The 10 best and worst local and regional development policies in Moldova implemented in November 2018 – January 2019 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 these 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 green education program "Adopt a public space!" from Ungheni - with a final score of 229.0 points, the "Dor de Codru" tourist route in the Center region of Moldova - 222.5 points, the ethno-tourist complex from the village of Congaz, which opened its doors for visitors in November 2018 - 201.7 points, the modern waste management service in Hâncești rayon, with a final score of 198.6 points, and the Cultural House in the village of Carmanova, renovated with European support, a policy that earned a final score of 194.1 points. 

Thus, public spaces in Ungheni will become more attractive thanks to the green education and urban planning program "Adopt a public space!", inspired by the Town Hall of Cluj-Napoca from România. The program implies the adoption of a three-year public space by any economic agent, public institution or non-governmental organization in Ungheni for the purpose of its arrangement and maintenance. Institutions that will adopt a public space will develop their own landscaping projects, plant decorative trees and flowers and decorate them for holidays. "The initiative in Ungheni is a unique initiative in the country and is based on an innovative concept that deserves to be replicated, promoted and followed. The concept will create new connections and collaboration between local government and other local actors, such as the private sector and civil society", says Diana Enachi, member of the Evaluation Board. For the successful implementation of the program, the Ungheni Town Hall will sign a cooperation protocol with each institution that will adopt a public space, and in the case of non-compliance with the commitments, the land will be proposed to others for "adoption".

The Central region of our country is also a remarkable tourist destination. In this sense, Cioreşti (Nisporeni rayon), Dolna and Micleuşeni (Străşeni rayon) villages created the "Dor de Codru" tourist route. The route includes six tourist routes: ecological, fishing, cultural, gastronomic, historical-religious and sports. In this sense, many picturesque places, secular treasures, popular craftsmen and agro-tourist boarding houses are among the 20 objectives included in the route launched at the beginning of November 2018. At Cioreşti visitors can admire the works of the famous craftsman Zaharia Triboi, the only popular craftsman in Moldova, which creates objects of black ceramics, Micleușeni guest can taste the famous honey from the "The House of Honey", and at Dolna will visit the Conch-museum and the cellar of the boyar Zamfirache Arbore-Ralli. The project was carried out with financial support from the government of Switzerland, local authorities and natives. "On the one hand, the new tourist route is an important project that will develop community spirit within localities and inter-communal relations, less developed skills. On the other hand, it is premature to talk about the quality of the project because it is only at the initial stage", believes Igor Bucătaru, member of the Evaluation Board.

Another policy that highlights the tourist potential is the first ethno-tourist complex in the Gagauz style in the Republic of Moldova, entitled "Gagauz Sofrasi". The ethno-touristic complex opened on 6 November 2018 in the village of Congaz, includes four traditional peasant houses with clay walls and reed roof, a museum, a wine cellar, a restaurant with a national-style patio, a mini-hotel, and a festive hall. Visitors to the "Gagauz Sofrasi" complex can get to know the traditions and history of the countryside enjoy traditional Gagauz cuisine and the best wines in the area and even participate in gourmet workshops. The complex can accommodate up to 20 people and is built entirely of organic materials. "This project contributes to the promotion of ethno-cultural and tourist traditions, adding value to the economy of Congaz village", considers Ștefan Vlas, member of the Evaluation Board. The "Gagauz Sofrasi" complex was built with the European support.  

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 publicized in media, but which must be appreciated by the competent institutions, namely the possible conflict of interest in Căuşeni, where the Town Hall signs procurement contracts with the wife and father-in-law of the mayor Grigore Repeşciuc, but also the falsification of the public procurement acts by the Town Hall of Chișinău municipality.

This summary is the fifth and final edition of the series of policies and actions of public interest initiated or implemented locally between November 2018 and January 2019.  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 fourth edition of the Summary of best and worst 10 local and regional measures in Moldova, implemented in August – October 2018, was presented in November 2018.

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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.

In European countries, public street lighting accounts for about 19% of total electricity consumption, with a significant environmental impact and energy costs. In the Republic of Moldova, this value is about 9% and demonstrates the poor condition of the street lighting system and its high weariness, the upgrading of which requires major investment efforts. This was the motivation of Calarasi Town Hall to implement the energy efficiency project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests", namely to provide citizens with comfort and be an example for the other Moldovan localities.

Find out in the first issue of the Newsletter of the project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests", which are the modernization solutions for street lighting.

In the first issue of the newsletter you will discover the following topics:
MODERNIZATION: Citizens of Calarasi will have street lighting thanks to the European Union support 
ENERGY DAY: "Sustainable Energy Week", an event celebrated by Calarasi Town Hall
SUCCESS STORIES: Calarasi has the most energy-efficient kindergarten in Moldova
ACTIVITIES: Activities of the energy efficiency project in Calarasi, evaluated by a Steering Committee
OPINION: Victor Parlicov: "With the support of the EU, the life of the citizens in Calarasi will become better thanks to the modernization of the public lighting"

Find more in the Newsletter (available only in the Romanian language)

The project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests", implemented by the Calarasi Town Hall in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul". The project is funded by the European Union through the European programme “Covenant of Mayors – Demonstration Projects (CoM-DeP)”, part of the EU4Energy initiative.

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For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.

The EU4Energy Initiative covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the longer term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector. More information: www.EU4Energy.eu

Best practices of local authorities in Moldova have been appointed on 28 November at the meeting of the Steering Group of the Best Practices Programme. During the meeting, members of the Steering Committee gave a note of best practices known in the documentation visits and have decided the winning practices.

Thus, 26 municipalities from 15 rayons and municipalities were visited in August – September 2018 by the project implementation team. To be noted that for the current edition of the Best Practices Program 61 practices from 37 localities of the country were submitted. Sections to which local public authorities submitted their initiatives are: 1. Active citizenship for good transparent governance; 2. Local development through community involvement; 3. Cultural - historical heritage, the business card of your locality; 4. Quality public services closer to citizens.

"One best single practice - one that is superior to any other practice actually does not really exist. And what works well in a community may not be useful anywhere else. For this reason, at each edition of the program we try to discover unique, original and innovative ideas and projects that prove their impact over time and can become a model for other communities in the country", said Ana-Maria Veverita, Programme Coordinator.

As a result of the competition, the best practice models of local public administration in Moldova were identified and disseminated, promoting the remarkable results of the communities that deserve to be known at national and international level.

In this regard, we can mention the young councilors from Budesti who learned from the secrets of the local public administration, the  Local Action Group from Straseni rayon, the history and ethnography museum in Crihana Veche village or the new wastewater treatment plant in Teleneşti. "I greatly appreciate those authorities who have been able to mobilize the community because it is not so easy to communicate with the citizens and to convince the natives to invest in local development. And bravo to all communities that have been able to implement innovative solutions to the problems faced by local authorities", believes Tatiana Badan, president of CALM.

In his turn, Eduard Ungureanu, Head of relations with regional development institutions of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment supported the importance of involving citizens in local development and appreciated civic participation in the appreciation of good practices: "I have seen many practices in the competition where the whole community has been actively involved, and I enjoy it. When natives from abroad contribute financially to a specific local project means they trust the local public administration and what will be done in their village or town. Also, the idea of GALs in Moldova is also innovative; this tool being a new and future one for local authorities in our country".

The Steering Group of the Best Practices Programme monitors and evaluates the implementation of the Best Practices Program, oversees the evaluation and selection of best practices of local government.

Best practices will be awarded at the National Award Ceremony, to be held on 18 December.

The Best Practices Programme of Local Authorities in Moldova is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", with the financial support of the Council of Europe. The Programme aims at identifying, promoting and disseminating good practices among local public authorities in the Republic of Moldova, thus contributing to the efficiency of local governance.

For more details, contact Program Coordinator Ana - Maria Veverita at 0 22 221844 or ana.veverita@viitorul.org

In 2017, a resident of the Republic of Moldova had an average of 3,791 lei from local budget revenues. The highest per capita income was in Briceni (2.8 thousand lei), Sipoteni (2.7 thousand lei) and Ungheni municipality (2.4 thousand lei). However, local budgets in our country remain critically insufficient to ensure the sustainable development of local communities. These are some of the findings of the local public finance quality assessment report.

The analysis, signed by Angela Secrieru, public finance expert at IDIS "Viitorul", evaluates the capacities of local government in the field of local public finances in the 50 largest localities in the Republic of Moldova.

"Financial centralization is becoming more pronounced and alarming. This trend affects, among other things, the independence of local public authorities in local decision-making, generating distorted premises for the development of certain localities to the detriment of others, often induced by political reasons, eventually leading to an increase in the decline of local economies”, believes Angela Secrieru.

According to the local finance assessment report, the size of the administrative-territorial units' revenues was 13,462 million. lei, representing 7.6% of GDP in 2017, and the total expenditures of the local budgets amounted to 13 274 million lei last year. The localities (with the exception of Chisinau and Balti), with the highest incomes, were Cahul (81 million lei), Ungheni (77 million lei) and Orhei (59 million lei). The same towns also recorded the largest revenues from local taxes in 2017. Tax on real estate is, however, the source with the most significant financial potential that feeds local budgets. This source generated the highest revenues in the case of the budget of Cahul (4.7 million lei) and Codru (3.9 million lei). However, in 2016-2017, local taxes and fees recorded unimportant values (about 6%), caused in particular by the passivity of local authorities, the unfavorable political and economic environment. Although own revenues are associated with financial decentralization and the independence of local public authorities, most of the total local budget revenues come from transfers from the state budget. In this case, the largest transfers were registered last year at the level of the budgets of Cahul, Ungheni and Comrat.

As far as spending in 2017, most money was spent on staff, goods and services. Thus, the largest personnel expenditures in the total budget expenditure structure were recorded for the Pelinia budget (54%), Congaz (53%) and Taraclia (51%).

"The share of own revenues in the total local budget revenues is not only insufficient, but is steadily decreasing. One of the possible explanations for these developments is the reluctance of local public authorities to manifest their initiative and activism in the development of local economies, as well as the high number of cases of criminal prosecution against local elected officials under the pretext of the anti-corruption fight", the expert says.

Strengthening the revenue base of local public authorities, streamlining the allocation of all categories of transfers, increasing the tax rate of local taxes and taxes, revising the system of tax incentives and granting local public authorities the freedom to introduce new local taxes and taxes are some of the solutions recommended in the report to ensure financial health and sustainable economic growth at the local level.

The budgetary transparency of local public authorities in the Republic of Moldova can be accessed on the open data portal http://localbudgets.viitorul.org/

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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.

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.

Mayoralties from Bălţi, Cahul and Cimişlia, and the Rayon Councils from Strășeni, Fălețti and Cahul were awarded by IDIS "Viitorul" to ensure transparency in the activity of the local public administration. The award ceremony took place on November 8, at a public conference.

According to the monitoring report on the evolution of local public administrations in their opening to the citizens, the most open municipalities in Moldova are Bălţi (82 points), Cimişlia (62 points) and Cahul (62 points). These mayoralties were in the top 10 most transparent localities in 2017. Thus, only the Bălți Town Hall published on the official website - http://balti.md, the public procurement contracts held last year. Also, on the Bălți Town Hall web page are presented the results of the public auctions, with the indication of the real estate, the address, the surface, the destination, the price and the decision of the town council. "In order to ensure transparency, the Bălți Town Hall publishes a calendar of events on the website, we broadcast live all the events and we have even two new web sections" Your opinion counts" and "Feedback", because the opinion of the citizens about the activity of the town hall is important for us" , says Irina Serdiuc, Secretary of the Balti Municipal Council.

Cahul Town Hall, which is the second most transparent authority in the country, publishes, together with the Strășeni Town Hall, the activity reports and annual financial analyzes of municipal enterprises in 2017. On the web site of Cahul - http://www.primariacahul.md/, as well as that of Cimislia, we find the mayors' wealth statements.

Besides the municipalities in those three towns, the rayon councils also received transparency awards. Thus, according to the latest ranking of IDIS "Viitorul", the most open rayon authorities in Moldova are Strășeni (78 points), Fălești (64 points) and Cahul (58 points). The Strășeni Rayon Council publishes all draft decisions of the rayon council on the web - www.crstraseni.md, providing enough time for interested persons to analyze them. Also, draft decisions are easy to find on the web page. The Strășeni District Council is also the best example of participation in the decision-making process at rayon level. The rayon administration in Strășeni publishes the procurement contracts on the web page and the detailed information about the types of social services, being an example to be followed for all the districts of the country. "The achievement of a high degree of transparency in the decision-making process depends very much on the activity of the entire team of authority, the knowledge of the legislation in the field, the professionalism and the responsibility in the accomplishment of the established tasks", stresses Mihail Popa, president of Strășeni rayon.

At the same time, only the Fălești administration has published on the web the CV of the municipal enterprise managers and the annual financial analyzes, being the best example in this chapter. "Transparency is a process of daily activity aimed at making public authorities more efficient and increasing the trust of the population in the administrative act. We consider our rationality authority to have a high degree of transparency by ensuring the participation of civil society in the process of administration and decision making", says Iraida Bîzari, president of Fălești rayon.

Even if it has accumulated 58 points out of 100, the Cahul Rayon Council advanced the most in the ranking (from 29th place in 2016 to 3rd in 2018). In this respect, the Rayon Council for participation was created, all the draft decisions and the approved decisions are made public on the website http://cahul.md/ and the citizens are actively involved in public consultations and hearings. "The Cahul Rayon Council tends to increase the accountability of the public administration towards the citizen, because it is the beneficiary of the approved decisions. The active involvement of citizens in the drafting of normative acts is an objective that we lead in daily activity", says the secretary of the Cahul Rayon council, Cornelia Prepeliţă.

All winning authorities were awarded trophies and honorable diplomas.

Top of the most transparent municipalities in the Republic of Moldova can be found on the open data portal: http://localtransparency.viitorul.org/.

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The event was held 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 Official Development Assistance of the Slovak Republic (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 Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or at phone number (0 22) 221844

Bălți, Cimișlia and Cahul are the most transparent localities in the Republic of Moldova, and Strășeni, Fălești and Cahul - the most transparent rayons in the country in 2018, which is why they were awarded. The ranking of the most open local public authorities, conducted by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" together with INEKO Slovakia, was presented today, November 8, at a public conference.

“For three years we have a fruitful cooperation with our partners in Slovakia and during this period IDIS have learned a lot. We have learned the methodology for identifying the most transparent local authorities and have found out what financial sustainability measurement tools are. Thus, we have taken a step forward to strengthen local public authorities in Moldova. Also, although the country's average transparency is below 40%, there are authorities that are beginning to dictate the tone in this direction, and the trends are gratifying in terms of transparency”, stated IDIS Director, Liubomir Chiriac.

In turn, Maroš Kramár, Development Cooperation Diplomat at Embassy of Slovakia in Chisinau mentioned: “I am glad that the financial support of the SlovakAaid and engaging cooperation of the partner organizations INEKO and IDIS Viitorul brings positive results in the form of awards for the most open local public authorities. Many thanks belong also to the municipalities, which tried to be part of the project and had the effort to be more transparent for the needs of their citizens. May the great examples be a pattern for the rest of municipalities in Moldova for the future”.

„The aim of our initiative was to improve the level of openness of the authorities to the citizens and after three years we can see significant progress in this respect, which is a good sign. I am happy to see that the results of monitoring local transparency in Moldova are positive and the authorities have become more transparent. The objective of our efforts is to have a qualitative democracy in Moldova by empowering citizens and correctly informing them about the transparency and financial sustainability of local governments”, underlined the INEKO director, Peter Golias.

Those 60 municipalities (40 towns and 20 largest villages/communes) and 32 rayons were evaluated and ranked in the following nine criteria of transparency: access to information, participation in decision-making, budgeting, public procurement, management of public property, professional ethics and conflict of interests, human resources, social services, investments, municipal companies and participation in companies. The maximum of the accrued points was 100. Thus, the most transparent municipalities are Bălți (82 points), Cimișlia (62 points) and Cahul (62 points). Also, the most transparent local public authorities of the second level II are the rayon councils from Strășeni (78 points), Fălești (64 points) and Cahul (58 points).

During the three years of monitoring, local and regional public administrations have evolved in their openness to citizens. Strășeni advanced the most in the transparency ranking, followed by Sîngerei, Cărpineni and Ialoveni. Thus, from 2016 to the present, the overall average transparency increased by 4.87 percentage points for local government at level I and 7.34 percentage points for local government level II. Although the overall average for the municipalities is 23.55% out of the 100 maximum possible, and the general average for the rayons is 37.28%, the great majority of the local public authorities level I and II have constantly improved their level of transparency, fact which led to higher scoring and a better place compared to previous years. Among the positive examples are the Bălți municipality, which occupies the first position for two years in the top, with an average of over 80% (A +), Strășeni which has the highest progress in the score (+50.2 points) and ranking (+39 places). At the rayon level is about the Strășeni Rayon Council, which ranks first for two years in the top with an average of over 78% in 2018 (A), and Cahul district had the highest score in 2018 (+46.6 points) and climbed 3rd place in the ranking (+26 positions), is shown in the report on monitoring the activity of local public administration in terms of openness to citizens.

"Local public authorities have become more open over time and have begun to make more use of webpages to bring public information to citizens. At the same time, the 2018 ranking finds the first example of drafting and publishing the Code of Ethics for local elected officials, and although it is not compulsory in Moldova, three local governments and a rayon administration publish public procurement contracts on their official website”, considers Viorel Pîrvan, author of the transparency report.

According to the monitoring report, the best examples of access to information are the Cimișlia Town Hall (97 points) and Sîngerei rayon (94 points). As regards the participation in the decision-making process, the Bălți municipality and the Strășeni Rayon Coucil have retained their first position in recent years. With regard to public procurement, most authorities (29 localities and 9 districts) publish public procurement notices, and less the procurement results. At the same time, although it is important for authorities to publish public procurement contracts on their websites and civil society to monitor them, this is not done. Respectively, only on the website of Bălţi, the villages of Costeşti, Varniţa and on the Strășeni rayon Council, we find the public procurement contracts.

In terms of budgetary transparency, 34 local authorities of the first level and 27 rayon councils published the 2018 budget on the web. The study also highlights the fact that although 24 mayoralties have made public on the Mayor's CV on the web site, the declarations of income and property of the mayor, deputy mayors and civil servants are published only on the web page of the mayoralties in Cahul and Cimișlia. In the district authorities, the Râşcani rayon is the only rayon that has published on the web site the Code of ethics for local elected representatives.

The ranking of the most transparent local public authorities shows that 58 mayoralties and 30 rayon councils did not make public through the web page the public vacancies in 2017 and only the Bălți municipality, the Călărași Town Hall and the rayon councils from Strășeni and Sângerei did this thing.

Other chapters analyzed are "public services" and "investments, municipal enterprises and participation in commercial companies". Thus, the Bălți Town Hall and Fălești Rayon Council are the best examples of accessibility to the information on social services for the population. Also, only 13 mayoralties and two district councils publish on the web the information about the programs and projects, whose beneficiaries or executors are. At the district level, only the Fălești rayon administration has published on the web the CV’s of the managers of the municipal enterprises.

Top of the most transparent municipalities in the Republic of Moldova can be found on the open data portal: http://localtransparency.viitorul.org/.

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The event was held 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 Official Development Assistance of the Slovak Republic (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 Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or at phone number (0 22) 221844

Communities with best practices will organize Open Doors Day in their localities from 27 October to 16 November. Thus, representatives of local authorities in nine municipalities will share their successful experience with other mayors and the general public.

The events take place with the financial support of the Council of Europe and the logistics of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul". Thus, the Open Doors Day itinerary will include the following destinations:

Saturday, October 27th
Ialoveni Town Hall
Transparency makes the difference!

Tuesday, October 30th
Varnita Village Hall, Anenii Noi rayon
Varnita - The Capital of the Youth and King Charles XII

Thursday, November 1st
Telenesti Town Hall
Quality public services for citizens

Monday, November 5th
Crihana Veche Village Hall, Cahul rayon
Touristic Crihana Veche

Tuesday, November 6th
Local Action Group "Plaiul Codrilor"
Local involvement for community development

Thursday, November 8th
Vadul lui Voda Town Hall, Chisinau municipality
Investing in culture means investing in citizens!

Monday, November 12th
Cotul Morii Village Hall, Hincesti rayon
The sun brings energy to the kindergarten in Cotul Morii

Wednesday, November 14th
Cruzeşti Village Hall, Chisinau municipality
Well managed optimizations bring benefits to communities

Friday, November 16th
Calarasi Town Hall
Călăraşi has the most energy-efficient kindergarten in the country

More details can be found in the promotional flyer (available only in Romanian) "Open Doors Day: Exchange of experiences and best practices"

At the Open Doors Days, representatives of local authorities, NGOs and the media are invited. IDIS "Viitorul" will ensure the transport of the participants. To travel from Chisinau to the mentioned localities, please contact the Programme Coordinator, Ana-Maria Veverita at 022 22 18 44 or by e-mail at programul.bunelerpractici@gmail.com

The Best Practices Programme of Local Authorities in Moldova is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", with the financial support of the Council of Europe since 2005. The Programme aims at identifying, promoting and disseminating good practices among local public authorities in the Republic of Moldova, thus contributing to the efficiency of local governance.
 

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.

Most active 26 communities in Moldova will be visited in August and September to see live how the best practices are implemented. The communities were selected on 8 August, by members of the Steering Group of the Best Practice Programme for Local Authorities in Moldova in a meeting.

Among the active communities we can mention the town of Călăraşi, where the first energetically efficient kindergarten from Moldova operates; the city of Ungheni, whose central park was renovated with the support of the natives; the village of Budesti, where 20 young people learned the secrets of the public administration and assisted the mayor during the working hours; Teleneşti, which has a modern wastewater treatment plant and even the municipality of Chisinau, recognized for several successful initiatives, such as the e-Notification/e-Authorization system in commerce. 

“This year we have identified fewer but more innovative practices, and some of them have motivated us to get to know them more closely. Communities have been very active this year, such as Călărași or Edinet, which have shown good initiatives. But I am glad to see this year's edition new communities that participate for the first time in the competition. I wish these successful experiences to be replicated in the future by other local public authorities", said the president of CALM, Tatiana Badan.

According to the Program Coordinator, Ana - Maria Veveriţa, in the competition this year, participates in 61 of the most innovative good practices, implemented by 37 local public authorities during 2016-2017. Sections to which local public authorities submitted their initiatives are 1. Active citizenship for good transparent governance; 2. Local development through community involvement; 3. Cultural - historical heritage, the business card of your locality; 4. Quality public services closer to citizens.

As the distribution of best practices on regions, the Central region remains the most active. Therefore, from the Centre 39 good practices from 23 localities were submitted; in the North - 13 good practices from 7 communities and Soroca Rayon Council and 8 best practices from 6 municipalities were submitted from the Southern region of the country. Best practices will be included in an Anthology of Good Practice and will be awarded at a festive ceremony at the end of 2018.

"The local practices presented at this edition were diverse and also new. It is also an encouraging fact for the mayoralties that the citizens' initiative is predominant in this year's best practices. There are model practices worth replicating in other localities. With IDIS support and citizens, I hope the local authorities continue to pursue successful practices with the same enthusiasm they have done so far", highlighted Stefan Vlas, deputy and member of the Steering Group.

The Steering Group of the Best Practices Programme monitors and evaluates the implementation of the Best Practices Program, oversees the evaluation and selection of best practices of local government.

The Best Practices Programme of Local Authorities in Moldova is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", with the financial support of the Council of Europe. The Programme aims at identifying, promoting and disseminating good practices among local public authorities in the Republic of Moldova, thus contributing to the efficiency of local governance.

For more details, contact Program Coordinator Ana - Maria Veverita at 0 22 221844 or ana.veverita@viitorul.org