A programme of public procurement and budgeting reforms in Serbian municipalities 2001-2004

1. A programme of public procurement and budgeting reforms in Serbian municipalities2001-2004 Supported by: NOVIB LGI/OSI Presented by: Danijel Pantić, M. Sc. Secretary General, European Movement in Serbia

2. The participating municipalities • November 2000, pilot project involving three democratic municipalities: Kikinda, Niš, Čukarica • Including 14 interested municipalities as observers • Interest expressed through a Letter of Intent • Phase two: 29 municipalities divided into 6 groups according to regions

3. Municipalities involved: • Group A: • City of Belgrade • Čukarica • Zemun • New Belgrade • Group B: • Zvezdara • Voždovac • Savski Venac • Grocka • Mladenovac

4. Group C: • Kikinda • Zrenjanin • Vršac • Pančevo • Apatin • Novi Kneževac • Sombor

5. Group D: • Kragujevac • Kraljevo • Užice • Kruševac • Aleksandrovac • Group E: • Zaječar • Majdanpek • Negotin • Kovin

6. Group F: • Niš • Leskovac • Pirot • Dimitrovgrad

7. Reasons to begin Why fight corruption • Serbia - among the most corrupt countries judging by the corruption index Why now • Change of regime - chance to change the system Why budgeting and public procurement • Public expenditures consume more than 50% of the national product Why in municipalities • Citizens can see the changes in the behaviour of the authorities immediately

8. OBJECTIVES: • More transparency in managing municipal budgets • More transparency in the public procurement process • Introducing European standards • Improving the work of municipal administration • Better communications between the citizens and local government

9. LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES • More rational use of budget resources • The citizens and private enterprises more satisfied with the work of municipal services • Strengthening the democratic process in local communities

10. METHOD • Final version of project based of findings of pilot projects • Cooperation with representatives of municipalities and civil society • Creating budget management software for municipalities (INKO) • Workshops on budgeting and public procurement • Establishing a branch of TI Serbia within EMInS • Publishing the Transparency magazine • Choosing the Best Municipal Employee campaign • Verification of results through subsequent opinion polls conducted in municipalities

11. ACTIVITIES Phase 1 • Establishing an EMInS international expert team • Opinion poll on the quality of municipal public services • The first workshop on budgeting according to European standards Phase 2 • Training municipal employees in public relations • Preparing municipal administration guides • Designing a national anti-corruption logo • The second workshop on budgeting

12. ACTIVITIES • Installment of new budget software and personnel training • Seminar on the role of investigative journalism in fighting corruption • Choosing the best municipal employee campaign Phase 3 • The first workshop on public procurement • Proposals for a reform of the system of public procurement in Serbia • Lecturers: Jeremy Pope, TI, Wayne Witting, ITC, UNCTAD • Developing ideas for improving public procurement

13. EVALUATION • Opinion poll • The citizens more satisfied with the work of municipal employees • The citizens take a greater interest in the problems municipalities face • The citizens believe that the situation will improve

14. RESULTS • Successful cooperation with local authorities and civil society • Better communications between citizens and the local authorities • Experiences of EMInS/TI serve as examples to other countries • Drawing the attention of the public to the problem of corruption • A solid foundation for project expansion established

15. PHASE TWO: THE TASPP PROJECT - 2001-2004 • Assessment of hardware and software capacity in municipalities • Training employees to work with new programs • Seminars held in regional centres • Installing the software and 2 PCs in each municipality • A joint municipalities’ website for public procurement • Internal linking of PCs in municipal services • Continuation of successful activities from phase one • Compatibility with the USAID LGI program

16. BUDGET Software Training of public servants Use of software PLAINING AND MORE RATIONAL BUDGET SPENDING

17. Internet system of public procurement Joint municipalities’ website • Advertising the procurement plan together with a time schedule • Information in connection with ongoing tenders • Decisions, justification, criteria Public nature of work

18. PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Municipalities Interested subjects Internet base PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

19. OBJECTIVES • Getting acquainted with procedures based on EU standards • Greater transparency and efficiency of public procurement • Joint advertising of the municipalities involved leads to more favourable offers • Personnel trained for IAS presentations to foreign investors • Computerisation of the financial departments of the municipalities involved • Technical assistance - 60 PCs in two phases • Improving communication between the citizens and local administration