Alexei Buzu announces new round of consultations amid local public administration reform

The Government will launch a new round of consultations on the legislative package concerning local public administration reform, which will establish a minimum threshold of 3,000 residents for city halls. If the population of an administrative-territorial unit falls below this level, local authorities will have to initiate an amalgamation process, with the Government preferring voluntary association. Government Secretary-General Alexei Buzu made the statemens today.

According to the official, the documents related to the reform, including the explanatory note, are public, and the authorities will hold consultations with local elected officials, all parliamentary factions, extra-parliamentary parties, civil society, representative organizations of local public administration, and citizens.


“We want to ensure that this complex, but very important and relevant effort is a joint one that, as far as possible, includes the views of all those concerned,” Alexei Buzu said.


The legislative package will include amendments concerning the country’s administrative-territorial organization, the establishment of three regions, the status of Taraclia municipality, as well as the creation of fewer but more consolidated municipalities. It will also provide for new powers for the regions and amendments to the legislative framework governing local public administration.

Alexei Buzu noted that the authorities intend to introduce a minimum criterion of 3,000 residents for city halls into the legislation. If, after the 2027 local elections, the population of a municipality falls below this threshold, the respective administration will have to opt for an amalgamation process during that electoral cycle.


“Our preference is voluntary amalgamation. This means that, until the next elections, local elected officials can seek solutions for voluntary amalgamation. If they do not, the Government will administer the legally mandated amalgamation process, to ensure that, from now on, the number of citizens in no city hall in the Republic of Moldova falls below this minimum threshold,” the official stated.


According to Buzu, the criterion is intended to ensure sufficient administrative capacity to provide public services, support development projects, and meet the population’s basic needs.

The Government Secretary-General said that the average population of a city hall in the Republic of Moldova is currently approximately 6,700 residents. However, there are localities with populations of 3,600–3,800 people, while other city halls have managed to double their number of residents.


“Our citizens must not be prisoners of a weak administrative structure lacking capacity. Even if there are mayors, local representatives and dedicated, highly professional civil servants who care about their locality, if the tax base is limited and they have no own revenues, they do not have the capacity to maintain services and develop,” Buzu explained.


The official said that data analyzed by the authorities show a decline of approximately one-third in the number of residents of small city halls, alongside population growth in municipalities with more than 10,000 residents.


“This means that some of our citizens are not leaving the country, but are moving to places where there are more opportunities, better services, and employment,” the Government Secretary-General said.


In his view, economic development and the creation of opportunities in localities could help reduce migration pressure, while the reorganization of local public administration should provide municipalities with greater capacity for development.

Addressing the risk that residents of small villages may have to travel long distances to access services, Alexei Buzu said that the reform must be accompanied by measures to maintain citizens’ access to public and administrative services.

He recalled that, during his tenure as Minister of Labour and Social Protection, the home-care service was expanded, with social workers helping elderly and bedridden people receive support, including by doing their shopping.

Regarding local infrastructure, the official said that consolidated municipalities would have greater capacity to develop water supply and sewage networks, expand public lighting, and modernize roads.

For administrative services, the authorities plan to establish unified service delivery centers where citizens can apply for documents and permits. At the same time, representatives of the mayor would be present in localities to ensure communication between citizens and the new city hall.


“We have provided for all these aspects. (...) We must ensure that the central public administration sees and understands citizens’ needs and works to remain close to them,” Alexei Buzu said.


He rejected interpretations according to which organizing the Republic of Moldova into three regions would automatically guarantee access to more European funds for regional development.

According to him, the European Union’s regional development and cohesion policies are complex, and the allocation of funding does not depend exclusively on the number of regions or on their inclusion in certain statistical categories.


“Regardless of how many regions the Republic of Moldova has, what matters most is administrative capacity, the project portfolio, how quickly we can bring designs and technical documentation to maturity, and whether we have teams capable of implementing and managing an extremely complicated process,” Buzu stated.


He emphasized that simply placing regions within a certain statistical nomenclature does not automatically guarantee more funding for regional development.

Local public administration reform is part of the process of reorganizing the country’s administration and aims to strengthen the capacity of city halls so that they can manage public services and local development projects more efficiently.