Local public administration reform consulted with mayors, district presidents, civil society organizations of Moldova

Consultations on the local public administration reform today continued at the government, where discussions were held with a group of mayors – members of the Center for European Local Administration (CALE), with district presidents, and with representatives of more civil society organizations.

All stakeholders agree that we must equip mayoralties with the tools to become strong administrations, able to attract projects and to have the capacity to absorb European funds. The stages of preparing the reform and its objectives were also discussed, including how we can ensure better services, closer to citizens.

“The mayoralty will evolve from a service-delivery center into a community hub that drives the locality’s development. We will digitalize services, the one-stop shop will become the rule, not the exception, so that we can interact with citizens as efficiently as possible,” underlined Secretary General of the Government Alexei Buzu.

At the same time, strengthening mayoralties and localities will enable them to benefit from more resources for development, in order to implement projects that improve life in communities. “We want to have strong local administrations, so that we increase the capacity to absorb funds and have teams with the necessary specialists who can manage projects,” noted the Secretary General of the Government.

In the discussion with the presidents of the district councils of Moldova, it was emphasized that, in the new structure of local public administration, the district councils are to focus on regional development. “We want a mandate as an accelerator of regional development,” specified Alexei Buzu.

The presidents of the district councils stressed the importance of the reform, the need for its prudent and gradual implementation, and assured that they would be actively involved in drafting the concept. Views were discussed on the redistribution of competences after the reform, the empowerment of mayors and mayoralties and the stimulation of intercommunal cooperation.

An important topic of today’s discussions was voluntary amalgamation, which will continue to be encouraged by increasing financial incentives, simplifying procedures, providing guidance throughout the entire process, and informing citizens about the benefits. Mayors from already amalgamated localities expressed willingness to share their experience to make the process more efficient, noting that this decision now allows them to implement more important projects for people.

During the consultations held at the government, representatives of civil society organizations expressed their willingness to be actively involved in developing the concept of the local public administration reform and in widely informing citizens across the country about its benefits. “I see in civil society the expertise needed for the success of this reform,” said the Secretary General of the Government.

It is worth mentioning that the vision of the public administration reform has also been discussed with the members of the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova. The email address primariiputernice@gov.md is available for sending proposals regarding the reform.