Women mayors from Moldova, determined to attract more investments in their localities

So did 20 women mayors from Moldova, at their first or second mandate, who participated in a study visit to this village.

Ludmila Ceaglic, women mayor at her sixth mandate in Calfa village, shared with other mayors her "recipes" on how to attract more investments in the village. And the “ingredients” for the recipe of success are, according to her, good partnerships with economical agents, knowledge of legislation and a lot of work. Then she organized an informative tour around Calfa village. Among the attractions of the tour are the community center for elderly people and the town hall, which, thanks to foreign funds, were rebuilt from the foundation. Moreover, the biggest surprise was the kindergarten, which, after being closed for 15 years, opened its doors to children from the village during the mandate of Ludmila Ceaglic.

The mayor Valentina Pisarenco, from Cimişeni village, Criuleni district, who is at her first term, came to this visit to find out what underlies in attracting funds and project implementation. "The work and effort of Ludmila Ceaglic is noticeable and visible, because she managed to transform a village in ruins in a developed one, a model for other communities. And her advices help me considerably in my activity as mayor," said Valentina Pisarenco.

Moreover, in the same day, the women mayors attended the signing ceremony of a Partnership Agreement between Calfa village from Moldova and Vâlcelele village from Romania. Valentina Pisarenco hopes that, once returned to her village, she will put in motion these kind of partnership agreements between Cimişeni village and another village across the Prut river.

Angela Cazac, mayor at her first mandate in Piatra village, Orhei district, was excited to participate within the exchange visit, because “thanks to it, I had the chance to learn useful things from a woman mayor who has over 20 years in local public administration. Moreover, being at my first mandate, Ludmila Ceaglic inspired me how to build good relationships with my people and local councilors. I want such positive relationships in my village also,” pointed out Angela Cazac.

Participants in the study visit were informed also about how the aqueduct was replaced, about the sewerage system and how the electricity networks were rehabilitated.

And although she is at her second term, Svetlana Cealâcu, mayor in Chioselia Mare village, Cahul district, admits that she has much more to learn from Ludmila Ceaglic. “Once you visit this place, you will realize that, actually, the change comes from us. Development of a village should not depend only on local budget, but you have always to attract investments. Which is why, once I will be back in my village, I will have a meeting with all the institutions to put the foundations of a joint cooperation”, said the women mayor from the Southern part of the country.

Ludmila Ceaglic reiterated that building positive goal-oriented partnerships with people is the key to success. "For women mayors who are at their first steps in local public administration, I want to tell them not to lose courage and to achieve their goals step by step. Creating social partnerships in the community bring positive success. If you don’t have a team, then you will fail as a leader. And we always should have, as partners, directors of institutions, local councilors, economical agents,” conclude the mayor.

The study visit is organized by the Congress of Local Authorities in Moldova, with the support of UN Programme "Women in Politics", which is implemented by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with East Europe Foundation and Center “Partnership for Development", financially supported by the government of Sweden.