The Joint Integrated Local Development Program (JILDP) helped to update the strategic plan of Lipcani town of Briceni district for 2013-2015 and to initiate an intercommunity cooperation project in the area of public amenities. In an event held within the Transparency Week, deputy mayor Larisa Chernaya said that through the agency of this program, the Lipcani mayor’s office staged two public debates on the town’s strategic plan and the local budget for 2014. The two matters were discussed with the community, IPN reports.
“Initially, we distributed brochures to all the institutions and economic entities of the town, with information about the 2014 budget. When the participants came to the debates, they already knew the agenda and submitted proposals for amending it, which were taken into consideration,” said Larisa Chernaya.
She noted that the JILDP also helped to lay the foundations of a public amenities center based on intercommunity cooperation with another five villages from the neighborhood. “Within the project, we were able to purchase a bulldozer-excavator of US$100,000. The tender contest was public and involved all the mayors who are partners of this project. We already signed an association agreement with all the mayor’s offices and approved the status of the municipal enterprise. All the local councilors of the partner communities approved the charges of services. We hope that based on this project, we will achieve good results as we can do great things only by cooperation and unity,” said the deputy mayor of Lipcani.
Larisa Chernaya also said that another project implemented with the support of the JILDP was the project to involve the mayor’s office in the development of local democracy. The goals of the project were to develop relations with the community, to ensure transparency in the work of the local public authorities and the community’s participation in decision-making.
“With a budget of 49,000 lei, which was provided by the program, the Lipcani mayor’s office purchased furniture for the council’s meeting hall that earlier didn’t have tables at least. There were bought a projector and screen, a computer and three billboards that were set up in the town and where all the decisions of the local authorities are posted,” stated the deputy mayor.
JILDP facilitator Ghenadie Cojocaru said the Lipcani mayor’s office is a model of local public authority ready for the new financing system that will start to be used on January 1, 2015. “I would like the mayor, deputy mayor and all the employees of a mayor’s office to be well trained from technical viewpoint, as those from here. When we staged training courses here, we saw that the specialists of this mayor’s office are very well trained. It’s evident that the Lipcani mayor’s office became a model of efficient administration. Our program contributed to this performance,” he said.
Asked by IPN to say if the town is ready for financial decentralization, mayor of Lipcani Yevgeny Dumenco said the incomes of the 2015 budget, which was already approved, are by 1.7 million lei higher. Thus, the mayor’s office will be able to cope with the new financial challenges following the allocation of reduced financing from the state budget. Most of the incomes will be generated by economic entities that will develop new businesses.
Within the Transparency Week on October 13-19, 30 mayor’s offices from 17 districts of the country are carrying out activities aimed at ensuring transparency in the decision-making process. The events are staged under the auspices of the State Chancellery with the support of the Joint Integrated Local Development Program that is implemented by UNDP and UN Women with the financial support of the Government of Denmark.
