Process of developing mechanism for purchasing social services is delayed, civil society

The delay in adopting and developing the mechanism for purchasing social services from civil society organizations (SCOs) by the state is one of the most serious problems. It can be fixed by accelerating this process, including by improving communication between the authorities and the SCOs. Such a conclusion was reached in the International Conference on the Financing of Civil Society Organizations by the State: New Opportunities for Developing the Civil Society Sector of Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. ”Unfortunately, not much was achieved despite the effort made during the last years. Our recommendation is that the process of developing the national mechanism for purchasing social services should be accelerated,” manager of the UNDP Better Opportunities for Youth and Women Project Viorel Albu said in the conference. According to him, there are serious shortcomings in the communication between ministries and civil society. Such instruments as multi-sector roundtable meetings, information distribution networks, updating of ministries’ websites can help improve the situation, but they are insufficiently used. Another recommendation is to adjust the legislation, besides adopting new normative documents. Viorel Albu referred especially to the Law on Local Public Administration, the Fiscal Code, and the Law on Local Public Finances. “Even the Law on Public-Private Partnership that was recently adopted has drawbacks,” he stated. He also said that the CSOs must make effort to avoid the risk of remaining without sufficient local capacities for providing social services and without financial resources after the possible administrative decentralization and modification of the social assistance system. He recommended making use of public-private partnerships in order to provide social services and promote positive practices in this respect. The CSOs can and should be financed by the state in exchange for social services that the authorities cannot provide as they lack capacity, said Antonita Fonari, secretary general of the National NGO Council. According to her, the civil society organizations now have enough finances, but there is a risk that the financing from outside and other sources will stop coming and the ordinary people will be thus seriously affected. The International Conference on the Financing of Civil Society Organizations by the State: New Opportunities for Developing the Civil Society Sector of Moldova was organized within the FHI 360 Moldova Civil Society Strengthening Program that is supported by USAID. The event was held under the auspices of experts of the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law.