prijava
SARAJEVO, September 15 (FENA) - The second phase of the project titled "Strengthening the role of local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina" was promoted today. The project supports the active engagement of citizens in public life.
UNDP promotes the 2nd phase of "Strengthening the role of local communities in BiH'
Empowering local communities, which in a gender-responsive way improve the quality of life of residents, is the main goal of the project. In the previous phase, the results showed that functional local communities provide an opportunity for citizens to better express their needs, and to incorporate their priorities into municipal budgets.
The project is funded by the governments of Switzerland and Sweden and is implemented by UNDP in BiH in partnership with representatives of various levels of government in BiH.
Speaking about Switzerland's support for strengthening local communities, Siroco Messerli, Director of Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in BiH, reminded that Switzerland has been supporting BiH municipalities in their efforts to improve their services and improve living conditions in their communities.
"We place emphasis on strengthening the existing institutions, taking into account that the results of our support are sustainable and that they belong to the population and institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am especially pleased that this project has contributed to the social inclusion and empowerment of women, and these are priority topics within the Swiss Cooperation Program in BiH," he said.
Director of the Development Cooperation Department at the Swedish Embassy in BiH Eva Smedberg commented on the reasons for Sweden's investment in strengthening local government in BiH, and said that local government has been in the focus of Swedish reform cooperation in BiH since they started development activities in the region.
"Local communities are traditional structures that have a huge potential to revive citizen participation, encourage inclusive decision-making and promote improved service delivery of gender responsible people," she pointed out.
Smedberg expressed her belief that local communities can contribute to more responsible and efficient local governments that provide public services tailored to their citizens' needs.
The Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in BiH, Steliana Nedera spoke about the UNDP's perspective on the importance of strengthening the role of local communities.
"One of the key segments of UNDP's work in Bosnia and Herzegovina is more efficient local government, which is also one of the key priorities of the EU Agenda.
The project contributes to more responsible and inclusive services for citizens, making the work of local governments more efficient," Nedera pointed out.
The municipality of Tešanj is a partner municipality of the project, and the mayor of that municipality, Suad Huskić, said that the exchange of experiences with people from Switzerland and Sweden with municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been very important for the local communities, said the UNDP in BiH.
(FENA) S. R.
