Bulgarian Local Government Initiative Celebrates Achievements
At a conference on April 17, USAID celebrated the successful completion of its local government reform assistance program in Bulgaria. The event recognized both the overall contribution and achievements of USAID’s Local Government Initiative (LGI) implemented by the Research Triangle Institute and highlighted the importance of continued attention to the local government agenda.
Central government officials, representatives of municipalities, and NGO partners were among the more than 100 participants from 15 partner institutions joined by a common policy vision in the two main areas of LGI assistance: fiscal decentralization and accountable local government.
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| US Ambassador Beyrle discusses local government issues with Lachezar Rossenov, Chair of the Board of FLGR and GinkaKapitanova, FLGR Executive Director |
USAID presented a film capturing key LGI events and achievements made over the past 13 years. In his address to attendees, US Ambassador John Beyrle highlighted the role of USAID assistance and domestic stakeholders in building responsive and accountable local governments.
The USAID LGI program has helped Bulgaria accomplish a great deal in terms of adopting democratic reforms at the local level. Chief among these accomplishments are the establishment of sustainable local organizations, such as the National Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB), the Foundation for Local Government Reform (FLGR), and nine regional associations of municipalities that have become key players and will continue to drive the local government reform in Bulgaria. USAID assistance for fiscal decentralization also proved critical in enabling municipalities to fund and provide more effective services. All key legislative acts in Bulgaria’s local government sector are a direct result of LGI efforts and have led to significant improvement of overall financial condition of the municipalities, such as a net swing of over 430 million leva from deficit to surplus over the period 2000-2006, a doubled percentage of own-source revenues within the total municipal revenues (from 17% to 35%), and a steady increase in the percentage of municipal budgets going to capital investment (from 7% to 20%). Further, the USAID Local Government Initiative has been the key driving force for institutionalizing policy dialogue between national and local authorities through the establishment of the Council on Decentralization in 2006 with significant municipal representation. The Council formulated a new Decentralization Strategy for 2006-2009 with a legislative program approved by the Council of Ministers. Finally, USAID helped develop an annual decentralization policy monitoring program adopted by the Council of Ministers.
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