Tecuci

General Information
 
ROMACT Cycle: 
Closed
Mayor of the Municipality: 
Costin Lucian-Grigore
Facilitators: 
Corneliu Petrica
Total population: 
36 871
Source: 
Census 2011
Roma living in the Municipality: 
1 968
Description of the Municipality: 

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Last update: 12/01/2017
 
Tecuci Municipality is located in Southern part of Galati County, Moldova, Romania and numbers 34.871 inhabitants. According to the Census of Population and Housing from 2011, Tecuci numbers 1.968 Roma people – representing 5.3% of total population.  Unofficially, they are about 4.000 Roma citizens (according to local Roma leaders and Roma NGOs). Around 20% of Roma population left the municipality in the last 5 years.
 
In Tecuci live 6 Roma communities:

  • - Bălcescu neighborhood
  • - Gării neighborhood
  • - Tineretului neighborhood
  • - Criviţeni neighborhood
  • - Satu Nou neighborhood
  • - Cernicari neighborhood

 
According to the County School Inspectorate, from 420 Roma children aged 3 to 5 years living in the municipality, only 294 are attending preschool/kindergarten. 270 out of 450 Roma children aged 6 to 17 attend a form of school. The reasons of the high dropout rate (40%) are related to parents migrating abroad, poor socio-economic status, low involvement of parents in school life, early marriage. Also, the quality of the schools children are learning in is poor, buildings are old and have not been rehabilitated and they are missing utilities and have old equipment.

There is no concrete data on number of Roma people who have a job, as for employment, or submission of documents in order to obtain certain rights and / or social services. It is estimated by the municipality, however, that 1% of Roma population has a job – typically they are involved in seasonal or occasional work or they are conducting business activities with or without authorization.
 
Around 30% of Roma dwellings are not connected to utilities, while 85% or Roma households are not able to pay for utilities. Most access roads to the homes of Roma people are not paved or are in very poor condition. There is no sewage and after rain or snow, the roads are flooded and become impracticable.
 
80% of Roma population is registered to a family doctor. 15% of Roma citizens of Tecuci are lacking identity papers.
 

The ROMACT Process

ROMACT process started on October 2016. In  December 2016, the Taskforce for Roma Inclusion was created. 

The Community Action Group (CAG) identified some of the short/medium/long-term needs and measures as the following:

PrioritiesProblem 1Problem 2Problem 3
EducationSchool dropoutPoor learning conditions in schoolsLack of interest from parents
HealthLack of family doctor Lack of medical insurance
InfrastructureBad roads infrastructureLow connection to public utilities
HousingPrecarious housing conditionsLack of alternative educational programs and/or of alphabetizing for adultsLack of social houses
Jobs/labor marketLack of jobsLack of professional trainings/qualifications
OtherLack of identity papers and civil status documentsIssues related to ownership rights of lands and houses held by Roma inhabitants

The Joint Action Plan for Roma inclusion was adopted by the Local Council in October 2018. 

As of June 2022, ROMACT process is reinforced in Tecuci and a new agreement was signed by the Mayor. 
In July 2023, the Joint Action Plan for Roma inclusion was renewed and approved by the Local Council. 

Trainings/expertise provided for the local administration:
 
Training course on public procurement 
Project Manager Training
Expert in accessing structural funding Training
Coaching on importance of Roma human resources for municipality management
Coaching and feedback on POR, POCA, POCU and POIM Operational Programs
Support for implementing POCU 4.1 project 
Training course aimed to support the implementation partners from the municipalities that have projects with POCU financing to better understand the process and maximize the premises for a successful implementation
Information about financing lines launched or to be launched which fold under the identified needs, under various Operational Programs
Preventing child separation from family - developing a service plan
Fundraising at local level
Writing a competitive proposal for ROP, PA 13.1
Project management vocational training 
Public procurement expert vocational training
Implementation of projects funded under HCOP
Accessing Structural&Cohesion Funds
Partnership management
Implementing, evaluating & monitoring JAPs
Challenges in using MySMIS platform

 
Activities involving the community action group:
 
Training on community development, civic participation and the relation with the local authorities 
Training on apply for small grants
Informative campaign on early marriages
Informative campaign on public services and antidiscrimination
Abolishment of Roma Slavery Day celebration
 
The Municipality benefited of ROMACT expertise for the following projects:
 
Your Chance - Integrated measures of education, vocational training, employment, continuous social assistance and housing in the Nicolae Balcescu - Tecuci neighborhood, OPHC
Budget: 4 000 000 euros
Status: approved
 
Improving the energetic eficienty of public buildings in Tecuci municipality – "Building Sala Popular", ROP 13.1
Budget: 256 695 euros
Status: approved
 
Improving the energetic eficienty of public buildings in Tecuci municipality - Elena Caragiani Technologic High School, ROP 13.1
Budget: 335 714 euros
Status: approved

Improving the energetic eficienty of public buildings in Tecuci municipality – Social support canteen, ROP 13.1
Budget: 210 023 euros
Status: approved 

Improving the energetic eficienty of public buildings in Tecuci municipality – Administrative Office, ROP 13.1
Budget: 139 087 euros
Status: approved

Improving the energetic eficienty of public buildings in Tecuci municipality – Administrative Office, ROP 13.1
Budget: 1 682 644 euros
Status: approved

 

Timeline Points

24 Nov 2016
Step 1- Becoming Commited- Signature of the letter of commitment
20 Dec 2016
Creation of Taskforce
16 Apr 2018
Step 3- Translating priorities into measures- Joint Action Plan for Roma inclusion adopted by Mayor
28 Sep 2018
End of ROMACT Process
20 Jun 2022
ROMACT Reinforced process
28 Feb 2023
End of ROMACT reinforced process
25 Jul 2023
Renewal and adoption of the Joint Action Plan for Roma Inclusion
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