The Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, has attended today the official signing of the Cooperation Agreement with 11 Local Self-government Units, as part of the activity “Improving the quality and efficiency in the provision of services at the local level”, which the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) is implementing within the German-Serbian development cooperation project “Support to Public Administration Reform in the Republic of Serbia in the process of accession to the European Union”, with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Martinović has emphasized that almost everything that is done within the framework of Public Administration Reform, especially in the area of simplifying the complex procedures, professional development of civil servants, digitization and introduction of innovative tools, is aimed at achieving a single goal – for the citizens to be satisfied with services provided by public administration.
“Simple, expedited and quality services which the authorities directly provide to their users are a reflection of all our ‘internal reform processes and efforts’. They are a ‘mirror’ of success and a measure of the effectiveness and quality of the administration,” the minister has said.
In addressing the attendees he had recalled that four years ago, in order to modernize the work of local self-government as soon as possible, MDULS had commenced with providing support for the establishment of One Stop Shops (OSSs), as a single place where citizens can quickly and easily complete all the tasks they have in respect of the administration, without going from from one counter to another.
“A total of RSD 257 millions of budget funds have been invested so far in the establishment of 42 OSSs in the Republic of Serbia. In the period from September 2019 to March 2022, OSSs were opened in 25 Local Self-government Units, while 17 new OSSs are expected to be opened by the end of this year,” Martinović has pointed out and added that, in the Ministry’s budget proposal for 2023, a total of RSD 88 million have been allocated for the implementation of this project in the coming period.
He has invited the Local Self-government Units to apply for funds at the moment when the Ministry announces a public call, because through this project they can truly contribute to the improvement of living conditions in their communities and the creation of services which fully meet the needs of citizens and the economy, which, from their aspect, is the most important area of Public Administration Reform.
Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen, Permanent Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Serbia, and Nikola Tarbuk, Secretary General of SCTM, have also made their addresses during the said event.
The Agreement, which ensures support for the formation of OSSs through the linking of procedures, was signed by the representatives of the Cities of Kragujevac, Leskovac, Požarevac, Užice and the Municipalities of Bački Petrovac, Bečej, Vrbas, Lajkovac, Medveđa, Plandište and Rača.
