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SARAJEVO, October 11 (FENA) - Director of the Cooperation Program at the Swiss Embassy in BiH, Barbara Dätwyler Scheuer, believes that the Covid-19 pandemic could affect the local level and that there is a risk that municipal and city revenues would decline as a result of the economic crisis, which means that less funding would be available for public services.
"Thus, it will be even more important than before that we support the Associations of Municipalities and Cities in their push for local governance reforms, and that municipalities strategically invest available funds in the services prioritized by citizens," said Dätwyler Scheuer in an interview with FENA.
She underlined that Switzerland will stay engaged in this regard since there is also a risk that the number of underdeveloped municipalities will increase. New programs for socially vulnerable groups will have to be established and they will need more support from municipalities.
Asked what would be the main challenges she sees in local governance, she said the challenge represents a lack of a coherent approach at the national level in terms of local governance policies.
"Firstly, a coherent policy approach for local governance at the national level is lacking. Today, there are differences in the ways local governments are organized in FBiH, RS and Brčko District.
In FBiH, the absence of a unified legal framework for local governance exacerbates the problem with the fact that competencies between entities, cantons and municipalities are not clearly defined. This, of course, has an impact on revenues for municipalities," noted the Director Dätwyler Scheuer.
She added that there is a pressing need for stronger municipalities and cities, with clear competencies being defined at all levels, along with a robust fiscal system. We urge authorities to engage more around these issues, and to give local governments the role that they deserve in the new socio-economic reform agenda.
The Associations of Municipalities and Cities in both entities are key partners who can convey the voices of local authorities so that their concerns are placed on the higher policy agenda, and their voices must be heard.
"Secondly, demographics: It is crucial to build a planning system that takes into account the trends within the current context, such as depopulation. Some estimates say that close to 150,000 people have left the country over the past year. The significant population decrease seen in municipalities throughout the country leaves local governments with the major challenge of how to organize and finance public service delivery," emphasized Dätwyler Scheuer.
She noted that the third thing is a need for more coordination, not only between the governments and the international community but also among development partners.
"We have made the first step by transparently mapping all ongoing country-wide projects supported by the Swiss Government on our online maps (www.SvicarskauBiH.ba and www.SwissinBiH.ba). It’s a valuable source of information for all citizens. We have also provided support for an online map (available at www.localgovernance.ba) which outlines all the donor-supported local governance projects. A total of 39, to be exact. Both maps are regularly updated with new information," she added.
Dätwyler Scheuer underlined that the good news is that we will continue to cooperate with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the years to come.
"We are currently preparing our new Swiss Cooperation Programme for 2021-2024. Switzerland plans to invest another BAM 130 million. We will continue to follow results, and we will only work with agents of change, those who are willing to perform and move forward," she said.
Director Dätwyler Scheuer stressed that municipal elections are approaching.
"We hope that citizens will participate in them. If you want change, you need to go and vote! We also hope that we will see more female candidates and that people will vote for them. I, myself, am deeply convinced that a society can only advance if women and men are equally represented in political life and at all levels of government," concluded Barbara Dätwyler Scheuer, Director of the Cooperation Program at the Swiss Embassy in BiH, in an interview with FENA.
(FENA) S. R.
