COOPERATION BETWEEN LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENTS AND STATE INSTITUTIONS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF REFORMS

Vice-President of Government of Serbia and Minister of State Administration and Local Self-government Ms. Kori Udovički visited City of Novi Sad and discussed with Mayor Vučević the state administration employees’ rationalization plan. As she further clarified, this is only one of the visits the Ministry has been conducting since this summer to all municipalities, with the intention of preparing measures to be realized in order to implement fiscal consolidation of the state budget.

- We have agreed that it is of utmost importance to improve relations between the state institutions and local self-governments, and that special attention should be paid to larger cities. Rationalization is an obligation of ours which arises from fiscal consolidation and control of the public debt increase. It is one of the steps towards the intended improvement of all parts of state administration. What is of utmost importance is that at the end of this process, which is to last for three years, by optimizing our organization, we will achieve better services to our citizens. – emphasized Ms. Udovički.

Mayor Vučević said that the representatives of Novi Sad were fully acquainted with the concept and dynamics of activities which are to be implemented by the Ministry and the Government.

- We are much encouraged to hear that local self-government will act as partners in the process. We will be able to state our proposals concerning implementation of new laws, all of which will be based on the experience and real-life practices in direct contact with the citizens. Local self-government can be a powerful factor in reforms and is most directly interested in implementation of new legislative solutions, since it is the local self-government which is in most immediate contact with citizens. – pointed out Mr. Vučević.

As Minister Udovički said, there have also been discussions on the legislative package related to local self-governments, namely amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government, to the Law on Communal Police, as well as to the recent Law on Employees in Autonomous Provinces and Local Self-Government.  She further explained that these legislative solutions are also analyzed within the framework of larger efforts of organizing the entire system, in order to accomplish a more professional public administration which, once the process is over, should be fewer in numbers, but more efficient.

In Novi Sad, January 28th 2015