In his opening remarks, the Swiss Ambassador, H. E. Philippe Guex, said that his country is supporting Serbia in establishing good governance practices at the local level, and that results are now visible. “Good governance is a precondition for socio-economic development, based on democracy and respect for human rights,” said Ambassador Guex.
“These awards were given to the visionaries”, said Minister Ruzic and emphasised the connection between current government measures and the awarded practices. He also highlighted that the task of his Ministry and the Government as a whole was to create governance suitable for all.
“This competition, established with the support of the Swiss government, should encourage towns and municipalities to actively improve the services they provide to the public, especially to excluded groups,” said Ms. Michela Telatin, the Head of UNOPS in Serbia, adding that she was pleased to join efforts with other institutions in such an important and relevant initiative.
The call for the first national annual competition for selecting best practices in applying good governance principles at the local level, which was opened for four areas, resulted in 31 applications from 11 towns, 13 municipalities and two city municipalities.
Annual good governance awards for best practices at the local level in 2018 went to:
The town of Novi Pazar in the area of efficiency and effectiveness, while special recognitions went to the towns of Inđija and Uzice.
The town of Ruma in the area transparency and public participation in local government, while special recognitions went to the towns of Pirot, Veliko Gradiste and Nova Varos.
The town of Vlasotince in the area of accountability and rule of law.
The Belgrade municipality of Vracar in the area of equality and non-discrimination, while special recognitions went to the towns of Pancevo Becej and Raska.
The Swiss PRO program has been allocated EUR 5.8 million by the Government of Switzerland for the period 2018-2021.
