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SARAJEVO, June 6 (FENA) - Local communities in all across BiH have similar problems. The approach to solving them may be different, but the general solution would be to find a way to better manage economic development, as well as better allocation of funds in order to improve their efficiency.
These are some of the findings from the report by a group of experts gathered in the Joint Commission on Local Authorities who toured BiH and talked with representatives of local levels of government, civil society and other stakeholders to identify systemic problems that hinder the work of local authorities.
A member of the Joint Commission, Mladen Milanović, told journalists in Sarajevo today that they noticed a problem of financing of municipalities from the higher levels (from indirect taxes).
"We believe that this system needs to change, to be more stimulating. These funds should be developmental, and not just to be of consumer character,” he stressed.
The EU Special Representative to BiH Lars Gunnar Wigemark stressed the importance of reconsidering the ways to better allocate money in order to improve efficiency.
He also pointed out that mayors and municipal mayors in various parts of this country (regardless of the level of development of the local community) agree that local communities are paying much more money into the system than they get in return from it.
“This affects not only the quantity, but primarily the quality of services, primarily in those essential areas such as health, education, and local infrastructure,” stressed Wigemark.
He also reminded that the main idea of the Initiative is to encourage further cooperation and coordination between local self-governments. With such an approach it is possible to achieve savings, which some of the local communities are already doing.
Swiss Ambassador to BiH Andrea Rauber Saxer pointed out that municipalities are important because they provide services to citizens, and if some of these services are not good, then it is their direct responsibility.
“If we want better services for the citizens, it is necessary to make changes in the municipalities themselves (to assess the quality of services, reduce the level of corruption and promote cooperation among municipalities).
However, further reforms are needed, such as fiscal decentralization (allocating more money from higher levels of government to the lower levels), and a clear division of responsibilities. In order to accomplish this, municipalities must act together and speak in one voice, and the way to achieve this is to create an alliance of municipalities and cities,” she said.
FBiH Prime Minister Fadil Novalić pointed out the importance of local communities, as well as the economic differences between them, and the importance of servicing the citizens’ needs.
"There is a big difference between local communities, and this project has the idea of equalizing the quality of services and bringing them closer to citizens where it has not been the case before," said Novalić.
The Local Government Initiative was launched in October 2017, with the aim of identifying common challenges in the work of local authorities that hinder the effective provision of services to citizens. The initiative is supported by the European Union, the Swiss Embassy and USAID.
(FENA) S. R.
