Moldovan government's secretary general says cabinet aims to provide better services, higher standard of living for citizens

The reform of local public administration aims to provide better services for citizens, a higher standard of living and an efficient absorption of available funds. Secretary General of the Government Alexei Buzu today made statements to this effect. He emphasized that the cabinet would present the integrated concept of the reform after the completion of the first round of consultations on this topic.

“We will rely both on voluntary amalgamation and on normative amalgamation. We will have a different map, a different resizing of local public administration. The government’s vision is that the reform is not about resizing, about maps, about borders; it is about how we can rethink local public administration, in order to provide better services, a better absorption of funds and a much higher standard of living for citizens,” Alexei Buzu said.

The secretary general of the government noted that, at the first stage, discussions had been held with representatives of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM), with mayors who have already initiated the process of amalgamation and strengthening the capacities of local public administration, with all presidents of district councils of Moldova, and with civil society. At the same time, invitations to dialogue were sent to parliamentary factions, the specialized commissions of the parliament and extra-parliamentary parties. Discussions will also be held with citizens, local councillors and district councillors.

“It is important to have these discussions. We have communicated more quite clear points on behalf of the Government: first of all, that this reform will take place; secondly, that we are going to strengthen the capacity of local public authorities at the level of mayoralties of villages, municipalities, towns and at the level of district councils. This is important,” Alexei Buzu noted.

The official said that the authorities would present an integrated concept of the reform after the first round of consultations in this regard is completed.

“The reform will be much more comprehensive. We do not call it a territorial-administrative reform, we call it the reform of local public administration. Part of this reform is to resize the structures of local public administration. It is a complex, but indispensable effort. It is certainly time to have these broad discussions. The government has managed to mobilize more external resources in projects; now we need to build the necessary capacity, so that these resources are implemented in clear initiatives, with benefits for citizens, for communities, for entrepreneurs, and so that they are carried out on time and in an honest manner, without losses and fraud,” the secretary general of the government stressed.

Alexei Buzu emphasized that, at this stage, discussions were focused on the vision regarding the mandate and competences of local public authorities, as well as their role in the context of progress in the European integration process.

“Our discussion is first and foremost about what the mandate or role of district councils would be, or whatever we may call them in 2026 or 2027, in the context in which Moldova is a candidate country and, we hope, in the near future, a member state of the European Union. So, what is their mandate, what is their role in relation to a local and regional development objective? We will do the same for mayoralties, and then we will discuss whether we call them districts or another type, how many there will be, whether there are 32 or fewer. So, it is a very complex subject of discussion, and we are trying, first of all in these discussions, to clarify fundamental aspects: mandate, competences, who can ensure faster local development, who can manage certain services,” Alexei Buzu concluded.

The government announced, at the beginning of this week, the launch of the preparatory process for the reform of local public administration, the most important stage being broad consultations. They began with a discussion with members of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova. According to the cabinet, the goal of the reform is to strengthen the development of localities, to have strong mayoralties and better services, closer to the people.