The State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Maja Mačužić Puzić, has spoken today, on behalf of minister Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, at the ceremonial signing of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Project “Local Government Finance Reforms III in Serbia” (RELOF3) and the heads of 10 local self-governments, which continued support of the Swiss Government.
Mačužić Puzić has pointed out that this continued cooperation will provide support to local self-governments in applying the principles of good governance, management responsibility and strengthening the lines of responsibility within the local self-government systems. She added that the strategic priority of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government is the efficient and good public administration, and that the Ministry’s goal is to develop it in accordance with EU standards as the basis of all reforms in the process of Serbia’s accession to the European Union.
“The Ministry, headed by the minister Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, is dedicated to implementing a reform in the field of public administration which shall result in the improvement of the quality of public administration services and the improvement of the quality of services provided to all citizens and the business environment. In this way, we want to fundamentally strengthen the public administration as a service for citizens, while at the same time making it responsible, transparent and efficient, as well as responding to the current and future needs of our society,” Mačužić Puzić has stressed.
Recalling that during the previous stages of implementation of the RELOF project, among other things, FMC systems were introduced in 34 Local Self-government Units, and that public enterprises were supported in 27 LSUs in respect of the improvement of corporate governance, Mačužić Pužić has expressed her belief that RELOF will become an example of good practice and that, in in the following period, it shall include other cities and municipalities which will focus on strengthening the capacities of administrations, local public and other enterprises, as well as of indirect budget users for the application of the principles of good governance.
At the formal signing of the Cooperation Agreement, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Darko Mitrović, the Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Serbia, Richard Kohli, the Project Supervisor, Georgios
Chatzigiagkou, and the Project Director, Ana Jolović, have also made their addresses.
The RELOF3 Project, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the National Academy for Public Administration, shall provide support to local self-governments in the application of the principles of good governance and supervision of local public enterprises. The value of the project is CHF 5 million, while 48 municipalities and cities have been supported thus far.
Photo gallery – author of photos: RELOF Project / Jelena Stanić
