Municipalities in the Republic of Moldova will be able to set up and manage common enterprise for local services provision. The government of the Republic of Moldova has prepared a mechanism to facilitate inter-municipal cooperation between LPA to increase the quality of local public services. In this regard, on 9 July 2014, was approved the Government Decision no. 549 “On amending and supplementing the Municipal Enterprise Model Regulation” that provides municipalities of Moldova the opportunity to join in the establishment and management of joint municipal enterprises.
“The proposed changes will allow LPA to provide services to people they have never had before. Organized waste collection, water supply and sewerage, street lighting and land planning, even in the smallest localities – these services will improve the quality of life of people in Moldovan villages, “said Sergiu Palihovici, Deputy Secretary General of the Government, who presented the draft Government decision to the executive session.
Inter-municipal cooperation mechanism (IMC) is an innovative tool for managing local public affairs. IMC is a viable alternative especially for small municipalities that do not have sufficient resources to provide public services unaided. This is an important component of the National Decentralization Strategy, approved by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in April 2012.
Changing the regulatory framework in order to facilitate inter-municipal cooperation for providing local public services has been prepared with the support of the Joint Integrated Local Development Programme. The programme assists the Republic of Moldova in implementing the decentralization reform by promoting LPA’s autonomy and access of all people, especially vulnerable ones to quality public services. The programme is coordinated by the State Chancellery and implemented by UNDP and UN Women, with the financial support of the Government of Denmark.
Over 80% of Moldovan municipalities have a population less than 5,000 inhabitants, and do not meet minimum European requirements for the provision of profitable local services. Every fourth community in Moldova has fewer than 1,500 inhabitants.
