Local authorities pledge to ensure transparency and enhance civic participation in city decision-making

The new version of the City Hall’s site – www.chisinau.md – will be launched on 10 February, 2008. The new site will ensure a higher degree of transparency of the City Hall’s and Chisinau Municipal Council’s (CMC) activity, local authorities say. On Tuesday, 22 January, the CMC approved the Regulations on ensuring transparency and broad civic participation in local decision-making, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Regulations provide for higher accessibility of the population to public information, aim at strengthening public administration – citizens/public associations’ relations, promote equal chances for public participation in local decision-making. By mean of these Regulations, local authorities pledge to consider citizens’ opinions and make all drafts public. The approval of the Regulations was the object of an advocacy campaign themed “Transparency in Community Interests”, held by INRECO in partnership with 17 NGOs from Chisinau. After the 2007 local elections, the Regulations draft was repeatedly debated with the new city administration. To push the project, INRECO launched in September-October 2007 a campaign for acquainting the population with the necessity of promoting good governance and transparency principles in the decision-making process. In addition, back up letters were collected from 17 Chisinau NGOs. The draft and the letters were submitted to the CMC chairman. Talks have also been held with the leaders of factions of the city council. INRECO calls on Chisinau non-governmental organisations and the media to get involved in monitoring the stipulations of these Regulations, in order to ensure the transparency of the local public administration activity and to increase people’s civic awareness of participative democracy. The Conflict Resolution Institute INRECO is a public organisation founded to contribute to the social-economic development of Moldova in the context of territorial reintegration and its eventual integration with the European structures by solving conflict situations and promoting good governance principles.