After Moldova obtained Independence, the local public administration stopped to be an appendix of the central bodies that should only report on particular problems. This now has the right to deal with the problems faced in the administered area, Valentin Gutan, the mayor of Cricova town of Chisinau municipality, who holds his eighth term in office, says in an article produced by IPN on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Moldova’s independence.

The mayor said the local public administration also obtained financial independence, even if the reform hasn’t been completed. The local public authorities can now take decisions as regards the priorities, in comparison with the period before the Independence, when there were only instructions.

According to Valentin Gutan, starting with 1992-1993, the right to choose no longer was a formal right enshrined in the supreme law of the state and became a real right. Elections followed – parliamentary, local, etc. and the people got the right to choose and decide the country’s fate.

Among other accomplishments is the fact that together with the Independence, the Republic of Moldova entered the international arena and became a state alongside other states and obtained the status of UN member and member of other organizations. The whole world heard about Moldova and this is gladdening. The people also enjoy the freedom of speech, the freedom of expression.

Among the failures, Valentin Gutan mentioned the Transnistrian conflict because today the Republic of Moldova is not an integral state, as we wanted it to be and as it was. Another failure is the fact that the economic policy does not meet the people’s expectations.

The mayor of Cricova noted that the new generations, the children, must be proud that they are citizens of the Republic of Moldova. They must be proud of the history of our state and our ancestors. Despite the existing problems, the children must be proud of the fact that they are citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The young generations must be educated in patriotic spirit and in the spirit of love for this land.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s Independence, IPN News Agency decided to depict the portrait of the current Republic of Moldova. For the purpose, it provoked a number of people, including state officials, politicians, businessmen, civil rights activists and persons without posts and titles, but who have what to say. The generic picture is entitled “Thoughts about and for Moldova”. The articles started to be published on July 18.