Funds from former GDR party assets for the zoo
250,000 euros flow into the design of the facility
The city of Chemnitz will receive further funds from the former GDR party assets, so-called PMO funds. This was decided by the Saxon state government. The city intends to use the funds totalling around 250,000 euros that have now been approved to implement parts of the zoo master plan. For example, an adventure farm is to be created in the zoo by 2025 in collaboration with the Friends' Association.
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze: "I am very grateful to the state government and the members of parliament for awarding us these funds and thus once again following our project proposals. After the rattle fountain and a new book bus, we can now work together with the Friends' Association to make our zoo more attractive and beautiful for visitors."
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 the successor to the Treuhand, has also legally obtained the return of assets that were wrongly 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.