Stronger city halls, three regions and new municipality: Government presents concept for reorganizing second-tier local public administration

The current 32 districts will be reorganized into 3 regions – North, Centre and South – and the municipality of Taraclia. The municipalities of Chișinău and Bălți will retain their current status, while Gagauzia will retain its special status. The Concept for the Reorganization of Second-Tier Local Public Administration was presented today by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan and Secretary-General of the Government Alexei Buzu.

“If I were to reduce the essence of the reform to a single sentence, it is, above all, about building stronger city halls. Local power must be as close to people as possible, in their own communities. The mayor and team know best whether a community needs water, roads, a kindergarten or transport, and how to provide these services. We want city halls with greater capacity, more resources and more real power to solve community problems,” said Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.

The North Region will bring together 11 districts and will be headquartered in Bălți, the Centre Region will comprise 13 districts and will be headquartered in Chișinău, while the South Region - 7 districts and will be headquartered in Cahul. The current Taraclia District will become the municipality of Taraclia, a second-tier administrative-territorial unit.

The role of the regions will differ from that of the current districts. They will have fewer responsibilities and will focus primarily on regional development, coordination and projects involving several communities. The regions will support city halls in preparing joint projects, attracting funding and implementing investments that exceed the capacity of a single community.

“The region is not here to run the city hall. The region must help the city hall do the things it could not accomplish on its own,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Secretary-General of the Government Alexei Buzu noted that one of the important roles of the regions would be to prepare major development projects and make use of the funding available to the Republic of Moldova.

“If we want to bring water, waste management services, good roads and investors, we need to have these projects prepared. This will be an important role of the regions,” said Alexei Buzu.

An essential rule of the reform is that services will remain close to people. Citizens will not have to travel to the regional headquarters for services they currently access in their own communities. The regions will not provide public services directly to citizens – these will be delivered by city halls, territorial structures of the central public administration and competent operators.

“We will change the administrators and who is responsible, but citizens should not feel this change,” said Secretary-General of the Government Alexei Buzu.

Institutions and assets intended for local services – libraries, museums, cultural centres, arts and sports schools, youth centres, holiday camps and other facilities – will remain in the communities where they operate. Those currently administered by the districts will, where appropriate, be transferred to the administration of city halls.

The reorganization also involves a more compact administrative structure at the second tier. The three regions will have smaller teams made up of specialists focused on regional development, coordination and projects.

In 2025, the budgets of the 32 districts amounted to approximately 9 billion lei, of which around 77% represented education funding. These resources will not disappear and do not constitute savings; they will follow the services to the institutions that take over the respective functions. Savings will result from reducing the administrative apparatus and eliminating overlapping structures.

The presented concept was developed following an extensive dialogue with local authorities. Since the beginning of the year, the State Chancellery has conducted more than 1,000 consultations at the level of city halls and districts. Consultations will continue, including in preparation for the legislative package and the transition plan.

The legislative package required to implement the reform is due to be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2026.

The Concept for the Reorganization of Second-Tier Local Public Administration can be followed HERE.