Political war on the ruins of Slatina: the mayor and the prefect are arguing, while 25 people are sitting in fear
Olt Prefecture hosted, on Monday, March 16, 2026, a meeting with sparks of the County Committee for Emergency Situations. The prefect asks the Slatina City Hall to speed up the expertise of the land, the mayor replies that there is a shorter way.
12 days ago, on March 4, 25 people were evacuated from their houses located at the base of the Grădiște hill in the municipality of Slatina because the ground went downhill, destroying one house and threatening others at a distance of 200 meters. The affected houses were built about 20 years ago, illegally, on a land that was taken over illegally, and later the owners were appropriated on the land. After the landslide was detected, the Slatina City Hall provided the evacuees with modular containers, until they can be allocated new plots of land on which to build other houses. The plaintiffs instead refuse to use them, asking that they be placed on other plots of land on which they can eventually build other houses.
Since the beginning of March, the authorities have been monitoring the area, observing the evolution of the landslide and looking for solutions to solve the problem of the evacuees, who are now staying with relatives.
However, there is no consensus on the ways in which their problem can be solved.
“And it's still slippery today, even though it hasn't rained in a while”
The Prefect of Olt County, Emil Albota, resumed, at the beginning of the CJSU meeting, the presentation of the situation on Grădiște Street, recalling when it occurred and pointing out that in the first days the slide evolved rapidly, with approximately 40 cm/day, so that the slide later moderated to 10 cm/day. “And it's still down today, even though it hasn't rained in a while,” stated Albota.
Meeting with sparks of CJSU Slatina, Monday, March 16, 2026 PHOTO: Alina Mitran
The CJSU meeting followed, when several measures were imposed: permanent monitoring of the affected area; preventive evacuation of people in risk areas; mobilizing operative structures to protect the population and assets; coordinating the actions of the institutions involved; performance by local public authorities of a technical expertise.
The last measure is also the one that caused an extremely tense moment during Monday's meeting.
Technical expertise – the bone of contention
The prefect of Olt county insisted that the technical expertise is the document that is the basis of all subsequent measures that will be adopted to support the 25 evacuated people. Furthermore, the expertise must also determine how safe the area is now and whether other homes are also at risk. The expertise will also indicate whether land stabilization works are required.
Housing containers, made available to families affected by the Crevedia explosion
“This expertise, from our point of view, and legally speaking, represents the fundamental document that must establish: the degree of stability of the land, the level of risk for the existing homes and the possible technical solutions, depending on what is desired: stabilization, consolidation, demolition or displacement. Currently, according to the information received at the CJSU level, the local public authority has not completed or has not started, I don't know, the procedure for the acquisition of expertise services. This situation causes a delay in going through the administrative stages necessary to adopt definitive measures”, said the prefect.
Without expertise, possible compensation or government support cannot be granted, and buildings cannot be demolished and people cannot be relocated permanently, the prefect also said.
“The CJSU exercised its coordinating role and established measures. At this moment, the blockage is no longer one of ascertaining the risk, but one of materializing the technical support necessary for the final administrative decision”, added the prefect, thus throwing the ball into the yard of the mayor of Slatina. Moreover, the request is addressed to him to present the CJSU members with the exact status of the technical expertise acquisition procedure.
“I know you are used to direct design purchases from your mother's company. We, at the Slatina City Hall, do things in a way that you have not heard of: legally” – responded mayor Mario De Mezzo.
The mayor also sent that he will send the answer regarding the status of the purchase in writing. After which he came up with an unaccepted proposal. “If you are so concerned about the fate of the people there, together with the Committee, we do not need to wait for the expertise to decide in the CJSU on the displacement of the hearth. Because it is clear that the hill came over the houses, demolished their houses, they will no longer be able to live there”. said the mayor.
The expertise will last, argued the mayor. It is not possible without expertise, replied the prefect.
The mayor insisted that following a decision to relocate the hearth, he can issue a mayor's order so that land is identified and, by council decision, the evicted are granted other land.
“Your proposal is at least hilarious,” was the answer of prefect Emil Albota.
The mayor tried to involve the head of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in the decision, asking him to submit his proposal to the vote of the CJSU members. The lines between the prefect and the mayor continued, however, and even with harsh lines, finally the mayor Mario de Mezzo got up and left the room.
The meeting ended with the reading of several proposals – already drafted – which were put to the vote to be included in a new decision.
