According to the plan, the program should be implemented by the end of this year. With these funds, the authorities expect to build and modernize about 130 km of local roads and sidewalks in 100 settlements of the country. That is why the financing will be done through the National Fund for Regional and Local Development.
According to the procedure, mayoralties submit applications for funding, and after their evaluation, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development draws up a list of projects. Then they must be approved by the National Coordinating Council for Regional and Local Development and approved by the government.
The initiative to simplify the procedure comes from the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova. Before its approval, during consultations at the Council for Local and Regional Development, the participants made several proposals. They concerned the program regulations and the urban development code, which have recently come into force. The mayors pointed out inconsistencies that could hinder project implementation and suggested changes to the regulations.
These were legislative barriers that would prevent many mayoralties from participating in the program. First, the obligation to also repair the sidewalk when repairing a section of road was removed. “This requirement of the regulation implied the development of a corresponding technical project and its approval,” says Marcel Bobejko, mayor of Gangura commune in Ialoveni district. – Under normal conditions, this can take 60 days, while the regulation gives 30 days. It is almost impossible to meet this deadline to apply for funding. Besides, there are a lot of broken roads in the villages, on which only vehicles move”.
Another condition was consultation with villagers. Here, too, the issue was timing. According to the law, they can be held only 15 days after the mayor’s office announces them. The mayor’s office would then need another 5-6 days to draft the council’s decision, approve it, and monitor compliance by the State Chancellery. Therefore, the ministry has determined that it should be submitted when the project has already been approved and the financing contract is signed.”
