Newsroom
New municipalities selected for OSCE assistance programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO 13 December 2001
SARAJEVO, 13 December 2001 - Twelve municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been selected to join the OSCE Municipal Infrastructure Finance and Implementation (MIFI) Project in 2002. The twelve are: Čapljina, Foča/Srbinje, Foča Ustikolina, Kotor Varos, Livno, Lopare, Prijedor, Prnjavor, Tomislavgrad, Trebinje, Vlasenica and Vogosća.
They join a select group of 34 municipalities from throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that have already benefited from this comprehensive technical assistance programme. The OSCE provides those municipalities with intensive training and on-site advice in budget design and financial management. The MIFI project then assists municipal decision-makers in designing community-based capital and strategic plans to achieve long-term development goals.
"Governments at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina must ensure a fully transparent and responsible management of their finances", said Ambassador Robert Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Citizens of this country have the right to know how their money is spent. Not only must they be able to inquire how that is done and get answers; they should also be encouraged to put questions forward and participate in local decision-making."
Because they are the closest to the citizens, local authorities are uniquely positioned to respond to their needs and resolve problems of the domicile and returning population. To effectively improve the life of their citizens, municipalities will, however, need to reform and modernize their practices. By offering its support, OSCE intends to urge municipal officials to take the lead and show the political courage to respond to the challenges of reform.
The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the human rights situation, supervise the conduct of elections, and encourage regional stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton/Paris Peace Accords.
They join a select group of 34 municipalities from throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that have already benefited from this comprehensive technical assistance programme. The OSCE provides those municipalities with intensive training and on-site advice in budget design and financial management. The MIFI project then assists municipal decision-makers in designing community-based capital and strategic plans to achieve long-term development goals.
"Governments at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina must ensure a fully transparent and responsible management of their finances", said Ambassador Robert Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Citizens of this country have the right to know how their money is spent. Not only must they be able to inquire how that is done and get answers; they should also be encouraged to put questions forward and participate in local decision-making."
Because they are the closest to the citizens, local authorities are uniquely positioned to respond to their needs and resolve problems of the domicile and returning population. To effectively improve the life of their citizens, municipalities will, however, need to reform and modernize their practices. By offering its support, OSCE intends to urge municipal officials to take the lead and show the political courage to respond to the challenges of reform.
The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the human rights situation, supervise the conduct of elections, and encourage regional stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton/Paris Peace Accords.