WITH DEFICIENCES OF VIEW
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On July 8 of this year, the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova (CoARM) presented, during the meeting of the Public Finance Control Committee (PFCC), the results of the compliance audit report on the use of financial resources allocated from the National Fund for Regional and Local Development (NFRLD) during 2022–2024. The Court of Accounts was represented at the meeting by Natalia Trofim, member of the CoARM, alongside the audit team responsible for the mission.
The National Fund for Regional and Local Development is a state financial instrument created to support the implementation of public policies in the field of regional and local development, primarily aimed at disadvantaged areas in development regions. The main purpose of the Fund is to reduce territorial disparities, stimulate balanced economic growth, and improve the living conditions of the population by financing projects with sustainable impact at the regional and local levels. The volume of the Fund is approved annually through the State Budget Law, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Finance and Budgetary-Fiscal Responsibility. The Fund correlates with annual financing plans and is formed from budgetary allocations, external assistance sources, and other sources that do not contravene the legislation.
During the audited period, the utilization rate of financial resources from the National Fund for Regional and Local Development was approximately 60% in 2022—the lowest in the examined period—while in 2023 and 2024, it increased to about 98%.
The audit highlighted that, despite the existing regulatory framework, the coordination of regional and local development policies remains insufficient. Several national and sectoral strategies pursue common objectives and directions, such as infrastructure development, water supply and sewage, or energy efficiency. A fragmentation or lack of synchronization of government instruments and programs for financing regional projects is noted, such as the National Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Ecological Fund, the Energy Efficiency Fund, the Road Fund, etc. This situation generates a fragmentation of public policies, overlapping or uncoordinated interventions, difficulties in integrated planning, and the failure to achieve objectives established at the national level.
Regarding investment projects in the field of water supply and sewage, the audit found that their implementation was frequently affected by planning deficiencies, inadequate technical documentation, the lack of correlation of projects with local and regional strategies, and difficulties in operationalizing projects taken over from other funds. These deficiencies led to delays, increased costs, and the underutilization of realized investments, limiting the social and economic impact of the projects.
Additionally, the audit identified cases where, for some projects containing an energy efficiency component, energy audits were not performed, even though they are mandatory. Furthermore, in some renovated projects, the necessary access conditions for persons with disabilities were not ensured, which indicates deficiencies both at the design stage and in the process of implementing investments. Another finding concerns the implementation of the Action Plan on ensuring the sustainability of regional development projects. The audit identified cases where rehabilitated facilities were not properly maintained, with degradation of some infrastructure elements being noted. The audit report also signals the lack of functionality and delays in transmitting the investment costs of some projects from the Single Program Documents of previous years, which does not ensure the compliant management of regional and local development projects.
Another aspect mentioned in the audit report relates to the partial and delayed implementation of the Information System for the management of regional and local development programs and projects, which limits the efficient and transparent digital monitoring of these development projects.
