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Ten more municipalities join OSCE project in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO 9 December 2002
SARAJEVO, 9 December 2002 - Ten municipalities in the two Bosnia and Herzegovina entities have been selected to join the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina's Municipal Infrastructure Finance and Implementation Project (MIFI) in 2003. This was announced at the annual conference of the MIFI held in Sarajevo today. The ten municipalities, located in Republika Srpska and Federation, are: Rogatica, Modrica, Drvar, Jajce, Cazin, Ugljevik, Citluk, Kakanj, Prozor Rama and Sokolac.
They join a select group of 45 municipalities from throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that have already benefited from this comprehensive technical assistance project. This means that one third of the municipalities in the country have worked with the OSCE Mission on modernizing local government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The OSCE Mission provides those municipalities with intensive training and on-site advice on local government reform and financing.
"Every citizen of this country has a right to expect the same quality of service, regardless of who they are or where they come from", said Ambassador Robert Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission, in his opening remarks at the annual conference. "Public servants would do well to ask themselves a simple question every morning: if I were on the other side of the desk or window, would I be content with the way I am being treated right now?"
The MIFI Annual Conference "Promoting Reform and Development at the Local Level" has brought together over one hundred mayors and Assembly Presidents from more than fifty municipalities throughout the country, to reflect over the past year's accomplishments and consider areas for further reforms.
More thank a dozen municipalities have already successfully reached MIFI's targets in improving financial management, citizen participation and efficiency of the local administration. Ambassador Beecroft urged participants to compare experiences and practices in order to save time and money in undertaking complicated reforms and making difficult policy choices.
In the course of the conference, the OSCE Mission also presented 21 municipalities with a certificate for participating in this autumn's Public Outreach Initiative. The aim of the OSCE initiative was to assist municipalities in establishing steady lines of communication with citizens and develop their public information capacities. As a result of an active participation in the workshops, all municipalities created an individual first draft of a communications strategy. Further work with municipal authorities in this field is foreseen for next year.
They join a select group of 45 municipalities from throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that have already benefited from this comprehensive technical assistance project. This means that one third of the municipalities in the country have worked with the OSCE Mission on modernizing local government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The OSCE Mission provides those municipalities with intensive training and on-site advice on local government reform and financing.
"Every citizen of this country has a right to expect the same quality of service, regardless of who they are or where they come from", said Ambassador Robert Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission, in his opening remarks at the annual conference. "Public servants would do well to ask themselves a simple question every morning: if I were on the other side of the desk or window, would I be content with the way I am being treated right now?"
The MIFI Annual Conference "Promoting Reform and Development at the Local Level" has brought together over one hundred mayors and Assembly Presidents from more than fifty municipalities throughout the country, to reflect over the past year's accomplishments and consider areas for further reforms.
More thank a dozen municipalities have already successfully reached MIFI's targets in improving financial management, citizen participation and efficiency of the local administration. Ambassador Beecroft urged participants to compare experiences and practices in order to save time and money in undertaking complicated reforms and making difficult policy choices.
In the course of the conference, the OSCE Mission also presented 21 municipalities with a certificate for participating in this autumn's Public Outreach Initiative. The aim of the OSCE initiative was to assist municipalities in establishing steady lines of communication with citizens and develop their public information capacities. As a result of an active participation in the workshops, all municipalities created an individual first draft of a communications strategy. Further work with municipal authorities in this field is foreseen for next year.