The voluntary amalgamation is a democratic method of solving problems experienced by communities according to the principle of subsidiarity, which implies the bringing of services and decisions closer to the citizens, former MP Iurie Țap, expert in the public administration system, doctor of administrative sciences, ex-mayor of Florești town, said in a public debate hosted by IPN.
He noted that the reform of the local public administration starts from one of the nine conditions put forward by the EU, which were assumed by Moldova. This is the increasing of the capacity to promote reforms and offer public services by intensifying the local public administration reform and updating of the strategy for reforming the public administration.
“The objective of this strategy for reforming the public administration clearly says that: the public administration is reformed by decentralizing power. Amalgamation is a method that the current political power chose for achieving this objective. However, there is a direct tie as, in essence, we said that the nine conditions, including this reform, are the instrument for ensuring those changes because the state is the ensemble of public services and now the administrative system should be arranged so that the services are more efficient from the perspective of subsidiarity. The services should be brought closer to the citizens as decentralization starts from the recognition of the existence of specific local affairs,” noted the ex-MP.
According to him, these affairs are tied to the habitat, to such issues as water, sanitation, public lighting etc. When these issues are recognized as local specific ones, they are no longer within the remit of the state and are passed on to the decentralized communities.
“Decentralization is actually a good governance model or an efficient method of managing public affairs. From another angle, it is an instrument for democratizing society, when the citizens under local self-government are involved in decision making and are prepared to take part in the administration of the country. The current political power wants the given problem of creation of decentralized communities to be voluntary, not forced somehow. As an idea, this is good, but we need to see the realities,” stated Iurie Țap.
He believes there are circumstances that should be taken into account, namely that society in Moldova is now polarized, while the decision about voluntary amalgamation needs to reflect the citizens’ will.
“The political parties that have today supporters among the over 12,000 local elected officials, councilors regard these as instruments for promoting the own interests at the local level. Evidently, most of these parties will divide the voters, as will do the local elites, those who now hold posts, and also the economic elites. These are major issues that can affect voluntary amalgamation. The reforms now goes in the absence of a powerful driving force, of a ministry that would have a strategy of communication with the citizens, but this is necessary,” said the former MP.
Iurie Țap warned there is a risk that this reform will not work as society is divided and the political parties will endeavor to satisfy their interests. Therefore, a communication strategy with a driving force is necessary to inform the citizens about the benefits of voluntary amalgamation. When there are key country goals, instruments for achieving them needs to be designed.
The public debate entitled “Amalgamation of localities as necessity, process and goal” was the 288th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
