Prime Minister: Government preparing voluntary amalgamations of communes and more efficient public services

The Government of the Republic of Moldova is preparing a comprehensive reform of local public administration, based on the voluntary amalgamation of localities, with the goal of improving the quality of public services and adapting territorial organization to current demographic realities. Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu made the statements last night.

He emphasized that the reform will not be formal or symbolic, but a profound one, meant to produce real effects for citizens.

“Many people hear about the reform, but few truly understand what is happening and what will happen. They wonder whether it will be a cosmetic reform or a serious one. I can say with certainty: we do not want to do anything just for show. Neither the administrative reform nor other reforms. We want to do serious things,” the Prime Minister stated.

 

Larger communes, better services

According to Alexandru Munteanu, the reorganization of local public administration is driven, among other factors, by demographic realities. Many communes have fewer than one thousand inhabitants, and the depopulation of villages makes it increasingly difficult to maintain quality public services.

“There is a European and global practice: communes need to be larger. In the Republic of Moldova, many of them are very small. We have a demographic problem: many young people have left the country,” the Prime Minister explained.

The official specified that larger localities will be able to ensure more efficient administrative, educational, and medical services. At present, there are schools with very few students, a situation that negatively affects the educational process.

“We have schools with fewer than 100 students, and in a few cases even only 10 students – it is impossible to ensure a quality teaching process. Also, medical services must be at European standards, so that people have real access,” Munteanu said.

The Prime Minister noted that the development of road infrastructure is part of the solution, as modernized roads allow access to services over reasonable distances of up to approximately 10 kilometers.

 

Voluntary amalgamations and incentives for mayors

The authorities insist that the reorganization will not be imposed administratively, but carried out with the agreement of local communities. Around 400 mayors have already expressed their willingness to take part in the process.

“We are in favor of voluntary amalgamation. Mergers will be carried out when mayors reach an agreement among themselves,” the Prime Minister stated.

The Government intends to offer financial and administrative incentives to encourage reorganization.

These would include allowances or other support measures for local elected officials who will give up their position as a result of the reorganization.

“It is about allowances or other measures for those who choose to give up their position, not about the forced dismissal of all mayors. We are trying to create conditions and incentives so that communes can benefit and be efficiently integrated into the reorganization process,” the head of the Executive explained.

 

Public consultations under way

The Prime Minister also announced that public consultations have already been launched with local authorities and other relevant stakeholders, in order to identify solutions tailored to each community.

“We have started public consultations with various stakeholders, first and foremost with mayors, in order to come up with logical solutions tailored to each commune, taking into account the specific situation, the strengths and weaknesses of each locality,” Alexandru Munteanu said.

The Government maintains that the reform of local public administration is one of the important stages in modernizing the state and aims to make public spending more efficient, increase the quality of services for citizens, and bring the Republic of Moldova closer to European standards of administrative organization.

At the end of January, the Government officially announced the launch of the preparation process for the local public administration reform, as part of efforts to modernize the administration and improve the quality of public services offered to the population.

The concept of the local public administration reform will be presented at the end of February–beginning of March. Subsequently, all technical aspects of the reform will be finalized, and in the autumn of this year the draft laws will be submitted to Parliament.