later, together with the Public Property Agency, it will submit a series of proposals to the Government for the privatization of the Circus building or the initiation of a public-private partnership, without changing its destination. Chairman of the Chisinau Circus board Aliona Strambeanu told Info-Prim Neo that the procedure for privatization or for the initiation of a public-private partnership is hindered by the institution’s historic debt, estimated at 3 million lei. This sum should be paid either by the company that will buy the edifice or from the state budget. The reconstruction of the Circus requires investments of millions of lei. “We asked the Government on numerous occasions to provide us with budgetary support, but the situation is that the Circus is a joint-stock company in process of privatization with an austerity budget. That’s why we didn’t receive any aid. The value of the edifice for privatization a few years ago was 60 million lei. It’s a solution that takes time. The circus is a building that requires serious investments”, explained Aliona Strambeanu. The institution’s new director is evaluated as well, as his results didn’t meet the expectations of the Ministry of Culture. Even if it is closed, the institution is protected and the wages of security agents is paid from the income generated by renting a few small rooms at low costs, because there is no heating or conditions for work. “The former employees are still in litigation with the former board because of unpaid wages. However, as long as this remains a damaged building that rents out a couple of rooms we can’t speak about the full payment of arrears, but only to a small extent. It must be discussed at a different level”, said Aliona Strambeanu. The Chisinau Circus was leased in 2008 for 29 years to a Cypriot company, which pledged to repair the building. However, as the company failed to respect its side of the deal, the Prosecutor General’s Office initiated civil proceedings, demanding the termination of the contract. A year later, the Economic Court of Appeal accepted the PGO’s demand in the interest of the state.