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Municipal Authorities in Western Serbia Award Local USAID Program
The Western Serbian municipality of Loznica has presented USAID's Serbian Local Government Reform Program (SLGRP) and its implementer DAI Inc. with an award for their contribution to municipal and community development. The award was in recognition of USAID/DAI's role in the establishment of a Citizen Assistance and One-Stop Permitting Center (the Center) earlier this year.
Before the Mayor of Loznica presented the recognition plaque to DAI/SLGRP's representative,
the following statement was read to the citizens attending the event:
"As a special form of public appreciation for exceptional achievements and results contributing to fast, successful and humane development of the municipality of Loznica in various fields of interest for community life...".
USAID's SLGRP program commenced its work with the Municipality of Loznica in January 2002, and focused on the provision of training and technical assistance in the areas of financial management, citizen participation, public procurement, communal enterprise management, and information technology. Additionally, the program also played an instrumental role in the design (functional and structural) of the Center in Loznica. The establishment of the Center was preceded by the completion of the full course of Citizen Participation trainings offered by SLGRP, by the municipality, including training in improving community communications and customer services, citizen-city relations planning, and working with people with disabilities.
The work on the Center, along with the construction of the disabled access ramp that marks Loznica's commitment to truly opening its door to all of its citizens, was SLGRP's capstone activity with the municipality. Its aim is not only to provide citizens with adequate and timely information, but to assist them in getting permits – everything from birth and marriage certificates, to construction permits- in one place, in a matter of minutes. Other municipalities
where DAI has worked to establish similar centers have recorded significant impacts - for example, the time for obtaining construction permits was cut from an average of 30 days to an average of seven days; business permits - from seven to one to three days; the time for social services applications cut by half - from one month to two weeks. It is expected that the citizens
of Loznica will realize similar benefits.
Finally, by simplifying procedures and employing an open-space concept for the Center, the municipality greatly reduces the opportunity for corruption.
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