Mayors of 23 settlements will sign agreements to get grants of US$20,000 from the Government of Switzerland through UNDP to implement local infrastructure projects. Moldovans from the diaspora will also contribute money and will finance these initiatives together with the local authorities. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, coordinator of the UNDP Moldova “Migration and Local Development Project” Olesea Cazacu said over 100 such small projects were launched in Moldova during a year, IPN reports.

These include projects to support elderly people by giving them food parcels and students by awarding them scholarships, to clear snow, to collect waste, to build water supply systems, etc. “So, these are projects that benefit the whole community, not only particular socially deprived groups. Consequently, these projects launched in each community with which we cooperate will be co-financed by migrants. For some of the projects, there were collected over half of the necessary contributions. Others are at the beginning as they were launched at the start of last December,” stated Olesea Cazacu.

Among the basic conditions for financing projects are transparency and monitoring of the use of funds. There are some strict rules for using the money. Besides, the association of locals will delegate by a member to take part in the most important stages, such as procurement, when a company will be chosen to carry out particular works, for example, and in the whole project.

Similar projects within which local contributions were raised were implemented in Moldova earlier, but the migrants contribute this way for the first time. So far, the local authorities counted more on those who are in the country, even if the money came also from abroad. One of the objectives of the project is to disseminate the experience of these 23 settlements all over the country.