Within the framework of the “Empowering Municipal Councils” Project a workshop was held at Arka Hotel in Skopje on 14 June (Wednesday) at which the draft version of the Comparative Review of the Role of Municipal Councils prepared by the international expert Ms Antonella Valmorbida was presented.
The Workshop was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Self-Government, Association of the Units of Local Self-Government of the Republic of Macedonia – ZELS, Association of Finance Officers of the Local Governments and Public Enterprises –SFR, municipal councils and municipal administration, NGOs and academia.
In a prolific discussion, the presented draft study provided the participants with an opportunity to express their opinions and views in regard to its content, to exchange opinions about the main challenges as well as to share their views on how to improve the role and the competences of municipal councils. They will all be used in the preparation of the final draft of the Comparative Review of the Role of Municipal Councils.
In addition the participants had an opportunity to get familiar with the experiences from other countries – EU members, countries from the broader region of Southeast Europe as well as neighbouring countries in regard to their institutional frameworks and practices linked to the role and the competences of municipal councils.
The study is the first comprehensive analysis of the role of municipal councils in our country aimed at improving the efficiency of municipal councils when exercising their competences related to public finance management and strengthening their role in applying the principle of good governance at a local level.
