The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” has launched a capacity building program in the field of good governance involving a group of 30 civil society organizations. The first training was conducted online on Thursday, 4 February. IDIS “Viitorul” experts Viorel Pirvan and Diana Enachi, provided specific training on the ways of getting involved in the decision-making process at a local level, on how to gain access to public information, and on how to monitor the management of public propriety.

The capacity building program, which aims to strengthen the role of the CSOs as watchdogs, is being  conducted within the ”Transparent public authorities for active and informed citizens” Project, implemented by IDIS ”Viitorul” and financed by European Union and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, through the ”Development of local civil society in the Republic of Moldova” Grants Program.

In the opening the session, Ana Znaceni, the project coordinator, mentioned that the program has three components: 1) education, 2) mentoring, and 3) the stage of the elaboration of the transparency and accountability monitoring reports for 32 level II LPAs and 60 level I LPAs in the Republic of Moldova. The training process involves the organization of three seminars on 4, 18, and 25 February. The mentoring stage will guide the participants through the steps necessary for the preparation of monitoring reports. The last stage is the preparation of reports.

Ana Znaceni mentioned also other activities envisaged in the project, among them being three TV shows conducted at a regional level, three (online), regional conferences where the CSOs can bring to the attention of citizens and stakeholders the findings of monitoring and evaluation reports. Ana Znaceni urged CSO representatives to act as agents of change in their localities and to implement in other projects the knowledge they are obtaining during these training sessions, so as to contribute towards the achievement of the goal of having informed citizens and transparent local public authorities.

Public property management is one of the most vulnerable areas of corruption risks. This vulnerability is generated by the gaps in the legal framework which is often confused  contradictory, by the lack of transparency, and also by the lack of a record of the goods owned by LPAs. Transparency in public property management is a principle stipulated in the legal framework. Ensuring the transparency at the stage when  participation notices are being issued, or the results of auctions, sale, or lease of public goods are announced, is a legal obligation of LPAs", specified Diana Enachi.

“Even through progress has been made regarding active citizenship in recent years, there is still an acute need to develop a culture of active and democratic participation of citizens at a local, regional and national levels. Any decision of the local public administration has consequences for the citizens, and, for this reason, we need public participation and transparency in the decision-making ”, added Viorel Pîrvan.

The ”Transparent public authorities for active and informed citizens” Project is implemented in the September 2020 – July 2021 timeframe.

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Grants program ”Development of local civil society in the Republic of Moldova”, financed by the European Union and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, will offer during the years 2020-2021 grants amounting to about EUR 3 million Civil Society Organizations, which operates outside the city of Chisinau.

The purpose of the program is to contribute to the development of local civil society in the Republic of Moldova, which promotes and monitors the transparency and the responsibility of public institutions, including in the implementation of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement.

This press release was elaborated with the financial support of the European Union. The content is the responsibility of the” Transparent public authorities for active and informed citizens” project and doesn’t reflect the point of view of the European Union.