The Regional Sectorial Committee in the Field of Water Supply and Sewerage from the Development Region South Meet again

The members of the Regional Sectorial Committee in the field of Water Supply and Sewerage (RSC WSS) from the Development Region South had another meeting on February 7, in Cimișlia. The event was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, local public authorities, service providers, GIZ and RDA South.

Mrs Serafima Tronza, senior consultant in MARDE's Directorate of Integrated Management of Water Resources Policy, have expressed the confidence that a participatory approach in regional decision-making will help to strengthen the inter-community cooperation in the field of WSS.

The co-chair of the Regional Sectorial Committee in the field of Water Supply and Sewerage in the Development Region South and the president of Leova district, Mr Ion Gudumac, has underlined the importance of setting up regional sectorial committees, structures that being assisted by the GIZ experts, aim to strengthen the capacities of the regional development actors.

Mrs Maria Culeşov, the director of the RDA South, said that the committee intends to examine and approve the development priorities of the Region South; to promote regional infrastructure projects among financers and investors and to examine, with the support of specialized independent experts, the Project portfolio, various studies, analyses and recommendations. This is necessary for outlining a regional vision on the development of the Water Supply and Sewerage sector.

"We hope that when the most oppressive issues of the Development Region South are identified, with the support of the GIZ experts, we will find together the best solutions for each problem and prioritize the infrastructure projects on which we focus our efforts," said Mrs Maria Culeşov.

On his turn, the senior national consultant in Regional Planning and Programming, Mr Denis Parea, reconfirmed that the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) is opened to provide the necessary support to the Committee, so that it can carry out its mission effectively.

"We are committed to help you to assess the situation in the field, to see common issues, possibilities for cooperation and development opportunities for the Water Supply and Sewerage Sector. Our purpose is to consolidate a sectorial governance platform in the Region South, "said Denis Parea.

Taking into account the data from the Report on Current Situation of the Region South in the field of Water Supply and Sewerage, based on the results of completed questionnaires by the local public authorities of I and II levels and WSS operators from the region and presented by the National Expert GFA / GIZ, Mrs Ludmila Gofman, the RSC WSS members have had a heated discussion about the most pressing issues faced by each district in this field.

At the same time there were mentioned all the on-going and planned projects related to the rehabilitation and modernization of the water supply and sewerage infrastructure and those projects for which the local public authorities are looking for additional sources of financing.

Referring to the regionalization of WSS services, Mrs Liliana Belecciu, the national regionalization consultant at MARDE, referred to the legal and institutional framework and the opportunities for developing a sustainable service. Mrs Ecaterina Tataru, the senior inspector of the Directorate for Ecological Expertise and Environmental Authorizations within the State Ecological Inspectorate, provided relevant details about the authorization for special water use.

The RSC WSS was created on June 29, 2017, by Decision No. 2/03 of the RDC South. At the same meeting, the RDC South approved the Rules of Procedure for the created structure. The Committee's functionality will be provided by the RDA South, with the "Modernization of the Local Public Services in the Republic of Moldova" (MLPS) project support, implemented by the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ), financially supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union, the Government of Romania, the Government of Sweden and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

At the first meeting, the members of the RSC WSS have elected as the co-chair of the Committee the president of Leova district, Mr Ion Gudumac. The co-chair from MARDE is Serafima Tronza, senior consultant.

The RSC WSS have to debate draft decisions, and then develop recommendations to be presented later at the meetings of the Regional Development Council South (RDC South).