Voluntary amalgamation will enable the amalgamated localities to benefit from additional funds for road infrastructure and high-quality public transports, said MP of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) Dorian Istratii. According to him, the localities with a small number of inhabitants need to be merged. The MP considers it is highly improbable that the mayors will want voluntary amalgamation before the local general elections, IPN reports.
The draft law on voluntary amalgamation was adopted by Parliament. Under this, two or more villages of the first level will merge voluntarily so as to strengthen their administrative capacity and to provide public services of a high quality for the citizens. PAS MP Dorian Istratii said he is skeptical about the mayor’s wish to resort to voluntary amalgamation before the elections of November 5 this year.
“We adopted the law that allows for the voluntary amalgamation of localities. Money was allocated for the purpose. Those who want to do it can do it. But I think that this will not happen ahead of the elections as I don’t believe there is a courageous mayor who is ready to do this. It is a political matter. The citizens got used to having a mayor’s office in the locality. But when you explain to the citizen that the local mayor’s office cannot pay salaries and voluntary amalgamation is needed, the citizen is anyway interested in having services in the locality,” Dorian Istratii stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei channel.
Under the draft law, voluntary amalgamation will be financially encouraged, which is money will be allocated form the state budget for developing infrastructure and for supplementing local budgets for a period of seven years.
“These localities that decide in favor of voluntary amalgamation should benefit from increased attention. It goes to funding for roads between the amalgamated localities, public transport between localities, including common service provision centers of the Public Services Agency. It is important for the citizen to be able to get IDs or a cadastral document in the basic locality, where the mayor’s office is located, without needing to go to the district. Currently, we have over 400 localities with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants. It is a very serious problem. A mayor’s office with 800 citizens in the village cannot be efficient,” said the PAS MP.
The bill provides that the mayor or 1/3 of the local elected councilors can propose the amalgamation. The process is initiated by decisions adopted by local councils by a majority of votes of councilors. The decision on amalgamation should be consulted publicly in conditions of decisional transparency and is taken by the voters of 2/3 of the local councilors.
