The declaration of Moldova's independence in 1991 was accompanied by new aspirations to form a truly democratic and prosperous state that would enhance the well-being of the people. The changes initiated in the early 1990s throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics seemed to confirm the inevitability of the transition to a free and prosperous society. However, the period that has elapsed demonstrates a different reality: for the Republic of Moldova, the transition process has over the years been assimilated with a growing economic crisis that continues today. Instead of producing the expected wealth, liberal economic reforms are associated with poverty, corruption and inequality, adding to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Within the social structure, there is still a large gap between rich and poor, and the massive emigration of intellectuals, educated and skilled workers and young people continues. Economic crime, corruption, extortion and informal protection, involving interest groups and state officials, have seriously unbalanced the business environment and the investment climate, generating growing distrust among citizens and investors in the new state structures. As a result, the population has become disillusioned with social reforms, has lost its sense of social protection, its confidence in tomorrow, and remains disillusioned with the ideals of democracy in general.
Vulnerable people suffer the most both in urban areas, but most acutely in rural areas.
Due to the inability to have an income that would cover their needs, the state compensates for some expenses, providing social aid for people with low incomes, cold-weather aid, monetary aid and compensation for the increase in electricity and gas prices.
But currently implementing the project "Get involved! You can be a creator of change" , which is a component of the project "Together we support vulnerable population affected by the energy crisis" with the financial support of the EU, moving with our team through the district's localities we identified that there are violations of legal provisions in the field of social assistance. Moreover, many employable people receive social aid, even with very good living conditions (with nice houses, owning shops, cars and many cases where the wife or husband is abroad and earns quite well). We have also identified people with a standard of living that is very difficult to describe. There are families with 3 mentally handicapped children, parents are deceased, not all of them have a disability group (they feed themselves by boiling corn grains). Other cases: Families with many children, have not applied for social aid, they do not know and are not informed, but the worst are elderly people, who have no one, with low pensions, which is enough only for bread and milk.
That is why we set ourselves the goal to monitor only in 10 localities from Telenesti district, how social assistance benefits are established and granted at the locality level; how the legal provisions on the administration of funds for the payment of social entitlements, as well as programs and policies in this field are respected; (Selected municipalities: . according to the higher number of population and the detection of different case situations)
At the level of each monitored locality, Community Initiative Groups (GIC) will be created from among young people, who will be involved as volunteers, in cooperation with the monitors, employees and service providers, in monitoring the cases where legal provisions in the field of social assistance are violated;
We will prepare proposals to the district public administration authorities, as well as to individuals in the localities, proposals for granting, suspending or terminating, where appropriate, social rights when it is found that they have not been granted in accordance with legal provisions; Monitoring compliance with legal provisions on equal and non-discriminatory access of citizens to social rights at local level; monitoring and control of compliance with criteria, standards and indicators on the basis of which social providers and services are accredited, finding violations and proposals for their removal. The degree of involvement of social assistance recipients in community activities will also be monitored.
Local monitoring will be conducted and evaluation reports, proposals for improving the work, organization and methods of providing social assistance benefits and social service programmes; collaborating with other structures to make proposals for improving work in the social assistance field will be drawn up.
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Rule of Law