Only 32.8% of the Moldovans are connected to a public sewerage system. The rest use own systems that most of the times do not meet the sanitary norms. The low rate of access to public sewerage services is due to the large costs and few investments in this sector. Even if particular investments in the sewerage systems were made the past few years, these turned out to be inefficient owing to the population’s refusal to connect to public networks, shows a report produced by the Center “Partnership for Development” (CPD), IPN reports
According to the report, the population’s refusal to connect to public sewerage networks is influenced by the economic factor, connection costs, legislative shortcomings and inappropriate understanding of the necessity of correctly managing wastewater. The huge discrepancy between the number of people connected to public water supply systems and the number of people who have effective access to public sewerage services is a decisive factor of environmental population.
In the event held to launch the report, Ion Beschieru, expert in local governance and public administration, spoke about the main constraints that lead to limited access to clean water and appropriate sanitation. Among these are the limited financial and human resources of the local public authorities, increased administrative-territorial fragmentation and slow regionalization of services/operators in the sector, the lack of a mechanism for regulating and more efficiently supervising operators in rural areas.
Veronica Briceag, head of staff at the Ministry of Environment, said the efficient management of water resources is a priority of the Government and the Ministry of Environment. Even if big steps were taken in this sector, the population needs to more massively become involved and public services should be developed. Even if water and sewerage are now within the remit of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Ministry of Environment makes particular adjustments and efforts for all the citizens of Moldova, both from rural areas and from urban areas, to have access to high-quality water.
In September 2015, the Republic of Moldova undertook to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This way, by 2030 Moldova, alongside another 192 UN member states, is to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, to fight inequalities and make sure that no one is left behind. Moldova’s commitment to implement the Agenda 2030 also results from the National Development Strategy “European Moldova 2030”, which stipulates the long-term development goals and directions of the country. By 2030, Moldova is to obtain tangible and sustainable improvements in the quality of life at all levels, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and with the aspirations set out in the Moldova – EU Association Agreement.
