Chemnitz receives funds from former GDR party assets
Rattling fountain and environmentally friendly book bus can be realised
The city of Chemnitz will receive around half a million euros from the former GDR party assets, so-called PMO funds. This was decided by the Saxon state government. The city intends to use these funds to rebuild the Klapperbrunnen fountain and purchase a new environmentally friendly book bus.
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze: "I am very grateful to the state government and the members of the state parliament for awarding us these funds and thus following our project proposals. On the one hand, we now want to fulfil the long-cherished wish of many citizens and rebuild the Klapperbrunnen. Secondly, we want to purchase a new, environmentally friendly book bus. Although the city council had already allocated funds for this in the budget, the additional funds awarded can now be used to compensate for increased procurement costs and to realise an environmentally friendly electric drive."
The background
PMO funds originate from the assets of the parties and mass organisations of the former GDR, which were administered by the Treuhandanstalt after reunification.
The Bundesanstalt für vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben (BvS), which was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Finance as successor to the Treuhand, has also legally obtained the return of assets that were wrongfully transferred to other accounts.
The available assets are distributed among the East German federal states on the basis of the number of inhabitants as at 31 December 1991. The Free State of Saxony thus receives just under 30 per cent of the funds.
The Unification Treaty stipulates that the eastern German states must use the money for economic restructuring measures or for investment or investment-promoting measures in the social and cultural sectors.