Participatory budgeting to be implemented in southern Moldova

Chisinau, 3 January /MOLDPRES/- Cahul city council approved at the end of 2019 a decision establishing participatory budgeting as a public policy in the locality. The proposal came from a non-governmental organization in the Southern Region, being voted unanimously by the local officials.

Cahul advisers also provided a budget for the implementation of this decision in the municipality. Thus, in 2020, the projects that will be selected will be financed in total with an amount of one million lei. The value of the submitted projects will be between 30-100 thousand lei for each project.

The participatory budgeting has the following objectives: to increase the level of dialogue and collaboration between citizens and the local public administration; adjusting public policies to the needs and expectations of citizens, in order to improve the quality of life in Cahul; consolidation of democracy through the participation of citizens in the exercise of making decisions concerning the whole community; increasing the transparency of the activity of the local public administration, etc.

Local authorities intend to finance projects from reference areas such as mobility, accessibility and traffic safety; green spaces and playgrounds; the arrangement of public spaces; activities and educational, sports and cultural infrastructure; Smart City - IT applications for improving the provision of public services, IT applications for the city of Cahul, renewable energy, efficient waste management etc.

The participatory budgeting in Cahul will be carried out within the project One step forward for community development. It is implemented by the Public Association Step by Step South Region in cooperation with the East-European Foundation and the Partnership Center for Development from the financial resources provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.