In Skopje, over 150 mayors and council presidents discussed on advancing decentralization

On November 21 and 22, The Annual Conference on Decentralization and Local Governance was held in Skopje: “Empowering Communities – New Momentum for Decentralization”.

The conference was opened by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, and was attended by Minister of Local Self-Government Goran Milevski, ZELS President and Mayor of the City of Skopje, Petre Shilegov, EU Ambassador to the Republic of North Macedonia, Samuel Zbogar, UNDP Resident Representative in our country, Narine Sahakyan, mayors of countries from the region, as well as over 150 mayors and presidents of municipal councils from the country.

The purpose of the conference was to exchange views on improving the local government system by deepening decentralization and transferring new competencies from central to local level.

The draft report on the implementation of the Sustainable Local Development and Decentralization Program 2015 – 2020, the annual report on revenues and expenditures of municipalities in the country, as well as the results of the latest survey of citizens’ satisfaction with local services, among others, were presented at the conference.

In addition to data and reports on the status of decentralization in the country, the two-day event in Skopje hosted several panel discussions where guest speakers-mayors from the region shared good practices in using innovation in local governance, sustainable local development solutions and using inter-municipal cooperation as an efficient way to improve the efficiency of services delivered to citizens. In addition to these topics, the panel discussions also addressed gender equality at the local level, especially in terms of the role of women in local development and their participation in the policy making process at the local level.

The two-day conference “Empowering Communities – New Momentum for Decentralization” is part of the UNDP implemented project “Improving Municipal Governance” and is financially supported by the European Union.

PUBLIC CALL for taking part in the “Empowering Municipal Councils” project

The main objective of the project “Empowering municipal councils” financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is to provide support to municipal councils to be more effective and autonomous bodies, to better deal with the influence of the executive, to appropriately fulfill their constitutionally assigned roles of legislation, oversight and advocacy. As a result, these efforts will increase the transparency and accountability of the Mayor towards the Council and of the municipality towards the citizens and will improve the living conditions in the local community through successful implementation of the priority community projects.

For the duration of the project 2016-2020, a total of 24 municipalities will be directly involved in its implementation. Since August 2016, the project already works with fifteen municipalities that were selected as part of the preparatory phase of the project in 2015 and public call in 2018. These municipalities were selected through the creation of a sample of different types of municipalities and include urban and rural municipalities, different numbers of population, municipalities from different regions, municipalities governed by the position and the opposition, municipalities with negative audit reports, municipalities with blocked accounts, etc.

Through this call for expressing interest in taking part in the “Empowering municipal councils” project additional 9 municipalities will be selected to be included in the project as of November 2019.

The activities with the new nine selected municipalities will take 14 months, and their implementation is planned to start in November 2019 and end in December 2020.

Municipalities that express interest to submit Application for taking part in the “Empowering Municipal Councils” project can download the Operational Guidelines and the Application from the following link.

Applications must be delivered by hand, by post, or by courier at the following address:

UNDP Office – ‘Empowering Municipal Councils’ Project
Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov – Dzhinot Str., no. 23, Skopje

In order for the applications to pass the evaluation for admittance, they must be delivered at the above address, no later than by 16:00 hours on 10 October 2019.

NINE MUNICIPALITIES WILL RECEIVE 558,000 USD AS PART OF A SWISS PROGRAM FOR STRENGTHENING LOCAL DEMOCRACY

A workshop was held in Skopje today with more than 60 municipal councils’ presidents discussing ways to improve the system of local self-government in the wake of the ongoing decentralization process in the country.

The event, organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), also announced the public call for the participation of 9 additional municipalities in the project “Empowering Municipal Councils” which already includes 15 municipalities: Chair, Ohrid, Strumica, Sveti Nikole, Valandovo, Veles, Centar, Kumanovo, Brvenica, Zhelino, Gostivar, Struga, Kochani, Kavadarci and Mogilla.

The municipalities that will be selected will receive trainings which will help municipal councilors to more effectively oversee local budgets and communicate more directly with citizens when setting priorities for municipal budget spending.

In this way, the project aims to strengthen the position of municipal councils in democratic decision-making at the local level, where traditionally mayors have a predominant role, and to ensure that each municipal denar is spent efficiently and transparently.

So far, over 200 councilors from 15 municipalities have successfully completed training in 11 areas of local self-government that are under the competence of municipal councils.

Municipal councils which will successfully complete the training will receive 62,000 USD for public benefit projects that have been identified as a priority by citizens. Through this support, a total of six projects are being implemented in as many municipalities aiming to improve social services for the citizens.

In Sveti Nikole and Strumica municipalities kindergartens are being reconstructed, while in the municipality of Veles access for people with disabilities is facilitated in local institutions, schools and roads. At the same time, ICT laboratories are being established in the municipality of Valandovo, and the municipalities of Ohrid and Chair have facilitated the access of persons with disabilities to the municipality, institutions and premises to the municipal building. Moreover, a project is being implemented in the Chair municipality to improve access and conditions for disabled children in some primary schools.

Empowering Municipal Councils is a programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation with a total value of CHF 3.4 million, implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with national and local partners.

Municipal Councils closer to citizens through Facebook and YouTube

The municipalities of Veles, Strumica, Valandovo and Sveti Nikole have recently started to live stream the Municipal Council sessions on the social networks Facebook and YouTube.

The live streaming of Municipal Council sessions is part of the “Empowering municipal councils” programme which anticipates 12,000 Swiss francs support for projects that improve transparency and accountability of municipalities, as well as citizen participation in the policy-making process at local level.

In the upcoming period, the municipalities of Chair, Ohrid, Kavadarci, Kocani, Mogila, Brvenica and Zelino will also start to live stream their council sessions on Facebook and YouTube.

Some municipalities have decided to use the programme support to implement projects related to development of information technologies that will enhance the communication between municipal councillors and citizens, increase transparency of the municipality, as well as facilitate citizens’ access to documents issued by the municipality.

In 2020, the programme will include additional 9 municipalities selected through a public call to be announced in September 2019.

In addition to support for improving transparency and accountability of municipalities, a total of 1.2 million Swiss francs are allocated for the realization of priority initiatives in all 24 municipalities that will participate in the programme by the end of 2020.

“Empowering Municipal Councils” is a programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation with a total value of CHF 3.4 million, implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with national and local partners.

UNDP and UN Women continue cooperation to strengthen the capacities of municipal councilors

A coordination meeting was held yesterday between the UN Women and UNDP project teams to discuss upcoming activities within the project Empowering Municipal Councils.

Among other things, the synergy between the two organizations’ projects was discussed to achieve greater impact on policy making at the local level.

Project teams work together to strengthen the capacities of municipal councils and other stakeholders in the areas of good governance and gender responsive budgeting.

А Forum on development of the decentralization and improvement of the functionality of municipalities took place in Mavrovo

Under the organisation of the Ministry of Local Self-Government and UNDP this weekend in Mavrovo, ZELS representatives, mayors, representatives of the competent ministries and experts discussed the decentralization process and the improvement process of the functionality of municipalities.

The forum was also attended by the council presidents of Kumanovo, Bitola and Centar municipalities who shared their views and expectations on improving the role of the municipal councils in the decentralization process.

The dialogue between the central and local governments was also welcomed by the deputy Resident Representative of UNDP, Ms. Sanja Bojanic.

The mechanisms and capacities of municipalities for civic participation and development of the local democracy were also discussed at the forum, including the status and ways on improving the functionality of the local self-government.

Nine new municipalities included in the Programme for Empowering Municipal Councils

The municipalities of Kumanovo, Centar, Gostivar, Zhelino, Brvenica, Struga, Mogila, Kochani and Kavadarci are the new nine municipalities being included in the programme for empowering municipal councils, following their selection through a public call for participation at which applications were sent by 48 local self-government units throughout the country.

In the following 18 months, about 150 councillors from these municipalities shall have the opportunity to participate in the Capacity Development Programme for municipal councillors, which includes trainings on 11 topics in the fields of public finance management, spatial and urban planning, as well as on subjects related to innovations in governance, inter-municipal cooperation and gender equality at local level.

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At the same time, each of those nine municipalities shall have the opportunity to use a grant in amount of CHF 50,000 for projects to be selected through direct consultation with the citizens, through the Community Forums.  The objective of the projects to be financed through the Programme shall be to improve the social services for the most vulnerable categories of citizens, which shall equally address the needs of both men and women and the different ethnic groups in the community.

In addition, each of these municipalities shall be financially supported with CHF 12,000 envisaged for implementation of innovative tools for improvement of transparency, accountability and participation of the citizens in the work of municipal councils.

In 2020, the Programme will include additional 9 municipalities that will be selected through a public call to be published in the course of the current year.

“Empowering Municipal Councils” is a programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation with a total value of CHF 3.4 million, implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with national and local partners.

A total of CHF 1.2 million is reserved for small grants intended for the realization of priority initiatives in all 24 municipalities that will participate in the programme by the end of 2020.

The first projects to be implemented under the Program for Empowering Municipal Councils were selected

Through the Community Forums held in Veles, Sveti Nikole, Valandovo, Strumica, Cair and Ohrid, the citizens of these municipalities, together with local government representatives, selected the projects that will be implemented in their communities over the next 6 months.

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Through the four forum sessions held in November and December 2018, besides the citizens, civil and youth organizations, the business sector, as well as the representatives from the education and social case also took part with their proposals of initiatives for realization of priority projects. After the proposed initiatives and the separate discussion for each one, the participants in the Forums selected the projects for which the realization provided for 50,000 Swiss francs for each of the municipalities. The selected projects aim to improve social services for the most vulnerable categories of citizens, by equally addressing the needs of men and women and different ethnic groups.

Thus, in the municipality of Veles, a project will be implemented to facilitate access for people with disabilities to local institutions, schools and streets. Furthermore, in the municipalities of Sveti Nikole and Strumica, kindergartens will be reconstructed, while in the municipality of Valandovo, the participants in the Forums provided support to the project for establishing ICT laboratories and school media.

In the municipalities of Chair and Ohrid, projects for facilitating the access of persons with disabilities to the municipal building, institutions and premises in the municipal building will be realized. In addition, in the municipality of Chair, a project will be implemented that will improve the access and conditions for teaching children with disabilities in several primary schools.

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Community Forums are part of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation “Empowering Municipal Councils” project worth a total of CHF 3.4 million implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with national and local partners.

In the next two years, this project will include additional 18 municipalities that will be selected through public calls.

In total, CHF 1.2 million is reserved for small grants intended for the realization of priority initiatives in all 24 municipalities that will participate in the project.

Municipal councillors from six municipalities successfully completed the Capacity Development Program

With the last training for the councillors from Chair and Ohrid, the implementation of the Capacity Development Programme for the municipal councillors from Veles, Sveti Nikole, Strumica, Valandovo, Cair and Ohrid municipalities, ends this weekend in Skopje.

For the past eight months, the councillors from these municipalities have been improving their knowledge and skills on 11 topics related to public financial management, human resources management, spatial and urban planning, innovation in governance, inter-municipal and inter-ethnic cooperation, gender equality and good governance at the local level.

A total of 80 councilors who participated in the training sessions received certificates for successful completion of the Capacity Development Programme for municipal councillors.

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The trainings were conducted by a team of thirty experts and former municipal councillors engaged and coordinated by the Association of Finance Officers of the Local Governments and Public Enterprises (AFO).

The trainings are part of the “Empowering  Municipal Councils” Project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation with a total value of CHF 3.4 million implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with national and local partners.

In the next two years, this project will include additional 18 municipalities that will be selected through public calls.

In addition to the training for counsellors, a total of CHF 1.2 million is reserved for small grants intended for the realization of priority initiatives in all 24 municipalities that will participate in the project.