Mayor of Târgu Jiu reacts to the measly budget the Ministry of Culture gave the Brâncuși heritage center
After the Romanian Ministry of Culture allocated just RON 1,000 (some EUR 200) to the center that manages the Brâncuși heritage in Târgu Jiu, the city’s mayor responded: "I think we can perhaps use this money for our correspondence. To start any project with only a thousand lei... I don't even know what we could do with it."
According to news.ro, the local administration of Târgu Jiu has received the sum of RON 1,000 to take care of the conservation and promotion of Constantin Brâncuși's works.
The city's mayor, Marcel Romanescu, commented on the futility of such a small amount of financial support, admitting however that it is not only the ministry that is to blame for this situation but also the director of the center in charge of the conservation and promotion of the great sculptor's works, an institution that has not submitted any projects of late in order to access funds.
"We only received a thousand lei, but at this point, I can't only place the blame on the Ministry of Culture, because we’ve had a director at the Constantin Brâncuși Centre who did nothing for five years. If you come up with a feasible project that fits what we have to do here in Târgu Jiu, the ministry might also take a better look at the sums it has to allocate.”
The mayor went on to explain that this is the first time the state has allocated any of its budget to preserving and promoting Constantin Brâncuși’s works and that, in his opinion, it has done so in a poor manner.
"This is the first amount we’ve received, it's true, it's ridiculous. In my opinion, rather than giving us a thousand lei, they should have given us specialized assistance for what we want to do in Targu Jiu", said Marcel Romanescu.
Asked by News.ro what he will do with the amount received from the Ministry of Culture, Romanescu answered that no project can be started with such a small budget.
"I think we can perhaps use this money for our correspondence with central public institutions and in the Gorj county. I don't think we can use it for any other purpose. To start any project with only a thousand lei... I don't even know what we could do with it," the mayor said.
He explained that the lackluster manager of the Constantin Brâncuși Conservation and Promotion Centre has been out of office for a month, his management contract expiring after five years, and the post is currently occupied on an interim basis by another person, while a more longterm solution is sought after.
Marcel Romanescu also pointed out that the local administration has taken steps to attract funds from other sources, obtaining funding for technical assistance for two projects aimed at rehabilitation, for which tender procedures are underway.
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