Maia Sandu
The statements were made during the event “Strong City Halls. Developed localities”, held in the presence of Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
“In Moldova, people in the countryside have always united to lend a helping hand to each other. Big things were done together, on the claca. Reform is, in fact, a claca between villages: several villages unite their mayoralties into one to make everyone’s life better. Water, sewerage, roads, services – we can do all this together if we pool resources and invest properly,” Sandu said.
The President emphasized that the launch of the reform is based on “painful truth”:
“Moldova has beautiful, picturesque villages full of traditions, but these villages have been emptied over the last three decades before our eyes. People left not because they do not love their land, but because they are tired of waiting for a normal life. We have an obligation to return normal conditions to our settlements as soon as possible. We have a responsibility before the coming generations to reduce the lag in development from European countries, to improve living conditions at home, so that those who are born in Moldova want to live here”.
Example of native village
To illustrate the painful reality on the ground, Maia Sandu gave the example of her native village of Risipeni, Făleşti district, where 1246 inhabitants still do not have a water supply system.
The President said that in the last decades, people left the country because they were tired of waiting for normal living conditions and that Moldova’s villages need water, sewerage, roads and lighting now, not in fifty years.
The enlargement of mayoralties, in her opinion, is also key in the context of the European Union accession process, as pre-accession funds are provided for consolidated teams and large projects with regional significance.
“Moldova missed the opportunity to join the European Union together with other countries from the region, we have lost too much time and we can no longer afford to lose precious days. We should go in parallel – building European administrations at home, while advancing in the accession process and obtaining external funds for development. Reforming local public administration will not improve the situation overnight. There are months and years of work ahead to build strong administrations, bring services closer to citizens and implement important infrastructure projects. But if we do not carry out the reform, all this will become impossible,” concluded the head of state.
