City of Niš awarded for good governance

On September 26, 2024, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) delivered ICT equipment to the city of Niš with a total value of 1.25 million dinars. This equipment is part of the award for best municipal/city administrations in 2023 selected on a competition of the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government and SCTM.

The equipment was handed over to the mayor of Niš, Dragoslav Pavlović, by Nikola Tarbuk, Secretary General of SCTM.

"Establishing a functional and sustainable way of communicating with citizens is one of the key factors in effectively solving their problems and improving the satisfaction local services beneficiaries, thereby strengthening citizens' trust in local self-government. We believe that this award will be an additional incentive for the city of Niš to continue designing and implementing mechanisms that contribute to even more efficient functioning," said Tarbuk.

The mayor of Niš, Dragoslav Pavlović, thanked the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government and SCTM, for recognizing Niš as the most efficient and effective local government in communication with citizens during 2023.

"It is interesting to know that citizens sent 3,000 inquiries in one year, which were resolved in just eight days. Citizens and their problems are our first priority. The administration must be at service to its citizens. "There is no good city administration without good communication with fellow citizens," said the mayor of Niš.

The city of Niš received the award in the "Efficiency and Effectiveness" category for establishment of a functional system for communication with citizens, which as well extremely efficient channel for recording, but also solving, problems encountered by citizens. The most frequent complaints and inquiries of citizens are recorded, and then considered with the aim of permanently improving the specific service, which creates conditions for greater satisfaction, as well as the trust of users themselves.

This annual competition, organized by the Ministry and SCTM for several years in a row, aims to improve actions of local authorities in accordance with the principles of good governance and reward examples of best practice. In addition to the award to the city of Niš, Bosilegrad municipality (Responsibility and rule of law), Ada municipality (Transparency and public participation in the work of local government) and Pećinci municipality (Equality and anti-discrimination) were awarded as examples of best practice in 2023. SCTM also delivered technical equipment to these local governments, all within the Program "Partnership for good local self-government", supported by the Swiss Government.

For more information about the Switzerland support in Serbia, visit the website of the Embassy of Switzerland: https://www.eda.admin.ch/belgrade.