„Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and SCTM have together initiated the Process of Preparing the Program Document for Reform of the Local Self-Government System in Serbia with the aim of covering all the most important areas of the local government system for the first time in our country. Today is an opportunity to say at this gathering, that we will continue this cooperation and work together to adopt and implement this important document for the local self-government system in our country, so that all towns and municipalities can provide services in the same way and with the highest quality to our citizens”, pointed out Lady Minister Obradović at the Final Meeting of the 48th Annual Session of the SCTM Assembly.
Lady Minister said that this reform will improve the legal framework in which local self-government units operate, develop a system of financing local self-governments and human resources management, and will establish new mechanisms for the process of developing inter-municipal cooperation. Also, the reform envisages greater participation of citizens in the affairs of local government and greater connection between citizens and their elected representatives.
„Efficient, high quality, but above all affordable service for citizens is an achievable objective. Only by working together on the Reform of the Local Self-Government System can we achieve this objective. We have a long way to go and a lot of work, and only by raising awareness among the local authorities, but also among citizens, can we achieve it. It will take us several years to see the first results of our work, I am sure there will be difficulties along the way, but that should not discourage us, we need to raise our heads and bravely strive towards high quality, fast, efficient and economical services for citizens, and for the economy in our country. That is why we are all together in this work, the entire Government, all ministries, all local governments, our international partners, but above all the SCTM, as an umbrella organization around which our towns and municipalities gather,”said Obradović. Lady Minister Obradović addressed the participants of the 48th Annual Session of the SCTM Assembly on the Topic “Potentials and Challenges in the Development of Local Self-Government in the Next Decade “.
Assistant Minister in charge of the Local Self-Government System, Sasa Mogić, spoke at the meeting about Further Steps in the Work on the Program of Local Self-Government System Reform.