Scandal in nursing homes prompts minister to resign
The Romanian Labor Minister, the Social Democrat Marius Budai, has resigned following the scandal regarding the care centers for the elderly.
Leyla Cheamil, 14.07.2023, 14:00
As a consequence of the scandal regarding the ill-treatment of the elderly and the vulnerable people in nursing homes, the Romanian Labor Minister, the Social Democrat Marius Budai, resigned on Thursday, although, a few days ago, he said that this gesture didnt matter. The Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacşu will replace him and political sources say that the future Labor Minister will be appointed by the Social Democratic Party – PSD (in the governing coalition), next week, when a meeting of the leadership of this political party will be organized.
The resignation decision was announced by the Social-Democratic prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, who believes this is a normal gesture in a democracy: I had a discussion with the Labour Minister, Marius Budai, who informed me about his decision to submit his resignation at the end of this meeting. From my point of view, it is a gesture of honor for which I thank him and I am convinced that this is the natural reaction of a political decision-maker in such a crisis. It is a natural reaction in any consolidated European democracy.
The huge scandal of the ‘homes of horror as they are called in the Romanian media broke out a week and a half ago, but the first accusations were first made several months ago. The revelations showed, back then, that more than 100 so-called beneficiaries of these homes were isolated, starved, tortured, exploited and deprived of minimal hygiene conditions.
In the meantime, the authorities continue the nationwide verification action of residential social centers. In recent days, several such homes have been checked. Of these, over 20 have been closed, most of them in Bucharest. Also, the activity of almost 30 centers has been suspended and fines have been given worth almost 10 million lei (about 2 million Euros). Several criminal files were opened, some of which concern crimes against the person and economic crimes. At the same time, two inspectors of the Ilfov County Agency for Payments and Social Inspection were detained, because they allegedly did not properly evaluate the situation in a care center for people with disabilities.
The Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu asked the civil society to propose new names for the future leadership of the National Authority for Persons with Disabilities, because he believes that the NGOs have more expertise in presenting competent people for this domain. In turn, the opposition Save Romania Union party demands the organization of an extraordinary parliamentary session, to look into the situation in the social centers. (LS)
