Kick-off conference of the project "Optimisation of the local and regional self-government system"

The kick-off conference of the project "Optimisation of the local and regional self-government system" was held on 10 October at the Indigo Conference Room, Zagreb. The conference was opened by Minister of Justice and Public Administration Ivan Malenica.

Below is the translation of the full speech delivered by Minister Malenica:

"The project "Optimisation of the local and regional self-government system" represents the first step towards changing the local self-government system. I am therefore very pleased to welcome you to the kick-off conference of the Project, which we are implementing thanks to the funds allocated from the European Social Fund under the Priority Axis – Good Governance.

The nominal value of this project is about HRK 20 million, however, the real value of this project is far greater.

When discussing the local and regional self-government system, we must not forget that the Constitution guarantees the right of citizens to local and regional self-government, and we also need to take into account the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

There has been a lot of talk about local self-government and the territorial organisation of the Republic of Croatia over the past few years. Frequent polemics and suggestions made in public space are often based on incomprehensive or partial data. 

With this project, in cooperation with the Institute of Economics, we have collected all data on local and regional self-government units. We have collected data on their management capacity, fiscal capacity and their development potential. This data is a prerequisite for designing quality public policies.

In recent months, in cooperation with Ericsson Nikola Tesla, we have worked intensively to establish a database and an IT system that will be available to the units in the future.

More important than the number of units is their efficiency, that is, readiness to respond to the needs of their citizens. 

I would like to emphasize here that the number of local self-government units in Croatia does not deviate from the European average. The efficiency of the system does not depend on the number of units, but on the way the system is organised. 

In previous years, our Ministry has made several significant strides in the area of local and regional self-government. The first stride was made by delegating state administration functions. In doing so, we have not only reduced the number of civil servants on central level, but have also strengthened the counties  and showed that those functions can be organised in a more efficient and rational manner, and ultimately be more easily accessible to citizens. themselves.

By amending the Local and Regional Self-Government Act, we have reduced the number of local officials – the number of deputy mayors and county executives decreased by 568 deputies, while the total number of members of representative bodies decreased by about 10%. Furthermore, the law has limited councillors' fees and imposed on all units the obligation of transparent and open publication of data on the use of budgetary funds.
 
This year, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has allocated HRK 100 million in the budget for the functional integration of local units. A Decision on the criteria for granting support in the name of incentives for voluntary functional or actual ammalgamation of local self-government units was adopted by the Government in July, and the Ministry of Finance opened a public call for proposals in mid-September.

The adopted criteria are balanced, larger incentives will be given to municipalities that are smaller, have a smaller population, and that will be able to provide a better quality of service to their citizens through this functional integration.

The intention behind this decision is to encourage all units to think about their development direction in the long term, to recognize the potentials they can realise through cooperation and functional integration.

Under the National Recovery and Resilience Programme 2021-2026, we would proceed to establish a system of support for the functional and real ammalgamations of local self-government units, so that they would provide adequate services to citizens through homogeneous action.

And that's the reason this project is of particular importance – it represents the first step towards changes. This first step is to establish a database of the capacities of units that will underpin all of our further activities.

Our goal is to establish a quality system for both functional and actual ammalgamation of units. Such a system of cooperation between municipalities, cities and counties will enable them to better overcome any problems of insufficient capacity, to improve the quality and quantity of services provided and to better manage the available funds, and to cooperate in doing this. This reform measure will build on the activities of the project "Optimisation of the local and regional self-government system".

To affect change, it is necessary to cooperate! Considering the numerous reform activities undertaken by the Government of the Republic of Croatia in numerous areas, including in the local and regional self-government system, cooperation with local units and their national associations is particularly important to us. Our common response to all the activities ahead should be unity, responsibility and a sincere partnering relationship.

That is why the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration has also established the Local and Regional Self-Government Reform Council.

The Council was established in order to actively involve representatives of academia, local and regional self-government units as well as representatives of other ministries in the processes of introducing changes to the local self-government system.

The issue of territorial reorganisation is a complex one – one that requires a comprehensive and professional approach.

No change can be made in the system without an analytical approach and dialogue of all stakeholders.

This project is the first step in strategic and development planning of changes in the local government system. These changes will be important for the implementation of the Government's public policies in the area of more efficient public administration, but also for the changes that will take place at the level of each individual unit.

I am convinced that we will harvest the fruits of this project for years after its completion."
 
Project Manager Luka Krneta presented some general information about the project, and Tihomir Čukman from Ericsson Nikola Tesla presented the IT tools that are being developed within the project.
 
One of the key objectives of the project is the development of a Unified Information System for Collection and Storage of Data on Local and Regional Self-Government Units. The project will establish a Central Database on the Capacities of Local and Regional Self-Government Units.

The project will also define and analyse indicators for assessing the capacity of units necessary for a quality performance of functions from their self-government scope and for efficient provision of services to citizens on their respective territories.

The project is financed from the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme "Efficient Human Resources 2014-2022", and the total value of the project is HRK 20,076,342.14.

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