EU PROGRES

European Partnership with Municipalities Programme - EU PROGRES started a campaign “I want...because I live here” with a public debate held in Novi Pazar on April 12. The goal of the campaign and the programme is to promote good governance principles in 25 municipalities in the South and South West Serbia. This is the first debate in a series of numerous activities within a six-month campaign.

The crowded Assembly Hall of the Cultural Centre was greeted by Hajrudin Hajrovic, representative of City Administration and Graeme Tyndall, EU PROGRES Manager, who explained why good governance was a topic pervading all other activities of this development programme.

“Good governance, for starters, means that public administration operates driven by public interest, through compliance with laws and execution of its own decisions. Unfortunately, in our work we also meet with other practices”, said Mr Tyndall.

Besides promotion of good governance principles and their importance for the socio-economic development, the goal of the debate was to familiarize the citizens with their rights, with administration’s responsibilities and obligations, as well as the ways for all of them to contribute to local policy development.

The panellists particularly emphasized the importance of well informed citizens, as well as civic learning which is one of the main goals of the campaign within which numerous activities will be executed in towns and municipalities in the next six months. In that way, the public’s attention will be drawn to five basic good governance principles– accountability, transparency, citizens’ participation, efficiency and equality.

Participants in the first debate in Novi Pazar also included Borka Jovanovic, President of the Novi Pazar City Assembly, Gordana Stevanovic, Assistant to the Ombudsman’s Secretary General, Milos Mojsilovic, Good Governance Expert, Semiha Kacar, Director of the Sandzak Board for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, Nermin Balija, business sector representative and Dragan Mladenovic, Manager of the EU PROGRES Good Governance component.

Along with the representatives of the media, non-government sector, business and the University, the members of the City Administration also attended the gathering and among them the most active were the representatives of the local communities from the urban and rural area of Novi Pazar. They stated that although they were the ones in direct contact with the citizens, they were often left out from the decision-making process.

Apart from Novi Pazar, the plan is also to initiate the “I want...because I live here” campaign by organizing public debates in Leskovac and Vranje in April. Various programme activities like public classes, debates, open door days and open inquiry desk days will be organized in all towns and municipalities taking part in the project, thus promoting the good governance principles.