The 10 best and worst local and regional development policies in Moldova implemented in August - October 2018 were identified and evaluated by members of an Evaluation Board 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 Board assessed and ranked the policies analyzed by (a) quality, a criterion that range 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, the best five local public policies in our country refer to the touristic route launched on September 30 in Chişcăreni commune, Sângerei rayon - with a final score of 202.6 points, the multi-purpose sports hall in Colibaşi, Cahul rayon - 161.5 points, the Community Center "Active aging" in Şămăşcani, Șoldănești rayon - 151.6 points, the map of social services in Bălți municipality, with a final score of 147.8, as well as the local resources map of the the Local Action Group "Plaiul Codrilor" in Strășeni rayon, which scored a final score of 145.4 points.
Thus, besides the fact that Chişcăreni is well known for the Festival of Sarmale and Pies organized annually, the village has all the chances to become a tourist attraction in Moldova. The touristic route "La Chişcăreni - ACASĂ" will allow visitors to discover the history and beautiful places of the village. “The impact of this local policy is long-term, and it is about attracting investments, creating jobs and boosting the socio-economic development of the commune”, believes Diana Enachi, member of the Evaluation Board. Moreover, the new tourist route in Chișcăreni develops rural tourism, it has a huge potential for development. The main points of interest are historical monuments of Nicolae Casso's boyar, hiking tours in forest areas, a handicraft center, as well as four agro-boarding houses with full tourist services. The idea of creating the tourist route belongs to the Village Hall and was supported by the contributions of the natives.
Another policy that has become possible thanks to the natives is the multi-purpose sports hall from Colibași, opened in August. Thus, the building of the former cinema was renovated by reorganizing the interior space. The sports hall has an area of about 200 square meters and includes spaces built according to the latest technologies. In addition to space equipped with gym machines, citizens of different ages can practice other activities: sports dances, free fighting, athletics, gymnastics, etc. “It impresses the inhabitants effort, which denotes the developed civic spirit and initiative of the locality”, considers Igor Bucătaru, member of the Evaluation Board.
In order to provide an active life for elderly people, the Sămăşcani Village Hall from Şoldăneşti rayon, in partnership with HelpAge International, opened on August 10 the Community Center "Active aging", which is one of the first institutions of this kind in the rayon. “This institution is a concrete practice with direct beneficiaries; a model worthy to be followed and replicated in other municipalities in the country”, says the members of the Evaluation Board, Veaceslav Aftene. The community center, which is located in the old building of the local kindergarten, provides access to social, educational and recreational activities for at least 300 elderly people in the local community, thus supporting their social integration.
The members of the Evaluation Board also assessed two negative policies that show certain violations of the principles of transparency. There are two cases that were highly publicized in media, but which must be appreciated by the competent institutions, namely the possible conflict of interest in the decisions of the Măgdăcești Village Hall to acquire the building for the kindergarten and the construction empire of the mayor from Băgzeşti, Telenești rayon.
This summary represents the fourth edition of the series of evaluations of development policies at the local and regional level, implemented in August – October 2018. 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). And in July the Summary of best and worst 10 local and regional measures in Moldova (May-July 2018) was presented, the evaluation being at the third edition.
The fifth edition of the Summary of best and worst local and regional development measures is due to be launched in February 2019.
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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.
For details, contact Ana – Maria Veverița: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or at the phone number (0 22) 221844.
