Government of the Republic of Serbia
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Switzerland have launched a national campaign in Serbia called “Let’s get TO KNOW each other”, which will promote examples of good practice from local self-governments with regard to participation of citizens in planning and allocation of budgets, it was announced on 18 September in Belgrade. The “Enhancement of Municipal Audit for Accountability and Efficiency in Public Finance Management” project is designed to promote citizen participation in the work of local self-governments. The implementation of the project started in 2016, and since then 15 municipalities have participated in it.
The project manager, Vera Kovačević, stated at the press conference, that the programme contributed to raising the awareness of citizens with regard to the importance of participating in making decisions about the planning and allocation of local budgets.
“The result of the improved cooperation between the citizens and 15 local governments are renovated parks for children, paved bicycle lanes, organised transportation for persons with disabilities and built shelters for victims of violence”, said Kovačević.
She added that the project contributed to “bringing local communities closer to European values, building an inclusive society and responsible institutions, because it is better managed by the public funds.”
Secretary-General of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM), Đorđe Staničić, stated that SCTM had been insisting on citizen participation in budget planning for years “because this is the only way public funds would be used in line with their needs”.
Source: www.euractiv.rs
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