On 4 December 2014, the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction (MRDC) presented the practical guide on the development of Rayon Socio-economic Development Strategies (SEDS), at an event organized in partnership with the Academy of Public Administration. This publication has been prepared by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul”, supported by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ, offered through the project ‚Modernization of local public services in the Republic of Moldova’.
‘The purpose of this guide is to provide local elected and public officials at the rayon level, and beyond, a description of the approach to socio-economic development through participatory strategic planning, based on the principles of gender equality and human rights, in order to develop thoughtful rayon strategies, integrated and sustainable’ says the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Construction, Liviu Oboroc.
In turn, rector of the Academy of Public Administration, Oleg Balan says: ‘The appearance of this guide is absolutely necessary to local public authorities in the context of Moldova’s European integration processes, providing information and recommendations for quality development of rayon socio-economic development strategies’
The guide explains the strategic planning process’ stages, from situation analysis to monitoring and evaluation in a professional and also affordable language. However, the authors show how to select priority programmes and projects for the development of the rayon and the formation of a portfolio of projects, as a means of attracting investment.
The publication, available in Romanian and English, was published in an edition of 700 copies and distributed to local, central authorities, academia, NGOs.
The guide will provide educational material for the training programme ‘Planning and programming at local and regional level’, developed by the Academy of Public Administration in partnership with MRDC and with the support of GIZ.
GIZ project ‘Modernization of local public services in the Republic of Moldova’ supports eight pilot investment projects in three key areas (water and sanitation, solid waste management, energy efficiency), implemented by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), subordinated to MRDC. In addition to investment in physical infrastructure, without which a public service could not operate, the beneficiary rayons are helped to update their rayon strategies.
Thus, Cahul, Leova and Rascani rayons were consulted to update the chapters on water and sanitation in SEDS, and Soldanesti rayon – chapter on solid waste management. By adopting these strategic planning documents, Rayon Councils are committed to support the development of these sectors and program their investment priorities.
Also, GIZ supports the development of Regional Sector Programmes for the three Development regions – North, Centre and South – in four areas: water and sanitation, solid waste management, energy efficiency and regional and local roads.
The project ‘Modernization of local public services in the Republic of Moldova’ is implemented by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ and is financially supported by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania and the European Union.
