Central authorities do not provide money to fight corruption at local level, while local budgets are limited, Straseni district head says

The central authorities do not allocate money for combating corruption at local level, while the local budgets are limited and do not include resources for the purpose, the head of Straseni district Nicolae Robu said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “I did not see much of the millions of euros provided by the international organizations and I would like to know how this money was distributed. I think we could also find a mechanism for fighting corruption, but we need investment,” Robu said during the ‘Press to Press’ program broadcast by ART TV Straseni. According to Robu, corruption in Straseni district is favored by the low salaries and people’s ignorance. “The salaries in the local public administration are too low and the civil servants think about taking bribe,” Nicolae Robu said. During an interview broadcast during the program, UNDP Moldova project manager Valeria Ieseanu said that a plan for combating corruption is now implemented in five Moldovan towns – Drochia, Ialoveni, Cimislia, Rezina, Soldanesti. “All the employees of the mayors’ offices in these towns will speak about the areas they consider vulnerable to corruption, which usually include public acquisitions, employment of personnel, fulfillment of the local budget, granting of construction permits and licenses. Then, they will propose their own solutions to these problems and a plan for combating corruption at roundtable meetings,” Valeria Ieseanu said. The Threshold Country Program formulated by the Government of Moldova in 2006 with the support of the Millennium Challenge Corporation is to be completed in 2009. Moldova committed itself to carrying out reforms to reduce corruption by implementing a pro-active systemic reform policy. The Press of Press series is broadcast by local TV channels across Moldova in the framework of a project supported by the Strengthening Civil Society Monitoring Capacity In Moldova (SCSMCM) Program, implemented by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), with the technical assistance of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). The Program is funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and administrated by USAID in the framework of the Threshold Country Plan for Moldova.