EU PROGRES

Reaching up to thousands of people from Ivanjica and Novi Pazar through Kuršumlija, Blace and Prokuplje all the way to Vranje, Bujanovac and Preševo, education, activation, advocacy, setting up new practices and hundreds of media reports, all of this contributed to making good governance buzz words in 2012.

The year which started with the emergency situation due to heavy snow, continued in feverish election atmosphere and was marked with the economic crisis, perhaps was not the best one for running the good governance campaign. But it was certainly the right time to ask – what can be done better?

"Eraser that removes barriers between citizens and government is the true symbol of good governance and it should motivate and encourage all of us to take proactive approach," said an administrative official in Vlasotince Municipality, when asked about the campaign.

Under the motto “I wish… because I live here” local administrations, civil society, students, businesses and media were rethinking appliance of good governance principles in their own communities. Through 13 public events and dozens of working meetings with all stakeholders, joint conclusions were reached in relation to the need to foster consultative processes in decision-making, to increase transparency of the work of administration, secure equality and to create better environment for investments.

Principles of accountability, transparency, public participation, efficiency and equality, as pillars of good governance, were conveyed to the public not just through promotional materials, media and debates but also through fostering communication with citizens and provision of information. Doors were opened in municipalities and procedures for scheduling meetings with municipal officials were set. Mechanisms to follow officials’ performance on case-by-case basis were established. Local population welcomed the introduction of nametags for employees in the Citizens’ Assistance Centres. Budgets were planned with citizens, who voiced their priorities for 2013. The municipal websites became more accessible, increasing the content related to information of public importance.

“It is particularly interesting for people from rural areas, and might be one of the best projects introduced in municipality, because if someone came by bus to Blace to finish something, it is very important to get that work done"- Dobrica Milosavljević, president of Local Community Office Draginje, Municipality of Blace.

At the beginning of campaign local governments recognized lack of public interest and not enough understanding of good governance within the administration as two biggest obstacles for implementation of this concept. Now, after the campaign has been implemented, we can say that at least those two obstacles are beaten. Still, there is a lot of work ahead. The municipalities should be supported further in introducing good governance, by developing procedures to remove obstacles and to be able to respect the principles of accountability, transparency, participation, efficiency and non-discrimination in practice.