The Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Jan Braathu, have discussed today the intensification of the successful cooperation between the OSCE and the MDULS, with the aim of further implementing the Public Administration Reform in Serbia.
Pointing to the complexity of this reform, which requires the interaction and cooperation of various institutions, both at the state and at the local level, Martinović has stressed that the expert help and support of the OSCE Mission throughout the reform process is extremely important for Serbia and the Ministry.
“MDULS is ready to accept all the benevolent advice and recommendations of the OSCE Mission to Serbia in order to achieve our priorities, which is the building of an efficient and up-to-date public administration and local self-government, tailored to all citizens and economy,” the minister has emphasized.
He added that, in this mandate, the direct economic and financial assistance to cities and municipalities in the implementation of local projects shall be high among the priorities of MDULS, with the aim of improving the quality of life of citizens, with a special emphasis on underdeveloped Local Self-government Units. In reminding Braathu of the position of the President of the Republic of Serbia and the Government that Serbia is the country of all its citizens, the minister has said that one of the main goals shall be to strengthen the capacities of municipalities and cities where members of national minorities live.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Braathu said that the OSCE shall continue to provide support to the Ministry in the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy, noting that the Mission has the expertise and capacities to provide assistance in the drafting of legislation, as well as of trainings for civil servants.
The interlocutors have also exchanged their opinions on the code of ethics for local self-government officials, while the minister has stated that the MDULS, within its competences, will make additional efforts in order to encourage Local Self-government Units, which have not adopted the code, to do so in the coming period, with the aim for all local officials to assume a moral obligation to respect the principles in performing the functions entrusted to them.
The work of local security councils, as well as the establishment of the Ombudsman institution in as many local self-governments as possible in the future, have also been discussed at the meeting.
Photo gallery (source – OSCE/Milan Obradović and MDULS):
