Cooperation for efficiency in the provision of public services at local level – “Servcom Sud”

A new regional operator for the joint delivery of public services for management of waste, public domain and green spaces – “Servcom Sud” – has been established to provide services for 15 neighbouring communities in Cahul district with a total population of over 18,000 people. Thus, waste will be collected in containers and disposed of with specialised technology and stored in accordance with environmental protection standards, which will benefit people’s health and the environment. The company will also maintain the roads and areas adjacent to public institutions.

The regional operator was created with the support of the programme “EU4Moldova: Focal regions”, funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP and UNICEF and with the contribution of the 9 partner municipalities administering 15 localities. As a first step, an Intermunicipal Council was set up, which received legal assistance to institutionalise inter-municipal cooperation. The decision was then approved by the local councils of the member communities.

Subsequently, with the support of the EU and UNDP, the newly created service provider received assistance to strengthen its institutional and operational capacity, amounting to more than €520,000.

“This project has a positive impact on the state of the environment and the health of the population in the localities, on the living conditions of the people, but also the conditions of activity at the companies in the region,” said Nicolae Beju, Mayor of Zîrnești, at the inauguration event of the regional operator on 17 June 2024.

“Inhabitants of our localities will benefit from a change for the better in the appearance of our community. We hope that this form of cooperation will become an experience that can be replicated by other localities in the country and a model of good practices in raising awareness about the need for environmental protection at local, regional and global level,” noted Elena Enachi, Mayor of Baurci-Moldoveni village.

With the support of the EU and UNDP, a vehicle hall was built and the regional operator’s territory was landscaped.

At the same time, 11 pieces of equipment were purchased for the provision of public services for the management of the public domain: bulldozer, mini excavator, autograder, tractor, trailer, branch chopper, side chopper for plant debris, front loader and 3 mini lawn mowers.

The purchased machines will be used to provide various types of services to citizens, such as grading, cleaning, resurfacing and snow removal, cleaning and digging drainage ditches and digging in hard-to-reach areas with mini-excavators. They will also be used for waste disposal, grass cutting in parks, squares and areas adjacent to public institutions, as well as chopping and distributing dry branches from parks and authorised cuttings to vulnerable people.

The regional operator will also provide services to entrepreneurs in partner localities at a preferential rate. This will contribute to development of local economies and infrastructure.

To promote efficiency and increased coverage of local public services, the EU and UNDP have also supported two other public services in Ungheni in the field of solid waste and water supply and sanitation to move to an inter-municipal cooperation model.

Thus, more than 200,000 inhabitants from 24 localities in the Cahul region and 34 localities in the Ungheni region will be able to access improved public services. The three public services in Cahul and Ungheni that have adopted the inter-municipal cooperation model have received a total of €1 million from the European Union and €50,000 from France for infrastructure works, equipment and more. Local representatives also learned from case studies in Romania and France, where such forms of cooperation bring added value and boost local economic development, making the engaged communities more attractive for entrepreneurial activity.

“EU4Moldova: Focal regions” programme (2019-2024) supports smart, inclusive, and sustainable socio-economic development in the Cahul and Ungheni regions to bring a better quality of life to citizens. The programme has a total budget of €23 million, is financed by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).