02/21/2019
Awards for local self-governments in the area of good governance
Within the Project "Improving Good Governance at Local Level" as part of a wider programme "Support of the Swiss Government to the Municipal Development through Improving Good Governance and Social Inclusion - Swiss PRO", implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government (MPALSG) and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) awarded towns, municipalities and town municipalities that contributed in 2018 most to the development and implementation of the principles of good governance in their territory.
The prejudice is that the laws in Serbia are not applied adequately, and this is proved by the winners of the National Best Practice Competition in the application of the principle of good governance, said the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of Serbia, Branko Ružić, adding that "prizes belonged to visionaries" in local self-governments.
"The state adopted the Law on e-Government which was applied by the administration of Novi Pazar and introduced an e-archive through which citizens submit applications", Ružić said. He pointed out that Ruma effectively implemented the Law on Local Self-Government, towns and municipalities which stipulates that citizens should be consulted on where and what to build with the money from the budget. According to the law, he said that local self-governments could also associate, which was implemented in the practice by Vlasotince and Bojnik municipalities who built asylum and solved the problem of abandoned dogs.
"The Belgrade Municipality of Vračar showed that all citizens are equally important. It implements the strategy of improving accessibility for people with disabilities", said Minister Ružić, adding that "it is the task of the Ministry that he leads and the Government to create administration for the benefit of all of us".
Ambassador of Switzerland in Belgrade, Philippe Guex, said that his country provides Serbia with support in establishing good governance at the local level and that results are now being shown. "Good governance is a prerequisite for socio-economic development, based on democracy and respect for human rights", Guex said, adding that he is convinced that there are many local self-governments that will apply the principles of good governance.
Secretary General of the SCTM, Đorđe Staničić, said that a lot of efforts were made to achieve good results with Switzerland's financial assistance.
"Uključeni smo u sve procese funkcionisanja lokalnih samouprava, od planiranja do organizovanja obuke da bi lokalna uprava postala moderan servis gradjana", rekao je Staničić. "We are involved in all the processes of functioning of local self-governments, from planning to organization of training so that the local administration becomes a modern citizen service", Staničić said.
Head of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Serbia, Mikela Telatin, said she was glad that the joint efforts brought fruit and improved the lives of citizens, especially marginalized groups. "This competition, which was established with the support of the Swiss Government, should encourage towns and municipalities to actively improve their services to citizens. It is therefore important for us that the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government continues with these awards".
The winners of this year's competition are:
- In the area of "Efficiency and Effectiveness", the first prize was won by the Town of Novi Pazar, while special recognitions in this area belong to the Municipality of Indjija and the Town of Užice.
- In the area of "Transparency and Public Participation in the Work of Local Self-Government", the first prize was won by the Municipality of Ruma, while special recognitions in this area belong to the Town of Pirot and Veliko Gradište and Nova Varoš municipalities.
- In the area of "Accountability and Rule of Law", the Municipality of Vlasotince won the first prize.
- In the area of "Equality and absence of discrimination", the first prize was won by the City Municipality Vračar (Belgrade), while special recognitions in this area belong to the Town of Pančevo and Bečej and Raška municipalities.
