The 10 best and worst local and regional development policies in Moldova implemented in May - July 2018 were identified and evaluated by members of an Evaluation Council at the IDIS "Viitorul" and INEKO invitation. The activity aims to describe sustainable, time-lasting policies that can be transferred to other communities, ultimately improving the quality of local and regional development policies.
Public policies were measured on the basis of two methodologically approved criteria, taking into account their importance for the community and their sustainability. Thus, the members of the Evaluation Council assessed and ranked the policies analyzed by: (a) quality, a criteria that ranges between -3 and 3 and (b) the relevance of this policy for the community and economy, ie the impact it produces, using a scale percent from 0 to 100%. The multiplication of this two criteria represents the final score for each policy, which ranges between -300 and 300 points.
According to the analysis presented in the Summary of the best and worst 10 policy measures in regional and local development of Moldova, the best five local public policies in our country refer to the Tourist Guide of the Soroca rayon - with a final score of 218.5 points, the intercommunity service of volunteer firefighters at Colibaşi, Vadul lui Isac and Brînza - 209.5 points , the elaboration of the Economic Development Plan of Căuşeni - 207 points, the collection of electric waste from Ungheni municipality, with a final score of 203, as well as the system for processing the petitions of the inhabitants of Orhei: e-Primaria, which has accumulated a final score of 166.5 points.
The travel guide of the Soroca rayon, launched on May 28, contains the most useful information about the tourist attractions of the region. The publication divides the rayon into five microzones and presents the protected areas of historical and cultural heritage, museums, photographs, information about popular craftsmen, contact details of accommodation units, etc. Although the members of the Evaluation Council believe that such a policy will have a positive impact only if it is linked to the development of infrastructure and public services.
And 11,000 inhabitants of the villages of Brînza, Vadul Isac and Colibaşi in Cahul District will be safe in case of fires and calamities thanks to an intercommunal service of volunteer firefighters. The service was launched on July 16 this year and has 25 uniforms and a fire truck donated from an Austrian organization. But by the end of the year, the fire station will be built from the contribution from the natives. The members of the Evaluation Board consider that the cost-effectiveness of maintaining a local fire service should be taken into account.
Another innovative practice included in the ranking is found in the municipality of Ungheni, the western capital of the Republic of Moldova. The campaign "Collected Electrical Waste - Protected Human Life", conducted between April 20 and May 20, 2018, is a great activity of informing citizens about the importance of the selective collection of electrical and electronic waste. Pupils and children from kindergartens also participated in the competition for waste electrical waste. The institutions that collected the largest amount of electrical and electronic waste were awarded with a few holiday days in the twin towns of Ungheni.
Also, the members of the Evaluation Council also assessed two negative policies that show certain violations of the principles of transparency. These are two cases that have been made public in Moldovan media sources lately. It is about the corrupt involvement of the local elected representatives in the commune of Truşeni in the alienation of the public lands and the favoritism of the companies headed by the head of the construction section of Teleneşti district to the public procurement contests.
This summary represents the third edition of the series of evaluations of development policies at the local and regional level. The first edition was launched in February 2018, including 13 policies – Summary of best and worst 13 local and regional measures in Moldova (November 2017 – January 2018), while the second edition covered 11 local and regional policies and was presented in May this year - Summary of best and worst 11 local and regional measures in Moldova (February – April 2018).
The fourth edition of the Summary of best and worst local and regional development measures is due to be launched in October this year.
The analysis was developed within the initiative „Promoting transparency and financial sustainability of regional policies, state-owned enterprises and local authorities in Moldova", implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms in Slovakia (INEKO). The initiative is financially supported by the SlovakAid. It aims to improve the efficiency of the state administration, self-government and civil society in the area of creation and control of regional policies, administration of state-owned enterprises, and monitoring of budgets and information openness of municipalities.
