Liliana Iaconi
The deputy reminded that the reform envisages a process of voluntary consolidation of settlements, and by the fall a mechanism of normative consolidation may be prepared. The main problem is the possible imbalance in the development of united territories: investments and management decisions may be concentrated in larger settlements – administrative centers, while small villages risk “losing their voice”.
“If the draft, which the government will come out with in the summer or fall, does not include specific criteria for supporting small villages, the process will not make sense,” she said in an interview.
According to the lawmaker, in unified administrative units, decisions will be made with the opinion of all residents in mind, but the numerical advantage of large settlements could result in the interests of small villages being outnumbered.
Among the proposals is to fix in the legislation the formula for distribution of investments among all settlements of the united territory, as well as to balance the representation in the local councils in order to avoid the dominance of larger villages.
“With any reform, there are those who are satisfied and there are those who are dissatisfied. This must be kept in mind. But the risks should be taken into account in advance and fixed in the new legislation,” said Liliana Yakoni.
