Viorel Rusu: Local Government Reform Could Distance Services from Citizens

Viorel Rusu: Local government reform risks making services less accessible to citizens

The reform of local self-government is being carried out in haste, without sufficient assessment of the powers of the various levels of state administration. From the perspective of the principle of local self-government organisation, services are becoming more distant from citizens, and the principle of subsidiarity is losing its significance.

Viorel Rusu

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This view was expressed by Viorel Rusu, an expert at the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM). It was put forward during a public debate entitled ‘Regions instead of districts: who will hold real power and control the budgets – the merged regions or the city councils?’.

Viorel Rusu noted that the abolition of district councils could weaken the representation of communities’ interests at regional level. He explained that authorities elected directly by the population are called upon to defend local needs and interests, including with regard to the economic and cultural ties that exist between settlements. In his view, simply merging them without taking these ties into account could harm communities that have developed over a long period of time.

The threshold of 3,000 residents is unjustified

Speaking about the proposed threshold of 3,000 inhabitants for the reorganisation of settlements, Viorel Rusu pointed out that the 2002 Law on the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Moldova permitted the creation of an administrative-territorial unit with a population of at least 1,500 people. However, this figure was indicative and could be adjusted to take account of the specific characteristics of a particular settlement.

The expert believes that population size should not be the sole criterion for a merger. In his view, the assessment should also take into account the capacity to provide public services, the economic situation, the number of jobs and the demographic structure of the settlements.

Viorel Rusu also emphasised that the reorganisation of local government should be based on the voluntary amalgamation of localities, rather than on imposed measures. In his view, a reform of this scale should be implemented over a longer period, be based on consensus amongst all stakeholders, including local communities, and receive financial support.

This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.

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