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Swiss PRO
  • Government of the Republic of Serbia
  • The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
  • UNOPS
  • Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM)

News / Actualities

Local-Level Good Governance Principles Implementation Handbook Officially Launched

  • ZOOM platform, 8 February 2021

The online launch of the "Local-Level Good Governance Principles Implementation Handbook" of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM), held on 4 February 2021, was attended by over 110 representatives of government authorities, institutions, towns and municipalities, civil society, experts and other stakeholders. On this occasion, the participants highlighted that the topic of good governance had finally been "demystified", i.e. that the good governance principles, in addition to the daily priorities faced by city and municipal administrations – had a clearly recognisable place and importance in the operations of local self-government units (LGUs), as well as that efficiency, openness, rule of law, equality, anti-corruption and citizen engagement were present in the daily operations of administrations at the local level and that they were coming to the fore and were being recognised as good practice examples which improve the quality of life in the communities of Serbia.

Opening the meeting, Đorđe Staničić, SCTM Secretary General, proudly pointed out that the Handbook crowned substantial efforts, after almost two decades of work in the good governance field, with the last two years of intensive efforts dedicated to the development of this handbook which saw the contributions of a team of over 20 experts employed in the SCTM in addition to those of its three exceptional co-authors.

Staničić stated that "the SCTM national campaign is currently underway, during which, in addition to the promotion of this handbook, jingles on the good governance principles are being broadcast on radio waves throughout Serbia, while 15 educational videos had over 1,150,000 online views - on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter by the end of January, in less than three weeks”. We have timed this campaign to coincide with the third national best city, i.e. municipal administration competition. We are especially proud that together with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, we have initiated and conducted two national annual competitions for the selection of best practice in the application of the good governance principles at the local level during 2019 and 2020. We are glad that this initiative has been recognised by the state, that is, our line ministry, so the prize fund has been allocated in the RS Budget," said Staničić. He thanked the Swiss Government, which, in cooperation with the Government of Serbia, has been supporting a number of activities, a considerable part of which are being implemented by the SCTM - as well as the development and publication of this handbook - under the "Improving Good Governance at Local Level" Project, which is part of the "Swiss Government Support to Enhancing Good Governance and Social Inclusion for Municipal Development - Swiss PRO” Programme, implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in partnership with the SCTM.

"From the citizens’ perspective, the good governance principles serve to improve the way the administration, i.e. the bureaucracy, acts. It is important for the administration to improve the trust of citizens in the administration and the legitimacy of the government as a whole through the application of these principles. If in the eyes of citizens the administration proves to be remote or ineffective, their trust in the administration decreases. Citizens rights and freedoms are at the heart of the good governance concept. Good governance respects the values ​​of the rule of law and the rights of citizens. Such an administration is open and for that reason we have
always started from the citizens’ perspective, from what they want and how they perceive administration - good administration working for the citizens", concluded Staničić.

Saša Mogić, Assistant Minister for Public Administration and Local Self-Government, pointed out that the citizens’ perception was just the tip of the iceberg – there are many tasks, activities, procedures, decisions, policies at the local level which must be implemented in an appropriate manner.


In this regard, Mogić continued: “The handbook is one of the tools made available to all the local governments’ employees and the attention of the presidents of municipalities, mayors, their assistants and council members should particularly be drawn so that they may familiarise themselves with their duties through the contents of the Handbook.

”We are in a process in which we will increasingly be in a position to quickly assess a complex topic - where we are, how far we have come, what needs to be done, improved or innovated, in order to achieve the quality standards expected of public administration. Thus, the Good Governance Index has been recognised and presented in the Draft Programme for the Local Self-Government System Reform and its action plan, which will undergo a public debate", said Mogić.

In conclusion of his speech, Mogić said that he was really proud that the Ministry, together with the SCTM, was part of such an endeavour, because there were fewer and fewer requests, situations or certain procedures which were not sufficiently explained or which were not clear to everyone." This handbook demystifies what content y local self-government in each of the areas should have as a standard in their daily operations, and all together it should result in the fact that citizens gain even more trust in their municipality or city and be interested in taking part in the operations whereby they could help themselves or their community. A more frequent and efficient communication with citizens started before, but it is a process which will only expand and we need to prepare local governments through the application of the good governance principle so that there are open doors for the citizens’ feedback on the one hand, and, on the other hand, appropriate response of their cities and municipalities to the citizens’ proposals, requests or interests", stressed Mogić.

Sascha Müller, Swiss Embassy representative and Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office’s Governance Domain, said that it was really encouraging to see representatives across the country at the promotion of the Handbook.

"Switzerland has been supporting Serbia for over 20 years on its reform path towards European integration, and for us this process implies acceptance of key European and Swiss values, such as the rule of law and democracy. In this process, Switzerland has particularly focused on supporting local self-government, in partnership with MPALS, SCTM, UNOPS and, more recently, with civil society organizations. The good governance concept can sometimes seem abstract at first glance." Development experts around the planet agree that good governance is an indispensable element of improving the country," Miller said.
She added that the Handbook was the result of many years of experience, effort and continuous transfer of knowledge and its application at the local level: "It provides key information, knowledge and examples from practice relevant to the application of the good governance principles in local governments. This handbook is a very useful and comprehensive reference guide for applying the good governance principles in practice. It will help make efforts to adapt the good governance concepts to an approach which suits the local context and needs.” In conclusion, Müller said: “We would also like to thank the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government for recognising the importance of this concept and continuously promoting the good governance principles at the local level. Switzerland will continue to support the exchange of knowledge and experience in the application of good governance and as an important step towards positive changes in local self-government in Serbia."
Dragan Mladenović, Good Governance Advisor from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), on behalf of the SwissPRO Programme, said: “An outstanding and exceptional product, the Handbook is a source of concise information on how good governance principles, which seem abstract, are implemented in practice. Support to local self-government in clarifying the concept of good governance and transferring the concept and experience, has resulted in the fact that now we (from UNOPS within the SwissPRO Programme, A/N) have interlocutors in 50-60 LSGUs. The outcome of this cooperation and activity implies order which increases the stability of life and work - the process of achieving legislation, regulations and policies at the local level!

Mladenović pointed out that this process was not set in stone, because it needed to be adjusted to the conditions, needs and rights of citizens! It is guided by fundamental, immutable principles - the rule of law, democracy, human rights, non-discrimination, citizen participation, etc. - but the priorities which need to be achieved are changing." In conclusion, Mladenović stressed:" Good governance is very measurable! In addition to the Good Governance Index, there are other indices, e.g. those of the World Bank, where you can see the levels a society has reached in its development. Switzerland, although top-ranked by the World Bank standards, is still addressing, promoting and developing democracy. Good governance is a continuous process of improving the public sector in its operations and providing answers to the needs and rights of citizens. Experience shows that constant work on this topic moves and improves, while the approach we have and our almost daily efforts at the local level – give such results that citizens experience the state at the local level every day."

Ivan Milivojević, SCTM Deputy Secretary General for membership services, "Improving Good Governance at the Local Level" project manager and the editor of the Handbook provided basic information about this publication: "The Handbook has been developed according to the SCTM Good Governance Index classification, which has been designed in line with the needs and opportunities in Serbia. The structure of the Handbook is methodologically arranged as a practicum which follows five topics in five chapters of good governance and each deals with: defining principles and concepts, international standards, national legal framework, good practice examples, topic/chapter summary and an overview of additional literature and regulations. The handbook includes as follows: 119 indexed key topics and concepts, 130 listed applicable regulations in the Republic of Serbia, 168 selected additional literature entries in Serbian and English, 542 links to additional Internet content, as well as over 50 models of SCTM acts for local self-government.

In conclusion, he stated that "n addition to the printed version, there is also an electronic version of the Handbook, as well as a QR code through which it can be downloaded. In addition, the SCTM has dedicated a part of the website to good governance which includes: announcements of events, news, templates of acts, strategic and regulatory framework, question and answer database, competitions and announcements of events, useful links, publications and other information - specially selected for all those who are interested and who perform tasks in the administrations of cities and municipalities of Serbia". Jelena Jerinić, professor at the Union University Law School and co-author of the Handbook, said that "this has been a great challenge - because we all have some idea of what good governance is - so at the end of this endeavour to demystify the concept - we managed to unify all the parts." Precious comments from the SCTM colleagues, who always commented on everything with great dedication and detail - were really helpful, because no one in Serbia has more information about local self-government."
Concluding her impressions, Jerinić said: "When we wrote this handbook, I imagined and I would like this book to be not just a book sitting in offices, on desks, which people will read once and leave - but a book which will motivate them to look up a new term - which is what the term index at the end of the book is there for - and to remember some examples and details, to find a link which will provide them with new information - and that they will use it for many years to come and that it will be useful in their daily work. I would like it to be a book which people come back to when they need it for their job."

Dejan Vučetić, PhD, University of Niš Law School professor and handbook co-author, said: "Impressions are more than positive, so I will suggest that this handbook be entered as additional literature for students at higher academic levels, because it is an excellent basis for students and researchers who are studying local government. The SCTM has shown that it has a huge amount of quality, information, knowledge and capital - which is important to the scientific community, even in international terms. This is an authentic approach of ours, as it cannot be done by one person, it is the result of the experience of a team with over 10 years of direct experience".


Mirjana Stanković, expert, long-term SCTM associate and handbook co-author, said: "I am glad that numerous associates at the local level recognise the topics and experience from the implementation of the good governance principles and how it permeates practice in daily operations. The handbook has a special value not only because it is intended for those who work in local self-governments - but also because it originated from them - as we listened and worked with them! In this regard, the answer to the question of what the scope of good governance is - everything you do, which is a little more just the law! The handbook will certainly clarify some things and it is not only important for what we are doing now - because all we are doing is investing in the future and we are using the accountability principle to guide the generations to come. The range of public resources is broad, it is not only finances - the biggest resource are – the people!”