Strong Mayoralties – Developed Settlements: about 400 mayors from localities that initiated voluntary amalgamation process gather at Moldovan government

Around 400 local elected officials from more than 680 localities that have decided to merge their municipalities took part in the event, Strong Mayoralties – Developed Settlement. Attending the event were President Maia Sandu,  Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, acting Prime Minister of Romania Ilie Bolojan, as well as external partners and members of relevant organizations.

In her address to the mayors, President Maia Sandu highlighted the courage of local elected officials to embark on a complex reform, rethinking the way we manage our localities and pooling resources, capacities and efforts.

“It is necessary to have larger administrative structures, with the necessary specialists, and to make use of the opportunity opened by the EU accession process – pre-accession funds are provided for large projects with regional impact, for well-consolidated teams. And probably the most anticipated thing by citizens – modern services become better organized in a large mayoralty. Waste management, social services, digitalization are cheaper and easier to manage when you have an efficient administrative structure,” said President Maia Sandu.

The Moldovan president underlined the need for effective cooperation and accurate information of citizens: “In Moldova, people in the village have always come together to lend each other a helping hand. Big things were done together, at ‘clacă’ (communal work). The reform is, in fact, a ‘clacă’ between villages – more villages uniting their municipalities into a single one, in order to make everyone’s life better. Water, sewerage, roads, services – we can do all these together, if we pool our resources and invest correctly.”

The development of Moldova’s localities is continuously supported by Romania. Present at the event, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said that ensuring the safety of citizens and creating prosperous living conditions were priorities for the authorities, and the decision of Moldova to follow the European path supports this objective.

“The right path that Moldova has chosen is this one, and I congratulate you. A second basic condition for prosperity is what happens in each local community: the returns we have are measured by the investments we make for our citizens – from the water or sewerage network to the asphalt in front of the house, to a better school, to a clinic where people are treated better. The value of an administration is given by the share of taxes that we return to citizens from these taxes,” said the Prime Minister of Romania.

The Romanian PM emphasized the favorable context of the reform, urging mayors to support it and to follow this path: “Even if, at first, it may seem like a disruption, even if out of two mayor’s chairs, only one will remain, out of a certain number of councilors fewer will remain, it is very important that we stay dignified in front of our citizens and support good things for them, because this is our mission.”

Mayors Vitalie Vrabie (Ungheni municipality), Vladimir Cucereavîi (Taraclia village, Căușeni district), and Rodica Rusu (Telița village, Anenii Noi district) shared their experience and vision, stressing that beyond figures and strategies, this reform is about people choosing to collaborate for the common good. Local elected officials say that the reform is decisive for the future of communities, giving them the opportunity to build more capable administrations, attract funding and implement projects that they could not carry out separately. When administrations unite their efforts, services’ quality increases, infrastructure is modernized faster, projects are brought to localities and the standard of living rises.

During the event organized at the government, mayors from all over the country took part in discussions on how to build strong municipalities, capable of attracting external funds, implementing major projects and providing good services to people. The topic-related panels focused on financing mechanisms, legal transition and capacity building of local administrations, with practical examples and technical solutions.

The reform of local public administration is one of the most important and complex transformations in the country. As an essential part of the reform, the process of voluntary amalgamation has been simplified. So far, local councils of Moldova have adopted more than 680 decisions to initiate the voluntary amalgamation process.

Localities that choose to merge their administrations will benefit from financial incentives of 3,000 lei for each inhabitant, multiplied by the population of the villages that amalgamate. Another benefit of amalgamation is bringing public services closer to citizens – more than 600 services will be accessible through Unified Service Provision Centers and the one-stop shop. In addition, a representative of the mayor will be active in each locality, in order to ensure the link between the local administration and the community. More information about the process can be found on the platform www.primariiputernice.gov.md.

Presently, government representatives continue visits throughout the country, in order to explain to local elected officials and community members the amalgamation process, the advantages of such a decision, and the benefits they will get. All municipalities that have embarked on voluntary amalgamation receive guidance from the government, in order to successfully complete the process.