„Medical miracle at Apele Române! After 4 months of sick leave, a director dismissed by Diana Buzoianu miraculously recovered with the arrival of the PSD at the Ministry. The new minister canceled his dismissal,” USR said on Thursday in a Facebook post.
The message comes after Diana Buzoianu, former Minister of the Environment, presented on Wednesday, October 28, in a video published on social networks, the circumstances in which Doru-Dragoș Cazan returned to the leadership of the National Administration „Romanian Waters”.
Diana Buzoianu: „She got better when she saw Natalia Intotero”
The former minister mocked the director’s return to office, claiming that he came out of sick leave immediately after the change in the ministry’s political leadership.
„Medical miracle: the head of Apele Române that I fired got better when Natalia Intotero saw her,” said Diana Buzoianu.
According to her, the new Minister of the Environment revoked the order that had decided to terminate Cazan’s mandate just five days after taking office.
„Five days after becoming minister, Mrs. Intotero revoked the order signed by me to terminate her mandate and reinstated Mr. Doru Cazan,” Buzoianu claimed.
The former minister states that the director has benefited from successive medical leaves in the last four months, and the diagnoses have changed approximately every two weeks.
„Mr. Cazan, who had been ill for the last four months, suddenly recovered. Now he is no longer on sick leave, the miracle has happened,” she added.
The scandal of illegal ballast pits in Olt. Damage estimated at 20 million lei
The conflict between Buzoianu and Cazan began in June, after controls regarding illegal exploitation of mineral aggregates in Olt County.
According to the former minister, the checks revealed two illegal ballast pits, which occupied approximately 100 hectares, with damage estimated at 20 million lei.
Buzoianu reproached the general director of Romanian Waters for not imposing sanctions against the management of the Olt Water Basin Administration.
Moreover, she claimed that Doru Cazan decided to extend the mandate of the director of the basin administration, Elena Mădălina Ion-Duca.
The former minister said that she summoned Cazan to the ministry for explanations, and he promised to submit his honorary resignation. The following day, however, the director went on sick leave.
„He told me he was submitting his honorary resignation that very day. The next morning he took medical leave so he couldn’t be dismissed,” Buzoianu said.
The sick leaves were checked. The notified institutions found no irregularities.
Diana Buzoianu stated that she notified the Health Insurance House and the College of Physicians to verify the successive sick leaves that the director benefited from.
According to the former minister, the institutions did not identify any violations of the rules regarding the granting of medical documents.
Buzoianu, however, criticized the conclusions of the checks, considering the succession of sick leaves and the frequent change of diagnoses suspicious.
A new dispute between USR and PSD regarding the „Balastierelor Radar”
Doru Cazan’s return to the helm of Apel Române takes place in the context of a broader conflict between the former and current leadership of the Ministry of Environment regarding the fight against illegal exploitation of mineral aggregates.
On Tuesday, October 27, Diana Buzoianu accused PSD of postponing the launch of the „Ballastier Radar” application, intended to monitor mineral aggregate transports and identify possible illegal exploitation.
The former minister claimed that the draft government decision necessary to use the application was 90% completed when she left the ministry.
In contrast, the Ministry of Environment, led by Natalia Intotero, explained that the application cannot become operational before the adoption of the legal framework and the completion of technical and administrative procedures.
Buzoianu asked the new leadership to quickly publish the draft decision so that the system can be used starting in November.