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OSCE-supported Awards recognize best practices in local governance in Montenegrin municipalities

29 December 2015
L-r: Mayor of Cetinje Aleksandar Bogdanović, Deputy Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro Dan Redford and Mayor of Berane Dragoslav Šćekić at the Best Practices Awards ceremony, Podgorica, 28 December 2015. (OSCE/Savo Prelević) Photo details

Awards recognizing best practices in local governance in Montenegro’s municipalities over the course of this year were presented at a ceremony organized on 28 December 2015 in Podgorica by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Union of Municipalities and the Ministry of Interior.

The annual Awards, now in their eighth year, are open to all local government units and allow them to showcase successful and innovative solutions and initiatives in providing services to their citizens.

Opening the award ceremony, Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and Mayor of Cetinje, Aleksandar Bogdanović, said the Awards were the product of the excellent co-operation of national authorities, local government and international organizations with the aim of supporting sustainable development at the local level.

Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission Dan Redford said: “The OSCE Mission to Montenegro has always and will continue to support each and every effort of local governance units in Montenegro to enhance principles of good governance in their communities. These are of fundamental importance because local government is closest to citizens and provides them with essential services. Our goal has always been to mobilize and stimulate action by local stakeholders so that the citizens may benefit from good democratic governance at the local level, through the continuously improving quality of local public services.”

General Director of Directorate for State and Local Authorities in the Ministry of Interior Dragana Ranitović said this programme is of great importance for local governance units as it enables the sharing of best practices among municipalities and that it could be expanded further to facilitate bilateral cross-border co-operation.

The winners of this year’s Awards are:

  • Žabljak Municipality for its economical financial practices;
  • Budva Municipality for its effective human resources management through an electronic personnel recording system;
  • Petnjica Municipality for establishing institutional models to enhance co-operation with citizens and the diaspora;
  • Bijelo Polje Municipality for its work in economically empowering women;
  • Berane Municipality for establishing a Secretariat for Sports, Culture, Youth and Co-operation with NGOs, and a Youth Council.

Berane Municipality also received a special award for introducing a more efficient accounting management system for budget spending, and for establishing the post of an Internal controller.