local integrity system assessment

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LOCALINTEGRITY SYSTEMASSESSMENTMUNICIPALITY OF STARI GRAD SARAJEVO

THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTEDBY EUROPEAN UNION

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LOCALINTEGRITY SYSTEMASSESSMENT MUNICIPALITY OF STARI GRAD SARAJEVO

THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTEDBY EUROPEAN UNION

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© Transparency International Bosna i Hercegovina

BANJA LUKAGajeva 278000 Banja Luka

SARAJEVOMehmed-bega Kapetanovića Ljubušaka 4 71000 Sarajevo

www.ti-bih.org

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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL IS THE GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION LEADING THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION. THROUGH MORE THAN 100 CHAPTERS WORLDWIDE AND AN INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT IN BERLIN, WE RAISE AWARENESS OF THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION AND WORK WITH PARTNERS IN GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND CIVIL SOCIETY TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO TACKLE IT.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION II ABOUT THE LOCAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IV SITUATIONAL ANALYSISV LOCAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM

CORE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTORS1. LOCAL ASSEMBLY2. LOCAL EXECUTIVE3. LOCAL BUREAUCRACY4. LOCAL POLITICAL PARTIES

OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FUNCTIONS5. COMPLAINTS HANDLING6. AUDITING7. CENTRALISED OVERSIGHT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT8. INVESTIGATION AND EXPOSURE OF CORRUPTION9. AWARENESS-RAISING AND PUBLIC EDUCATION10. SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

VI CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONSVII BIBLIOGRAPHY

This Local Integrity System (LIS) Assessment is one of 5 pilots undertaken by Transparency International (TI) Na-tional Chapters from Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East to test the relevance and applicability of the LIS Assessment approach in different national and local contexts. The pilots took place between Septem-ber and December 2013.

This integrity assessment relates to the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo as one of 10 local government units in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in which Transparen-cy International is undertaking local integrity system

assessments as part of a project that aims to promote anti-corruption policies both at the state and local levels. One component of the project is to perform detailed integrity system assessments in the selected local government units in order to assess the exist-ence and effectiveness of mechanisms for promoting transparency, accountability and integrity, formulate recommendations to improve these mechanisms, and help strengthen the capacity of local governments to put in place integrity plans as one of the most important measures under the Action Plan to Fight Corruption.

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LOCAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF STARI GRAD SARAJEVO

I INTRODUCTION

II ABOUTTHE LOCAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT

Since the early 1980s there has been an increasing trend towards the transfer of powers from the central level of government to local governments in the form of decentralisation. As a result, local governments have greater decision making, implementation and oversight powers. Whether decentralisation results in greater corruption in comparison to centralised governance arrangements is still a matter of debate. However, the reality is that corruption is a problem at all levels of government. Both elected and appointed officials have to deal with separating public duties from private interests. At the local level this is exacerbated by the fact that many officials have greater vested interests

based on family, friendships and business ties that can influence decision-making. In addition, remuneration at the local government level is, in many cases, low in comparison to the national level and the institutions that are designed to hold public officials to account at the local level are not always adequate to perform their duties and to uphold public sector integrity.

A functioning local integrity system can play an impor-tant role in minimising the opportunities for corruption at the local level. A typical local integrity system incorporates a set of core actors that can be found in most local government configurations, namely: the

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local council (assembly), a mayor or alderman (execu-tive), the local bureaucracy, local political parties, local courts (judiciary), and the police. It also encompasses a set of oversight and accountability functions which need to be performed in order to ensure that the local integrity system is effective. These functions include complaints handling, local government auditing, central government oversight, investigation and exposure of corruption, awareness-raising and public education, and social accountability.

Based on Transparency International’s (TI) National Integrity Systems (NIS) approach, the Local Integrity System (LIS) Assessment combines the gathering of valid and reliable evidence on the performance of the local governance framework, actors and anti-corruption institutions with a consultative approach, engaging key stakeholders in the research, advocacy and planning elements of the project.

Given the diversity of local governance settings across the world, the LIS Assessment framework places a strong emphasis on flexibility and adaptability to different local governance structures and contexts. In many localities, for example, there is limited separation of powers between the different branches of local gov-ernment and different levels of autonomy from higher levels of government. As a result, the roles and respon-sibilities of the core actors, as well as responsibility for performing oversight and accountability functions, may vary considerably from place to place. Therefore the LIS assessment framework can be adapted to accommo-date these local variations.

OBJECTIVESThe key objectives of the LIS Assessment are to:

(i) assess the existence and effectiveness of procedures and mechanisms to promote transparency, accountabil-ity and integrity in order to fight corruption at the local level,(ii) provide recommendations on areas for reform, and (iii) provide the foundations for a follow-up action plan for strengthening local integrity in collaboration with key local stakeholders.

METHODOLOGYThe LIS Assessment may be conducted in one or more Local Government Units in a given country. In each of the Local Government Units under analysis, an assessment of 2 components is performed, namely: (1) a set of Core Local Government Actors; and (2) a set of Oversight and Accountability Functions.

1. CORE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTORS

The LIS assessment focuses on 6 “Core Local Govern-ment Actors” which are present in most local govern-ment set-ups. For each of the Actors, the assessment covers three dimensions:

• its overall capacity to function,• its role in contributing to the overall integrity of the local governance system,• its own internal governance in terms of integrity, transparency and accountability.

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2. OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FUNCTIONS

In addition to the Core Actors, and because Local Government set-ups vary considerably from place to place, the assessment also covers 6 key Oversight and Accountability Functions, which may be carried out by local and/or regional/national actors depending on context. For each of these functions, the assessment covers two dimensions:

• the capacity for that function to be performed (wheth-er by local actors or at the national level),• the effectiveness of that function (i.e. how effectively it is actually performed in practice).

For both Actors and Functions, each dimension com-prises a number of indicators which are each evalu-ated qualitatively and assessed using a simple traffic light system (Green – Strong; Orange – Average; Red – Weak). Indicators cover elements of both the legal framework (Law) and actual implementation on the ground (Practice).

ACTOR CAPACITY ROLE IN THE LIS

INTERNAL GOVERNANCE

TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY INTEGRITY

LOCAL ASSEMBLY

LOCAL EXECUTIVE

LOCAL BUREAUCRACY

LOCAL POLITICAL PARTIES

LOCAL POLICE

LOCAL COURTS

FUNCTION CAPACITY EFFECTIVENESS

COMPLAINTS HANDLING

AUDITING

CENTRALISED OVERSIGHT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

INVESTIGATION AND EXPOSURE OF CORRUPTION

AWARENESS-RAISING AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

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ACTOR Local Executive

DIMENSION Transparency

INDICATOR NUMBER 2.6.

INDICATOR NAME Budget Transparency

INDICATOR QUESTIONS To what extent does the local government present a clear and ac-cessible budget?Is there a legal framework or other provisions that require the Local Government to make a transparent budget that can easily be understood by citizens and councillors? Are there clear guidelines and/or formats on how to present budget data? To what extent is the budget accessible to citizens and councillors and easy to understand in practice?

STRONG The local government is required to present transparent annual budgets and these are easily accessible and easy to understand in practice.

AVERAGE The local government is required to present transparent annual budgets but the budget is difficult to access in practice and/or difficult to understand.

WEAK There is no such requirement and the budget is not accessible or only accessible to councillors.

The following example is one of the indicators used to assess the Local Executive:

According to the LIS assessment methodology there are 56 indicators in total. However, the LIS Assessment for Stari Grad Sarajevo comprises 44 indicators. The indicators for the actors “local courts” and “local police” were not included because these actors are not part of the institutional structure of local government units, but of cantonal and federal ministries, respectively. Still, given that these actors have an important role to play in the fight against corruption, their role has been as-sessed through “oversight and accountability functions” indicators.

In order to assess each indicator, data is collected through a range of different methods, with an emphasis on a desk review of existing legislation, policy papers, existing analyses of institutional performance of the actors, and key informant interviews.

Once all the indicators have been assessed and values (strong, average, weak) assigned, the results are aggregated and the final assessment is presented in the form of the LIS Scorecard. CONSULTATIVE APPROACH AND VALIDATION OF FINDINGS

The assessment process in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo had a strong consultative component, seeking to involve the key local actors in government, opposition, civil sector, media and business community. An important initial step in the study was the analysis of the core local actors, for which support to the researcher was provided by members of the advi-sory group in the form of experience sharing, advice, suggestions and comments. The analysis enabled a

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better understanding of the various components of the local governance system and their interactions, and, by extension, better organisation of research with a focus on relevant actors, better understanding of their interrelationships and the division of influence/power, and reasons that affect important events in the local community. As part of the research interviews were conducted with persons that could provide information about the work-ing practices of core actors and performance of the oversight and accountability functions, i.e. the extent to which regulations are actually applied in practice.

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LOCAL INTEGRITYSYSTEM CONTEXT Normative regulations establishing the current local self-government system were introduced successively. Under the Constitution of the Federation of BiH, which was adopted in 1994, municipalities were envisaged as the main and only form of local self-government. Subsequent amendments to the Constitution, which were adopted in 1996, introduced a higher form of local self-government, or the city. In 1997 further amend-ments regulated the status of Sarajevo as the capital and the unique status of the City of Mostar. The Law on the Foundations of Local Self-Governance was adopted in 1995 and was in force until 2006, when a new Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government was enact-

ed. One of the main goals of the adoption of this Law was the implementation and elaboration of provisions enshrined in the European Charter of Local Self-Gov-ernment. Under the 2006 Law, all municipalities were defined as having the same powers and responsibilities. In practice, however, municipalities are not as mono-typical since certain powers and their implementation, as well as the status of municipalities within cities and cantons (which also adopted cantonal laws on local self-government) and their essential characteristics, create some major departures from the mono-type structure of local self-governance. However, since the core municipality competences are defined such

III EXECUTIVESUMMARY

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that they do not provide for any major divergence, it is possible, at least theoretically, to draw a parallel with the monotype structure. This makes it possible for the municipalities in FBiH to be put in the same bracket as the municipalities in RS for the sake of analysis, from which it follows that the practical exercise of munici-pality competences depends largely on such factors as the municipality’s level of development. Basically, the competences that, thanks to the municipality’s capacity and characteristics, can be exercised are exercised in practice, while for those that cannot alternative ways of realisation are sought.1 What is evident is the evolution of the perception of mu-nicipalities and legislative reflection of that perception: citizens’ rights were expanded, municipality compe-tences were gradually expanded, and municipal mayors, who used to be appointed by the municipal councils, are today elected directly by the citizens, which has made an important contribution to direct democracy at the local community level. The Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo is one of the municipalities within the City of Sarajevo. Accord-ing to the Statute, the Municipality is independent in decision-making on matters falling within the com-petence of local governments in accordance with the Constitution and the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government, and is subject to the oversight of legality performed by the competent authorities of the Canton and the Federation of BiH. Under the Statute, the bodies of the Municipality are the Municipal Council and the Municipal Mayor. Relations between the Council and the Mayor are based on the principles of mutual respect and cooperation, and characterised by individual responsibility for the execution of individual duties and joint responsibility for the functioning of the Municipal-ity.2

Municipal Council is a decision-making body which con-

sists of thirty-one (31) councillors who are responsible for the constitutionality and legality of acts passed by the Municipal Council in the exercise of its competence. Councillors are elected in multi-party, free and demo-cratic elections by direct and secret ballot for a term of four years. The Municipal Mayor is the executive body of the munic-ipality who represents the municipality and is respon-sible for the constitutionality and legality of acts he/she passes or proposes to the Municipal Council. The Mayor is authorised to carry out municipal policies, imple-ment municipal regulations and by-laws, report to the Municipal Council, and perform other tasks as defined by law, the Statute and other relevant regulations. The Mayor is elected by direct and secret ballot for a term of four years. The Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo is special in that it makes up the City of Sarajevo along with the munic-ipalities of Novo Sarajevo, Centar Sarajevo and Novi Grad Sarajevo. This implies that the role of the Munici-pal Council goes beyond the standard role of independ-ent municipalities that are not parts of cities, and that it includes the obligation to delegate representative to the Sarajevo City Council in accordance with the Statute of the City of Sarajevo.3

1 Local Self-Government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Concept, Competences and Bodies, Muhamed I. Mujakić MSc, Croatian Public Administration no. 4/102 Statute of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, available for download from the following link: http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/dokumenti/statut.pdf, accessed on 13 May 2015.3 Statute of the City of Sarajevo, Official Gazette of Sarajevo Canton, no. 34/08, available for download from: http://www.sarajevo.ba/ba/files/statut%20grada%20sarajeva.pdf, accessed on 14 May 2015.

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KEY FINDINGSKey findings of the local integrity system assessment in the municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo can be summa-rised as follows:

• Councillors do not have well-developed and estab-lished mechanisms for communication, consultation and interaction with citizens to effectively represent their interests;

• Protocols and instruments established by the local executive and local bureaucracy to ensure citizen

participation in the processes important for the local government are rarely used by the citizenry;

• The local bureaucracy has an adequate support sys-tem in place, but it is necessary to prevent illegitimate external pressure on local public servants and allow them unimpeded work in accordance with the law;

• Local self-government lacks the tools and capacity to combat corruption at the local level, and receives no supervision and support from higher levels of govern-

ACTOR CAPACITY ROLE IN THE LIS INTERNAL GOVERNANCE

LOCAL ASSEMBLY

LOCAL EXECUTIVE

LOCAL BUREAUCRACY

LOCAL POLITICAL PARTIES

FUNCTION CAPACITY EFFECTIVENESS

COMPLAINTS HANDLING

AUDITING

CENTRALISED OVERSIGHT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

INVESTIGATION AND EXPOSURE OF CORRUPTION

AWARENESS-RAISING AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

LIS ASSESSMENT: ACTORS AND FUNCTIONS LIS SCORECARD FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF STARI GRAD SARAJEVO

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ment in this regard;

• Local media, CSOs and citizenry lack relevant capacity and/or do not show a sustained interest in building a better local integrity system;

• Political parties do not represent a broad range of so-cial interests aimed at the development and prosperity of the community, but are primarily preoccupied with narrow party interests.

RECOMMENDATIONS • The Municipal Council should provide an effec-tive, consistent and mandatory mechanism for direct communication between councillors and their constitu-encies (via “question hour” sessions, e-mail, thematic working meetings and public hearings, participation in the work of local communities, initiating actions and launching initiatives and reporting on the degree of their realisation), whereby citizens would voice their most pressing concerns and needs, and councillors, guided by the principles of independence and integrity in their work, would do everything within their power and authority to articulate the identified needs of citizens through specific initiatives, questions and suggestions to the responsible executive officeholders.

• It is necessary to introduce new mechanisms to increase citizen participation in decision-making pro-cesses that are important to the public and citizenry.

• It is necessary to put in place a continuous training system for municipal councillors, which would result in improved quality of decisions made by councillors on issues that directly affect the quality of life in local communities.• It is necessary to adopt the Integrity Plan to combat corruption in the municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, which is one of the obligations under the national Strat-

egy for Combating Corruption, in order to identify the areas most susceptible to corruption at the local level, and to act preventively against corruption.

• The local executive should establish mechanisms to enhance public participation in decision-making processes at the local level, which will contribute to increased accountability in their work. In formulating certain decisions, the local executive can apply mech-anisms (beyond and above those prescribed by law) to encourage certain interest groups to take an active part in the processes which affect their rights and inter-ests, and thus fully apply the principle of participation in making decisions that could affect individuals and groups of citizens.

• A clear performance-based rewards and sanctions system for employees needs to be introduced. Legis-lative amendments need to be introduced by the higher levels of government in BiH in order to improve the system.

• It is necessary to strengthen the internal audit system given the fact that the external audit is irregular and therefore unable to deliver the expected results.

• Local political parties should enhance transpar-ency and accountability in their work through regular communication and consultation with citizens in harmo-nising their political views.

• Lack of full and fair auditing of the municipality by higher administrative levels and institutions greatly undermines and threatens the development potential of local communities, and greatly reduces the transpar-ency and quality of reporting to the public and citizens about internal problems and possible irregularities in the operations of municipal bodies and bureaucracy.

• It is necessary to provide the necessary resources

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and ensure that the relevant institutions such as the Audit Office of FBiH exercise their statutory responsibil-ities and perform regular oversight and auditing of the operations at the municipal level.

• It is necessary to strengthen the internal audit sys-tem, given the fact that the external audit is irregular and therefore unable to deliver the expected results.

• Institutional infrastructure for the fight against corruption in the entire country is still in its infancy. It is necessary to try to implement effective anti-corruption instruments and mechanisms and ensure continuous promotion of the need to enhance social accountability, which will reduce the scope for corrupt practices.

• A stronger support to civil society organisations (CSOs) is needed in order for them to be able to signifi-cantly raise public awareness of corruption and trigger profound changes in practice.

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IV SITUATIONALANALYSIS

Unique administrative-territorial structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina inevitably bears on the organisation of local self-government in the country and its two entities – Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. In Republika Srpska, which is organised in a unitary fashion, municipalities and cities are the only established units of local government, and the commu-nication between the central and local governments is direct. By contrast, the administrative structure of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is much more complex as there is an extra administrative-territorial level between the federal/central authorities and local government units, which consists of ten cantons.

Despite this unique feature, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina also has cities and municipalities (with municipalities being far more common) as the basic units of local government. Since the adoption of the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government4, the organisation of local self-government in FBiH has been based on modern European principles and represents a significant step forward and an evolution in a posi-tive direction since the end of the war in this socially relevant field.

Normative regulations establishing the current local self-government system were introduced successively

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with continuous improvements. Under the Constitution of the Federation of BiH, which was adopted in 1994, municipalities were envisaged as the main and only form of local self-government. Subsequent amend-ments to the Constitution, which were adopted in 1996, introduced a higher form of local self-government, or the city. In 1997 further amendments regulated the status of Sarajevo as the capital and the unique status of the City of Mostar5. The Law on the Foundations of Local Self-Governance was adopted in 1995 and was in force until 2006, when a new Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government was enacted. One of the goals of the adoption of this Law was the implementation and elaboration of provisions enshrined in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. A distinctive feature of this Law is the fact that the responsibilities of the municipalities are established without distinction of any kind, which means that the municipalities in FBiH are of one type only (so called monotype structure of local self-governance). This means that all municipalities have the same and equal competences and responsi-bilities regardless of their population size, size of the territory, economic and business development and other parameters. Given the varying parameters across municipalities, it would be reasonable to expect the municipalities to be assigned differing levels of respon-sibilities and obligations, so that they could be more efficient and effective in fulfilling their role towards citizens.

The Municipality of Stari Grad is one of the four munic-ipalities that make up the City of Sarajevo. Territorially, it belongs to the Sarajevo Canton and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the estimates by the Institute for Statistics of FBiH6, the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, which covers an area of 51.4 square kilometres and is the largest municipality in the Sarajevo Canton in terms of its territory, has a popu-lation of 42.031 who live in 16 local communities. It is important to note that the number of inhabitants as

estimated by the Institute differs from that published in the preliminary results of the 2013 census, according to which the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo has a population of 38.911.

The bodies of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo are the Municipal Council and the Municipal Mayor. The Municipal Council is a representative body of citizens and decision-making body, elected in the manner and according to the procedure stipulated by the Election Law of BiH7, which exercises its power in accordance with the constitution, law and statute. The Municipal Council consists of 31 councillors. It may establish commissions, committees, councils, working groups as well as permanent and temporary working bodies, whose composition, scope of remit and manner of operation are regulated by the Rules of Procedure and a special decision of the Municipal Council. Chair of the Municipal Council represents the Municipal Council and coordinates its work within the scope of his/her rights and duties. The Municipal Council has a secretary. The Secretary provides assistance to the Chair of the Munic-ipal Council in the preparation of meetings and ensuring the conditions necessary for the work of the Municipal Council, and performs other tasks as set out in the Rules on Internal Organisation and Staffing. Secretary of the Municipal Council is a senior civil servant, who is appointed in accordance with the Law on Civil Service8.

4 Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 49/065 Amendment to the Constitution of FBiH XXV-XXVI, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 13/976 Institute for Statistics of FBiH, Canton Sarajevo in Figures, Sarajevo, 2014, p. 117 Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Official Gazette of BiH, no. 20/048 Law on Civil Service in FBiH, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 29/03

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9 Law on Election, Termination of the Term of Office, Impeachment and Replacement of Mayors in FBiH Municipalities, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 9/08

The Municipal Mayor is the executive body of the Municipality, who exercises his/her power in accord-ance with the constitution, law and statute. The Mayor is elected directly in the manner and according to the procedure stipulated by the Election Law of BiH and the Law on Election, Termination of the Term of Office, Impeachment and Replacement of Mayors in FBiH Municipalities9.

The competences of the municipal mayor are exercised through municipal departments whose heads report directly to the Mayor. Of course, the decision-making body and the executive body must be independent, but in certain matters that concern the management of the municipality they have shared responsibility. In the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo there are seven ad-ministrative departments and four special professional departments/sectors:

• Department for Urban Planning, Property-Related Legal Affairs, Geodetic Affairs and Cadastre;• Department for Public Utilities, Inspection and

Housing;• Department for Economy and Finance;• Department for Education, Culture and Sports;• Department for Investment and Local Development;• Department for Civil Protection;• Department for General Administration, Protection of

Disabled Veterans and Social Protection.

In addition to the aforementioned departments, the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo has special depart-ments and sectors:

• Cabinet of the Mayor;• Sector for Public Relations and Information Systems;• Sector for Technical Affairs;• Sector for Local Communities’ Affairs.

In addition to these, the municipal administration in-

cludes the secretary of the civil service body and the in-ternal auditor of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo. Also, the Municipal Attorney’s Office is a separate body of the Municipality which undertakes such measures and remedies as defined by the law for the purpose of legal protection of the Municipality’s property and property interests. The Municipal Attorney’s Office performs its function independently in accordance with the Constitution, on the basis of laws, regulations and by-laws.

The fact that the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo is inseparable from the City of Sarajevo and the Sarajevo Canton necessitates cooperation between all levels of government, especially because of the large number of businesses registered in the municipality.

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TThe scoring guideline from the LIS Assessment Toolkit that best represents the actual situation in the munic-ipality is always provided in italics at the beginning of each indicator. Note, however, that these are just broad parameters around which we base our assessment. In many cases only some of the elements covered in the cited sentences actually apply. The “Comments” section of each indicator provides the necessary clarifications.

V LOCALINTEGRITY SYSTEM

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of the Municipal Council. There are no regular training activities for councillors, nor are there any plans to introduce a training scheme in the future.

1.2. LOCAL ELECTIONS

To what extent are local elections timely, free, fair and representative?

“Local elections have been timely, free, fair and repre-sentative.”

Comment:

Electoral Legislation in BiH10, which is also applied in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, provides a framework for free and fair local elections. Local elections are conducted in a timely, orderly and lawful manner, without major difficulties, appeals or contest-ing of election results, and under the supervision of independent observers. It should be noted, however, that electioneering, especially during local elections, often includes mudslinging campaigns between political parties, which may be linked with the freedom of expression of citizens’ guaranteed right to election, and may ultimately lead to the conclusion that citizens are not entirely free and independent to make an informed choice when casting their vote.

1.3 INDEPENDENCE

To what extent is the local assembly independent

CORE LOCALGOVERNMENT ACTORS

1. LOCAL ASSEMBLY

CAPACITY1.1. ADEQUATE RESOURCES

To what extent does the local assembly have ade-quate resources to carry out its duties in practice?

“The local assembly has an adequate resource base to effectively carry out its duties.”

Comment:

In accordance with the Decision Establishing the Pro-fessional Service of the Municipal Council, councillors have full professional and technical support. Coun-cillors’ clubs, as an integral part of the Council, have satisfactory working conditions. Also, councillors have the right to use the municipal offices for the purpose of carrying out their duties. On the other hand, the training of councillors is not regulated by internal regulations

CAPACITY

ROLE

GOVERNANCE

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ROLE 1.4. OVERSIGHT OF THE LOCAL EXECUTIVE

To what extent are local councillors able to exercise and enforce their decisions and oversight role?

“Local councillors have the mandate to oversee the work of the executive and are somewhat effective at providing this oversight. They are partially able to enforce their decisions.”

Comment:

Municipal councillors have a legally defined role to oversee the work of the executive. Although the Municipal Mayor has broad powers, it is the municipal councillors who adopt all important documents that define public policies, particularly those relating to the municipal budget. The Statute of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo and the Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council of Stari Grad11 provide for the division of roles between the representative body and the executive. In practice there are virtually no overlaps between the two bodies in terms of their competences and obligations. The Statute establishes the compe-tences of the Municipal Council (Articles 21-35) and the Mayor (Articles 35-38) and regulates the relations

from the executive?

“The local assembly is independent from the executive.”

Comment:

Regulations governing local self-government in FBiH and the Statute of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sara-jevo clearly define the roles of the legislative and exec-utive branches, which provides for the clear regulation of this area. Article 13 of the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government and Article 20 of the Statute of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo provide that the Municipal Council is a decision-making body and representative body of citizens and, together with the Mayor, makes up the bodies of the local government unit. The scope of competences is clearly set out in Articles 13 and 14 of the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government in FBiH. The Municipal Council adopts all significant decisions and/or policies necessary for smooth functioning of the local government unit, such as the statute, budget, management of the LGU’s property, development of public areas, etc. Given the importance of the work of the Municipal Council and the Municipal Mayor, their interrelations are regulated in a separate section of the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government in FBiH, Articles 16 through 23. It should be noted that these provisions primarily govern the relationship between the Municipal Council and the Municipal Mayor concerning the preparation and adoption of the budget, one of the most impor-tant documents for the work of the local government. Relations between the Council and the Mayor are based on the principles of mutual respect and cooperation, and characterised by individual responsibility for the execution of individual duties and joint responsibility for the functioning of the local government unit. 10 Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH, no. 20/04

11 Statute of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo and the Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council of Stari Grad Sarajevo are easily available on the Municipality’s official website: http://www.starigrad.ba

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between municipal bodies. Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council defines, inter alia, the procedures for communication with associations and political parties, and international cooperation

1.5. REPRESENTATION

To what extent do local councillors represent the interests and priorities of their constituency in practice?

“Local councillors are considered to represent the inter-ests and priorities of their constituency to some extent.”

Comment:

There is no institutionalised approach to direct and regular engagement between citizens and the elected councillors. Each councillor or councillors’ club deter-mines at its own discretion the manner and intensity of contacts with citizens. Thus, there are councillors who regularly address the problems of their constituency, but also those who do not take great pains to represent the citizenry and their interests.

GOVERNANCE1.6. TRANSPARENCY OF THE LOCAL ASSEMBLY

To what extent can citizens access relevant informa-tion on the local assembly and councillors?

“Citizens can access information on the work of the local assembly and councillors.”

Comment:

Transparency of the Municipal Council is clearly stipu-lated in the Statute of the Municipality (Articles 73-75) and the Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council (Articles 129–132). Meetings of the Municipal Council are broadcast live on the Municipality’s official website. Also, citizens are allowed to attend the meetings. In practice, however, very few citizens attend the meetings of the Municipal Council.

1.7. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LOCAL COUNCILLORS

To what extent are local councillors answerable for their actions in practice?

“Local councillors are not answerable for their actions in practice.”

Comment:

The Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government in FBiH provides that municipal councillors are an-swerable for the constitutionality and legality of their work (Article 13), which is a positive development in policy-making in BiH. However, there remains the question of how the said provision is applied in practice, i.e. whether there are rules in place governing who and how can call the councillors to account. It can therefore be concluded that the provision cannot be implemented in practice. On the other hand, the councillors’ answer-ability for their actions comes down only to political answerability, which is measured by the degree of

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citizens’ (dis)satisfaction in local elections.

There are no clearly defined mechanisms whereby citizens can complain about the work and actions of municipal councillors.

1.8. INTEGRITY OF LOCAL COUNCILLORS

To what extent is the integrity of local councillors ensured?

“Only some of the rules on conflict of interest, gifts & hospitality, asset disclosures and whistleblower protec-tion are in place with piecemeal enforcement.”

Comment:

The rules and regulations aimed at preventing corrup-tion among municipal councillors are in place (Code of Ethics for Municipal Councillors). However, these are not fully developed and sufficiently precise, and are consequently applied inconsistently and in an uncoordi-nated manner, thus failing to achieve their purpose. The Election Law of BiH provides that all elected officials are required to fill in asset declaration forms before assuming office as municipal councillors. However, it is important to emphasise that no one checks the information supplied by elected officials in their asset declaration forms, nor are elected officials in any way responsible for the information they supply.

2. LOCAL EXECUTIVE

CAPACITY2.1. CLEAR FUNCTIONS

To what extent does the Local Government have a clear and realistic strategy/action plan and a coher-ent set of functions?

“The Mayor and the Municipality as a whole have a clear, realistic and detailed development strategy and a coherent set of functions.”

Comment:

The principal piece of legislation, after the Constitution, regulating the competences of local governments in FBiH is the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Govern-ment of FBiH, which was passed in 2006 and updated in 2009. However, this Law has never been fully imple-mented in the Sarajevo Canton. The Sarajevo Canton has not passed the Law on Local Self-Government as per the ruling of the Constitutional Court of FBiH, which established that the failure to adopt the Law constituted a violation of the right of municipalities

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and the City of Sarajevo in the Sarajevo Canton to local self-governance. In April 2014 the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo adopted the Local Development Strategy, which will serve as the basis for local government’s actions in the period 2014-2018. This document is available on the Municipality’s website. Also, the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo has published a Report on the Implementation of the Local Development Strategy, which is available on the Municipality’s website. An integral part of the report is the Action Plan which presents the results achieved towards meeting the strategic targets and measures set for the period May – December 2014. This strategy involves 4 strategic priorities and 14 strategic targets. In addition to the above, in February 2012 the Munici-pality adopted another strategic document titled “Youth Strategy of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo 2012–2017”, which is available on the Municipality’s website.

2.2. PREDICTABLE RESOURCES

To what extent does the Local Government have access to the resources it requires to carry out its functions and deliver its vision?

“The Local Government has partial access to the reve-nues collected at the local level that it requires to carry out its functions and deliver its strategy.”

Comment:

The laws stipulate what public revenues local gov-ernments can count on, providing them with partial predictability in planning the revenue side of their

budgets, without discussing the fairness of the applica-ble legislation (a frequent complaint is that the current method of distribution of funds from indirect taxes is unfair and that the distribution of certain taxes, fees and charges between the Federation of BiH, the cantons and municipalities is also not fair).

ROLE 2.3. MANAGEMENT OF THE LOCAL BUREAUCRACY

To what extent does the local executive effectively perform its role in terms of providing effective over-sight of, and support to, the local bureaucracy?

“The executive is somewhat active in creating conditions for the work of a local public sector which is governed by high levels of transparency, accountability, integrity and inclusiveness, but these activities do not result in concrete improvements.”

Comment:

Certain activities (mainly those regulated by law and internal regulations) are being taken with the aim of ensuring successful and effective management of human resources and establishing procedures aimed at maximising the efficiency of public servants in local bureaucracy and promoting transparency and integrity in their work. The existing regulations clearly establish the powers and responsibilities of civil servants, the promotion system for civil servants, and a system of semi-annual/annual performance appraisals. However, the Law on Civil Servants and Government Employ-ees largely protects the administration from drastic sanctions, thus limiting the effectiveness of oversight

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and control practices. In this regard, appropriate action should be taken to amend the legislation that regulates this area.

2.4. OVERSIGHT OF PRIVATE PROVIDERS OF PUBLIC GOODS

To what extent does the local executive effectively perform its role in terms of holding private service providers of public goods accountable for the service delivery they are contracted for?

“The local executive is somewhat effective in holding private service providers to account.”

Comment:

Mechanisms and procedures to check compliance with contractual obligations and delivery of contracted goods are channelled through the direct or indirect supervision by the competent municipal departments, and mainly consist in appropriate legal actions taken in accordance with the contracts or legal regulations. The transpar-ency of monitoring the implementation of obligations and service delivery is not adequate and does not provide enough information about the processes even though the oversight of service delivery has somewhat improved through direct and on-the-ground participa-tion of representatives of municipal departments in the oversight of that delivery. There are certain controls on investment as well as on service delivery financed through these investments.

2.5. REGULATION OF LOCAL BUSINESS

To what extent does the local government effectively perform its role in terms of regulating local busi-nesses in an even-handed and effective manner?

“Regulation of local businesses in an even-handed and effective manner is piecemeal.”

Comment:

The vast majority of regulations governing the operation of local businesses, as well as their implementation, are within the purview of the higher levels of govern-ment (primarily cantons). Although the enforcement of business regulations and the work of local government inspectors are generally consistent and non-discrimina-tory, there are occasional complaints from the business community about unfair treatment and selective enforcement of regulations by local government, which may put some businesses in an unequal position com-pared to other economic operators.

GOVERNANCE2.6. BUDGET TRANSPARENCY

To what extent does the local government present a clear and accessible budget?

“The local government is required to present transpar-ent annual budgets and these are easily accessible and

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easy to understand in practice.”

Comment:

In preparing and adopting the budget, the local govern-ment is guided by the current legislation that provides for budget’s transparency and public accessibility (citizens are invited to participate in public hearings, they can access the budget on the official website of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo or using the options provided for under the Law on Freedom of Access to Information). The budget is easily accessible to citizens, and is available on the Municipality’s official website12. The document has a clear format enabling easy review of planned expenditures. However, citizen participation in budget discussions is very low. To address this, further explanations and promotion of the budget document could be made which would contribute to its accessibility and popularity among citizens.

2.7. ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE LOCAL EXECUTIVE

To what extent is the local executive answerable for its actions?

“The local executive is partially answerable for their actions in practice.”

Comment:

Formal mechanisms for public consultation in prepa-ration of local policies are well-developed and used

in practice (primarily public hearings). Also, the local executive fully complies with its obligation to provide reasoning for any decisions it submits to the Municipal Council for consideration. On the other hand, there is no clear procedure for valorising the information and suggestions received from citizens, which has a disincentive effect on citizens and their activism. There is the statutory accountability of the Mayor for the constitutionality and legality of the acts he/she submits to the Municipal Council; however, the Statute does not provide for any other type of accountability. Also, there is no political accountability. It should be noted that the Mayor may be removed from office by the Municipal Council (by two-thirds majority vote), but the absence of cohabitation and the distribution of political forces in the Council hinders the realisation of this measure. Also, the Code of Conduct also applies to the Mayor, not only the Municipal Council, but the absence of actual sanctions downplays the significance of investigation and prosecution.

2.8. INTEGRITY OF THE LOCAL EXECUTIVE

To what extent is the integrity of the local executive ensured?

“Only some of the rules on conflict of interest, gifts & hospitality, asset disclosures, ‘revolving door’ appoint-ments and whistleblower protection are in place with piecemeal enforcement.”

Comment:

Regulations ensuring the integrity of the local executive include the Code of Ethics for Civil Servants in FBiH, Law on Civil Servants and Government Employees, 12 http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/2015/1/budzet_2015.pdf

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etc. The Municipality has not yet adopted an Integrity Plan although this obligation arises from the National Strategy for Combating Corruption 2009–2014.

3. LOCAL BUREAUCRACY

CAPACITY 3.1. ADEQUATE RESOURCES

To what extent does the local bureaucracy have ade-quate financial, infrastructural and human resources to effectively carry out its duties? “The municipal bureaucracy has an adequate financial, infrastructural and human resource base to effectively carry out its duties.”

Comment:

The municipal bureaucracy of Stari Grad Sarajevo has sufficient financial, infrastructural and human resourc-es to effectively carry out its duties, and these are consistent with objective financial possibilities that the Municipality has as a local government unit. Salaries in the municipal bureaucracy are regulated by relevant

laws and implementing regulations (Law on Salaries in the FBiH, Decision Determining the Income Brackets and Coefficients for Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits for Officeholders and Advisors, Civil Servants and Gov-ernment Employees of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo).

3.2. INDEPENDENCE

To what extent is the local bureaucracy free from external interference?

“The municipal bureaucracy is partially free from exter-nal interference because, whilst rules on merit-based recruitment exist, there are examples of nepotism/favouritism and/or interference from local political actors.”Comment:

The municipal bureaucracy’s freedom from external interference is provided through the Civil Service Agency of FBiH (CSA), which conducts the process of selection, appointment and nomination of civil servants. The civil service is obliged to adhere to the principles of legality, transparency and accountability, efficiency and effectiveness, professional impartiality and political independence. The CSA FBiH appoints committees for implementation of public competitions – a separate committee for each public competition. Upon com-pletion of the public competition procedure, a list of successful candidates is drawn up and submitted to the head of the competent civil service authority – in this case the Mayor, so that he/she can make a selection from the list of successful candidates. However, the fact that, pursuant to the said Law, the

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final selection is made by the head of the competent civil service authority instead of appointing the first (i.e. the most successful) candidate on the list, indirectly provides scope for political interference in the work of administrative departments. Although this method of selection from the list of successful candidates is regulated by the above-mentioned Law, according to public opinion, it would be necessary to amend certain provisions of the Law, which, however, does not fall within the competence of local government units.

ROLE 3.3. ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND INTEGRITY IN LOCAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

To what extent is there an effective framework in place to safeguard transparency and integrity in local public procurement procedures?

“Sound local procurement systems are in place and procurement processes are carried out in an open, timely and fair manner in practice.”

Comment:

While in theory the legal framework regulates public In the past the municipal bureaucracy operated in accordance with the provisions of the old Public Procurement Law of BiH (Official Gazette of BiH, no. 49/04) and since 29 November 2014 it has operated on the basis of the new Public Procurement Law of BiH (Official Gazette of BiH, no. 39/14). Under this Law, the protection of bidders is provided through the Procure-ment Review Body (PRB), as a fully autonomous and independent institution. So far, very few appeals have

been lodged with the PRB against decisions taken by the Municipality in public procurement procedures. In contrast to the old Law, the new Law contains penalty provisions. Furthermore, the Municipality has adopted the Ordinance on Public Procurement, which defines the procedure for initiating the appeals procedure in more detail. In practice, the Municipality is committed to strict adherence to the principle of transparency, as evidenced by the disclosure of procurement procedures throughout all stages of the process, all the way to the contract award. Irregularities in public procurement procedures have been reduced to a minimum. In 2013, a total of 232 public procurement procedures were conducted, and there was not one complaint. The Public Procurement Commission in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo carries out all public procurement pro-cedures. Even though there are complaint channels in place (written complaints, online complaints, appeals to the Public Procurement Agency), so far there have been no complaints about the work of public servants sitting in the Commission.

3.4. PROMOTING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND PARTICIPATION

To what extent does the local bureaucracy promote social accountability mechanisms that provide local citizens with opportunity to interact with and make demands on local governments?

“The local bureaucracy is somewhat active in promoting social accountability initiatives and the participation of citizens in decision-making processes although this is piecemeal.”

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Comment:

Statutory provisions provide citizens with apparently ample opportunities to interact with and make demands on local governments. In practice, however, citizens are often ignorant about how to activate and use certain mechanisms. Calls for public hearings are regularly advertised on the Municipality’s official website, which is updated daily, on the Municipality’s bulletin boards, and in other ways. Statutory principles provide citizens with the opportunity to contribute to the functioning of the community, for example, through the work of the Local Community Councils. However, the communica-tion is often one-way, so new ways of communication need to be found to enhance citizen participation in decision-making processes. Also, it is important to note that the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo has ISO 9001:2008 certificate13 as proof of the quality of public administration in this Municipality. The certificate was awarded to the Municipality Stari Grad Sarajevo in 2010.

3.5. TAX COLLECTION

To what extent is local revenue collection fair and transparent?

“Local revenue collection methods are completely transparent and fair.”

Comment:

Legal framework for local revenue collection is mainly adopted by the higher levels of government and is largely transparent and accessible to the public. Also, the collection system for other local source revenues (utility charges, fees, property tax, etc.) is clearly

defined and effectively enforced in practice.

3.6. PROTECTING LAND AND PROPERTY RIGHTS

To what extent are land and property rights protect-ed by the local government?

“Local land, property and urban planning regulations are clear and transparent and there is an open and fair mechanism for citizens to contest land use decisions by the local government which is enforced in practice.”

Comment:

Processes related to construction permits, legalisa-tion of illegally constructed buildings or temporary structures, urban regulatory plans, commercial real estate and general issues concerning property rights at the local level are clearly defined and regulated, and the existing mechanisms are generally satisfactory in resolving contentious issues.

13 ISO standard implies constant improvement of quality of services, and refers to: better opinion of the public regarding public administra-tion, quick and timely identification and elimination of bottlenecks, Increased transparency in management, focus on key processes in individual departments and their standardisation, defining methods for collecting information from citizens and other stakeholders, and defining communication protocols and channels, better control over procurement and suppliers, performance of independent internal controls, better cooperation and communication between individual departments, etc.

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GOVERNANCE 3.7. ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSPARENCY

To what extent is there transparency in financial, human resource and information management of the local public sector?

“Provisions are in place which allow the public to obtain relevant information on the activities of the public sector.”

Comment:

There is the publicly available document Register of Business Buildings and Office Space Owned by the Municipality Stari Grad Sarajevo14, which is basically an inventory of all office spaces owned by the Munici-pality, their addresses, names of lessees, the cost per square metre, manner of lease, and any debts owed by lessees. It is noteworthy that the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo is currently in the process of drawing up a register of land, apartments and commercial real estate owned by the Municipality, which will contain all the relevant information about the aforementioned property. The budget is public and its spending is transparent. When it comes to employment of civil servants, recruitment is done on the basis of a public call which is advertised by the Mayor through the CSA FBiH. The entire recruitment procedure is conducted by the CSA FBiH, based on the provisions of the Law

on Civil Service of FBiH. Recruitment of government employees is conducted in accordance with the Law on Government Employees. However, transparency and accountability of the local bureaucracy would be higher if the recruitment of civil servants was based on the appointment of the most successful candidate from the list of successful candidates, rather than on the current practices as provided for under the existing Law. However, the CSA FBiH itself is not firmly committed to improving the transparency and accountability of human resource management in local bureaucracies.

3.8. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LOCAL PUBLIC SERVANTS

To what extent are local public servants answerable for their actions in practice?

“There are clear provisions to ensure that local public servants have to report and be answerable for their actions.” Comment:

Civil servants and government employees are answer-able for the duties and tasks they perform as part of their workplace within an administrative body. This answerability is regulated by laws and implementing regulations governing labour relations. In administrative and other procedures that are carried out by municipal departments when deciding on citizens’ requests, there are two levels of decision making, which means that all first-instance decisions can be appealed or lodged a complaint against with the competent authority. Fur-thermore, each employee is answerable for the lawful and conscientious performance of his/her duties, which is, inter alia, regulated by implementing regulations and 14 http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/2014/registar.pdf

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other by-laws, such as the Rules on Internal Organisa-tion (staffing). There have been no reported violations, nor have any procedures been conducted.

3.9. INTEGRITY OF LOCAL PUBLIC SERVANTS

To what extent is the integrity of local public serv-ants ensured?

Only some of the rules on conflict of interest, gifts & hospitality, whistleblower protection, unauthorised use of official property/facilities and employment of family members are in place with piecemeal enforcement and/or levels of corruption are low but not insignificant in the local public sector.”

Comment:

In view of the foregoing and given the fact that neither the Statute nor any other act of the Municipality prescribes specific anti-corruption measures in case of irregularities in the work of local public servants, it seems necessary to establish control measures, increase oversight, and develop and consistently imple-ment an anti-corruption strategy in the Municipality. The positive fact is that there is some oversight of manag-ers in the Municipality, where the Mayor controls and signs the decisions issued by managers and has direct access to their contents, thus making them subject to additional scrutiny.

4. LOCAL POLITICAL PARTIES

CAPACITY 4.1. ADEQUATE RESOURCES

To what extent do the financial resources available to local political parties allow for effective political competition?

“Financial resources available to local political parties allow for effective political competition but only to an extent. Comment:

The Law on Political Party Financing15 is unfavourable for smaller parties because most of the funding for political parties is divided according to the number of seats won in the Council. The Central Election Commis-sion is more concerned about the income of political parties than their expenditures, so money is not spent

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15 Law on Political Party Financing, Official Gazette of BiH, no. 22/00

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in a transparent manner. Access to local media is based on commercial principles and is not biased towards any specific political party.

4.2. INDEPENDENCE

To what extent are local political parties free from unwarranted external interference in their activities?

“Local political parties are partially free from unwar-ranted external interference in their activities.”

Comment:

Political parties may fall prey to unwarranted interfer-ence in their activities. This is especially true of small parties acting independently or in coalition with other stronger parties. There is also interference by influen-tial individuals, be it in the local community or more widely, which may steer the activities of a political party in a specific direction.

ROLE 4.3. INTEREST AGGREGATION AND REPRESENTATION

To what extent do local political parties aggregate and represent a broad range of social interests at the local level?

“Activities and consequences of activities of political parties generally do not represent the social interests.”

Comment:

Representation of public interest remains unsatis-factory in political parties throughout the country. All strengths and weaknesses of the political scene in the country as a whole are mirrored on the local level: individual, personal, party or business interests are closely intertwined and often take up the entire focus of political collectives, while at the same time the lack of adequate interaction or openness for the inputs from citizens and politically independent bodies contributes to intensive marginalisation of social interests. In elec-tion campaigns votes are attracted through promises of privileges and benefits rather than presentation of party programmes. Such a political ambience at the local level leads to political parties being self-sufficient and devoted only to themselves, while any serious and thorough programmatic work on aggregation and representation of the common interests of the local community and citizenry continues to be sorely lacking.

GOVERNANCE 4.4. TRANSPARENCY OF LOCAL POLITICALPARTIES/CANDIDATES

To what extent is there transparency in the opera-tions of local political parties?

“While a number of laws/provisions exist, they do not cover all aspects related to the financial information of local political parties and/or accessing this informa-tion is usually a difficult, cumbersome and/or lengthy process in practice.”

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Comment:

Regulations/provisions on the financing of political par-ties apply to all political parties in the country and, by extension, to their local branches. Lack of transparency in the financing of political parties is also present at the local level. The current system is, therefore, not suffi-ciently transparent and does not allow the public a clear insight into the sources of funding of political parties.

4.5. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LOCAL POLITICAL PARTIES

To what extent is there effective oversight of local political parties?

“Whilst an independent agency (e.g. electoral man-agement body) is mandated to oversee and supervise the finances and activities of local political parties, this does not happen consistently. There are some regula-tions governing the financing of local political parties but these are not always enforced in practice.”

Comment:

The Central Election Commission (CEC) is a body mandated to oversee and supervise the finances and activities of political parties16. To that end, the CEC has established an Office for Audit of Political Party Fi-nancing responsible for reviewing the financial reports submitted by political parties and auditing political parties’ financing. In practice, however, this body does not have adequate capacity and does not provide all the information that it is required by law to provide, so it is sometimes impossible to get relevant information concerning political parties and their sources of finance.

4.6. NOMINATION AND SELECTION OF LOCALCANDIDATES

To what extent are local candidates selected in a fair and transparent manner?

“There are no written procedures and criteria for the nomination and selection of candidates for local elections and selection and nomination of candidates is entirely undemocratic and opaque or done on the basis of clientelism.”

Comment:

These issues are subject to the discretion and inter-nal rules of political parties, and selection of local candidates is without a doubt largely influenced by party leadership’s direct interference in the formation of lists, or by favouritism towards specific individuals. No local political party can be said to have selected its candidates in a comprehensively transparent manner, e.g. by holding an internal ballot among the entire local membership of the party.

16 Article 10 of the Law on Political Party Financing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Official Gazette of BiH, no. 95/12

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OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FUNCTIONS

5. COMPLAINTS HANDLING

5.1. ACCESS TO A COMPLAINTS MECHANISM

Is there an independent procedure (e.g. through an ombudsman or similar function) to deal with com-plaints of perceived unjust treatment by the Local Government?

“There is a local independent complaints procedure spe-cifically designed to deal with complaints of perceived unjust treatment by the Local Government.”

Comment:

Internal regulations of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo provide for a special complaints handling procedure – citizens can complain about the work of any local public servant and can do so directly or anon-ymously. The procedures for handling such complaints are prescribed by the Municipality’s internal regulations. Also, complaints may at any time be lodged with the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, but it is worth mentioning here that citizens do not use this option very often because ombudsman’s recommendations are not

binding upon institutions and, therefore, often have no practical effect.

EFFECTIVENESS5.2. INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS

How effective is the complaints procedure in prac-tice?

“The municipal bureaucracy says the complaints pro-cedure is optimal and effective, but it is not possible to obtain concrete data that would support this.”

Comment:

Although the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo has complaints investigation mechanisms in place, which are established in accordance with its internal regula-tions, and although these procedures are implemented in practice, there are no clear indicators of effectiveness of these procedures, nor is it possible to measure how effective they are as the relevant data are not available.

6. AUDITING

CAPACITY

EFFECTIVENESS

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EFFECTIVENESS

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6.1. PROVISIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUDITS

To what extent are there regular audits of the local government and comprehensive sanctioning provi-sions?

“There are clear rules for local government audits but in practice audits are not conducted regularly, auditors are low in capacity and/or results are not made public.”

Comment:

There is an external audit system in place, but its implementation is infrequent and irregular. According to available information, audit of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo by the Audit Office of FBiH was last conducted as far back as 2001. On the other hand, the Rules on Internal Organisation of the Departments of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, which was enacted on 10 October 2013, established a position of an internal auditor, which shall operate outside the organisational units. Also, in addi-tion to the internal auditor, a senior officer for internal audit was recruited. It should be noted that Munici-pality of Stari Grad Sarajevo is currently preparing the establishment of the Municipality’s Internal Audit Office. On the basis of the laws and implementing regulations on internal audit in BiH, the Mayor drafted the Internal Audit Charter for the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo on 31 December 2012.

EFFECTIVENESS6.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUDITS

How effective are local government audits?

“The outcomes and recommendations of the audits are acted upon by the local government and sanctions only occasionally enforced.”

Comment:

As has been mentioned earlier, according to available information, the Audit Office of FBiH has not audited the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo to date. On the other hand, when it comes to internal audit, annual internal audit plans are adopted and reports on the adoption of audit recommendations are pro-duced. In 2013 the internal auditor issued a total of 25 recommendations, of which 21 relating to year 2013 and four relating to year 2014. Of the total number of recommendations, 11 were related to the need for improving internal controls, i.e. improving the efficiency of processes and quality of work of the audited entities. In 2013 audited entities implemented 10 of the 11 audit recommendations. The internal auditor also issued 14 recommendations encouraging audited entities to continue the current good practice.

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7. CENTRALISED OVERSIGHT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

7.1. CAPACITY FOR OVERSIGHT OF LOCALGOVERNMENT

To what extent does the central government have the necessary resources to effectively perform its assigned role in terms of overseeing the operations of the local government?

“Federal and cantonal governments have partial re-sources to effectively oversee the operations of the local government.” Comment:

It is evident that the oversight that is envisaged to be exercised through audit institutions is not working. Apart from that, the only option for ensuring at least partially effective oversight exists in relation to the performance of joint competences, i.e. those that were transferred from the federal/cantonal level to the local level. Administrative oversight is performed by competent federal and cantonal authorities within their respective jurisdictions. Due to the specific structure of the state of BiH, the Constitution of BiH does not prescribe the jurisdiction of the state over matters of local self-government. This type of oversight exists in

6.3. OVERSIGHT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUDITING

To what extent is there effective oversight of local government auditing?

“The central government has authority and access to investigate financial mismanagement of the local government but does not use these powers proactively. The central government does not regularly examine the effectiveness of internal auditing within the local gov-ernment and provides only minimal technical support.”

Comment:

The bodies of higher levels of government with authority to examine the financial operations of local authorities (budget inspection, public sector auditing) have access to all records necessary for the perfor-mance of their tasks, but the inspections and reviews are infrequent and sporadic. The effectiveness of this mechanism therefore remains questionable.

Internal Audit, on the other hand, works throughout the year in continuous cooperation with the Central Har-monisation Unit (CHU) of the FBiH Ministry of Finance, Audit Office of BiH, Association of Internal Auditors of BiH and similar associations in neighbouring countries. The Central Harmonisation Unit examines, on an ongo-ing basis, the efficiency and quality of work of internal auditors, provides technical support and actively partici-pates in the regular training of internal auditors.

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8.1. CAPACITY FOR INVESTIGATION AND EXPOSURE OF CORRUPTION

To what extent is there capacity for independent investigation and exposure of corruption at the local level?

“There is no media interest in corruption issues in the local area and no anti-corruption body with any powers to investigate corruption at the local level.”

Comment:

Other than the police and prosecutorial agencies at higher levels of government, which may investigate criminal offences with elements of corruption as part of their regular activities, there is no other organisation, institution, movement, or media outlet with an interest, considerable power or authority to raise questions about corruption occurring at the local level.

EFFECTIVENESS

8.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF INVESTIGATION AND EXPO-SURE OF CORRUPTION

To what extent are cases of corruption in the local government actually investigated and exposed in practice?

one form or another at the entity level.

EFFECTIVENESS 7.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF OVERSIGHT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

How effective is federal/cantonal government in performing its assigned role in terms of oversight of the local government?

“Central government agencies do not perform their assigned role in terms of detecting and addressing mis-behaviour, advocating for reforms or providing training, advice and technical support to the local government.”

Comment:

Oversight of the local government boils down to reactive control of the legality of acts adopted by local government bodies, while the prevention of corruption, implementation of reform measures and other actions aimed at improving the integrity in local government is completely absent.

8. INVESTIGATION AND EXPOSURE OF CORRUPTION

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levels to the extent that one can say they exist. Stari Grad Sarajevo is a municipality which, through the simple fact that it is located in Sarajevo, participates in the activities implemented in the country’s capital by NGOs and appropriate institutions and authorities. It is therefore only to be expected that the citizens of this municipality have easy access to information and that they regularly come across anti-corruption messages and appeals which are broadcast via media or conveyed by other means of communication.

EFFECTIVENESS9.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF AWARENESS-RAISING AND ADVOCACY ON ANTI-CORRUPTION

To what extent are educational activities, public in-formation and advocacy on anti-corruption issues at the local level successful in combating corruption?

“There is no media interest in corruption issues in the local area and no anti-corruption body with any powers to investigate corruption at the local level.”

Comment:

Whether due to lack of interest, avoidance of direct personal action or fear/hesitation, educational activities and information available to citizens fail to raise aware-ness and increase activities aimed at combating corrup-tion. It must be noted that, albeit deviant, corruption is seen in the country, and even in the wider region, as a part of everyday life and living standard. Hence, apathy at the local level is neither surprising nor unexpected.

“There is no investigation and exposure of corruption in the local government.”

Comment:

There have been no recent successful prosecutions of corruption in the local administration.

9. AWARENESS-RAISING AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

CAPACITY9.1. CAPACITY FOR AWARENESS-RAISING AND ADVOCACY ON ANTI-CORRUPTION

To what extent is there capacity for educational ac-tivities, public information and advocacy on anti-cor-ruption issues at the local level?

“There are some examples of educational activities, public information and advocacy on anti-corruption issues at the local level.”

Comment:

Educational activities and public information and advocacy campaigns on anti-corruption issues are implemented at the state, entity, cantonal and local

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volume will correspond to actual needs and interests17.

EFFECTIVENESS 10.2. EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

To what extent have social accountability initiatives by non-governmental actors been successful in holding the local government to account?

“Only partial success exists in this area.”

Comment:

In 2011 the Municipal Council of Stari Grad Saraje-vo adopted a Cooperation Agreement between the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo and NGOs with the aim of addressing the problem of weak influence of the civil sector on decision-making at the local level. The agreement is meant to serve as a mechanism to encourage the municipal government to increase citizen participation in matters of public interest. Further-more, in late 2012 the Municipal Council adopted the Decision Regulating the Manner of Selection of Projects by Non-governmental/Not-for-profit Organisations in Accordance with the LOD Methodology. According to a survey of user satisfaction with public services, which was conducted as part of the aforementioned project by the Centre for Promotion of Civil Society in accord-ance with the PULS methodology, the Municipality of

10. SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

CAPACITY 10.1. CAPACITY FOR SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

To what extent are non-governmental actors active in promoting social accountability to hold the local government to account?

“Non-governmental actors are somewhat active in promoting social accountability initiatives to hold the local government to account.”

Comment:

Although the city of Sarajevo, and thus partly the Mu-nicipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, is home to a number of NGOs dealing with many socially relevant issues, including those relating to the accountability of local governments, the activities of these organisations are not sufficiently robust and frequent to produce the desired effect. The Centre for Promotion of Civil Society therefore initiated the process of monitoring local services in multiple municipalities (including Stari Grad Sarajevo). The aim of this process was to bring about increased accountability and encourage local govern-ments to take a new creative and innovative approach to the provision of public services whose quality and

CAPACITY

EFFECTIVENESS

17 Report on User Satisfaction Survey of Public Services in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, Centre for Promotion of Civil Society, 2012

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Stari Grad Sarajevo, together with the Municipality of Vogošća, received the best score of six municipalities in the Sarajevo Canton which were included in the survey.

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VI CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Most of the indicators under the Local Integrity System Assessment for the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo received an average score. This indicates that there is a good basis in the Municipality for further development and improvement of the local integrity system, and that further efforts are needed in order for this local gov-ernment unit to become an example of good practice in terms of transparency, accountability and integrity. Based on the information gathered in this assess-ment, it is evident that the local assembly (Municipal Council) and the local executive have good capacity and infrastructure for effective operation, but when it comes to the performance of their functions, there is scope for further improvement and more effective action towards higher standards of work, which would ultimately contribute to a sounder local integrity system.

Looking at the final results of the Stari Grad Sarajevo LIS Assessment, it can be concluded that the capacity of all core local government actors represents a solid ba-sis for successful actions towards improving integrity in their work. However, when it comes to the role of core actors in contributing to improving the overall integrity system and the quality of their internal governance (transparency, accountability, integrity), the results of indicator assessments indicate a lower level of com-pliance with certain standards and plenty of scope for improvement. Analysis of oversight and accountability functions indicates poor results in terms of capacity to implement these activities and, consequently, the lack of efficiency and appropriate results in the performance of these functions.

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Of the key local actors the worst rated are local political parties in terms of their role in the local integrity system and internal management, especially when it comes to representation of a broad range of social interests and the selection of candidates for local elections. The oversight and accountability functions do have the relevant capacities, but these are marked by seri-ous deficiencies. The worst rated is the capacity for awareness-raising and public education, given that the interest by the media and NGOs in this issue is sporadic or completely absent and due to the lack of initiatives by local government structures to develop and enact an action plan to combat corruption at the local level, etc. Results of the assessment of indicators relating to oversight and accountability functions suggest a lack of a systematic approach to the prevention of and the fight against corruption. Also, anti-corruption agenda does not feature high on the list of priorities of both the official authorities and the civil sector. Institutional infrastructure in this area is rudimentary or non-exist-ent, and NGOs, even if they are interested, lack capacity to undertake initiatives strong enough to institute significant changes in practice. Existing functions (audit, inspection, police and prosecutorial investigations) are reduced to a superficial exercise of due procedures without a significant effect on the qualitative shift in the fight against corrupt practices.

KEY FINDINGSKey findings can be summarised as follows:

• Councillors do not have well-developed and estab-lished mechanisms for communication, consultation and interaction with citizens to effectively represent their interests;

• Protocols and instruments established by the local executive and local bureaucracy to ensure citizen participation in the processes important for the local government are rarely used by the citizenry;• The local bureaucracy has an adequate support sys-tem in place, but it is necessary to prevent illegitimate external pressure on local public servants and allow them unimpeded work in accordance with the law;

• Local self-government lacks the tools and capacity to combat corruption at the local level, and receives no supervision and support from higher levels of govern-ment in this regard;

• Local media, CSOs and citizenry lack relevant capacity and/or do not show a sustained interest in building a better local integrity system;

• Political parties do not represent a broad range of so-cial interests aimed at the development and prosperity of the community, but are primarily preoccupied with narrow party interests.

RECOMMENDATIONS • The Municipal Council should provide an effec-tive, consistent and mandatory mechanism for direct communication between councillors and their constitu-encies (via “question hour” sessions, e-mail, thematic working meetings and public hearings, participation in the work of local communities, initiating actions and launching initiatives and reporting on the degree of their realisation), whereby citizens would voice their most pressing concerns and needs, and councillors, guided by the principles of independence and integrity in their work, would do everything within their power and authority to articulate the identified needs of citizens through specific initiatives, questions and suggestions to the responsible executive officeholders.

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• It is necessary to introduce new mechanisms to increase citizen participation in decision-making pro-cesses that are important to the public and citizenry.

• It is necessary to put in place a continuous training system for municipal councillors, which would result in improved quality of decisions made by councillors on issues that directly affect the quality of life in local communities.

• It is necessary to adopt the Integrity Plan to combat corruption in the municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, which is one of the obligations under the national Strat-egy for Combating Corruption, in order to identify the areas most susceptible to corruption at the local level, and to act preventively against corruption.

• The local executive should establish mechanisms to enhance public participation in decision-making processes at the local level, which will contribute to increased accountability in their work. In formulating certain decisions, the local executive can apply mech-anisms (beyond and above those prescribed by law) to encourage certain interest groups to take an active part in the processes which affect their rights and inter-ests, and thus fully apply the principle of participation in making decisions that could affect individuals and groups of citizens.

• A clear performance-based rewards and sanctions system for employees needs to be introduced. Legis-lative amendments need to be introduced by the higher levels of government in BiH in order to improve the system.

• Local political parties should enhance transpar-ency and accountability in their work through regular communication and consultation with citizens in harmo-nising their political orientations.

• Lack of full and fair auditing of the municipality by higher administrative levels and institutions greatly undermines and threatens the development potential of local communities, and greatly reduces the transpar-ency and quality of reporting to the public and citizens about internal problems and possible irregularities in the operations of municipal bodies and bureaucracy.

• It is necessary to provide the necessary resources and ensure that the relevant institutions such as the Audit Office of FBiH exercise their statutory responsibil-ities and perform regular oversight and auditing of the operations at the municipal level.

• It is necessary to strengthen the internal audit sys-tem, given the fact that the external audit is irregular and therefore unable to deliver the expected results.

• Institutional infrastructure for the fight against corruption in the entire country is still in its infancy. It is necessary to try to implement effective anti-corruption instruments and mechanisms and ensure continuous promotion of the need to enhance social accountability, which will reduce the scope for corrupt practices.

• A stronger support to civil society organisations (CSOs) is needed in order for them to be able to signifi-cantly raise public awareness of corruption and trigger profound changes in practice.

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VII BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Transparency International, Findings of the Survey on the Transparency of Local Government Units in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 20122. Transparency International BiH. National Integrity System Study – Bosnia and Herzegovina 20133. Centres for Civic Initiatives, Mayor and Local Self-Government: Leadership, Democracy, Develop-ment, December 20094. Muhamed I. Mujakić, Local Self-Government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Concept, Com-petences and Bodies, available for download from the following link: http://www.iju.hr/HJU/HJU/preuziman-je_files/2010-4%2007%20Mujakic.pdf 5. Group of authors, “Situation Analysis of Local Self-Government in BiH” (draft), Banja Luka, 2005, report available for download from the following link: http://www.osfbih.org.ba/images/Prog_docs/LG/Arhiv/Istrazivanja/2005_Analiza_stanja_lokalne_uprave_u_BiH.pdf 6. Eda – Banja Luka, Hand to Hand – It’s Good to Coop-erate Well – Regional experiences in local government development, 20087. Statute of the City of Sarajevo, Official Gazette of the Canton of Sarajevo, nos. 14/98, 19/98, 25/05, 23/08 and 32/088. Statute of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo – Consolidated version, Official Gazette of the Canton of Sarajevo, no. 42/12

9. Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council of Stari Grad Sarajevo10. Youth Strategy of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, available for download from: http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/2012/juni/strategija_mladi.pdf11. Local Development Strategy of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo 2014-2018, available for download from: http://starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/2014/strategi-jaLR.pdf 12. Report on the Implementation of the Local Develop-ment Strategy of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, available for download from: http://starigrad.ba/user-files/file/2015/2/0502_izvjestaj_strategija.pdf13. Information on the status of spatial planning documents for the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, available for download from: http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/dokumenti/PP-Dokumentacija.pdf14. Register of Business Buildings and Office Space Owned by the Municipality Stari Grad Sarajevo, availa-ble for download from: http://www.starigrad.ba/user-files/file/2014/registar.pdf 15. Budget of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo for Year 2015, available for download from: http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/2015/1/budzet_2015.pdf16. Budget of the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo for Year 2014, available for download from: http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/dokumenti/okivrni%20budzet.

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pdf 17. Budget Framework Paper (programmes) for period 2015-2017, available for download from: http://www.starigrad.ba/userfiles/file/dokumenti/okivrni%20budzet.pdf18. Amendment to the Constitution of FBiH XXV-XXVI, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 13/0719. Institute for Statistics of FBiH, Sarajevo Canton in Figures, Sarajevo, 201420. Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 49/0621. Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH, no. 20/0422. Law on Civil Service in FBiH, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 09/0323. Law on Election, Termination of the Term of Office, Impeachment and Replacement of Mayors in FBiH Municipalities, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 9/0824. Law on Government Employees in the Civil Service in FBiH, Official Gazette of FBiH, no. 49/0525. Law on Political Party Financing, Official Gazette of BiH, no. 22/0026. Report on User Satisfaction Survey of Public Servic-es in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, Centre for Promotion of Civil Society, Sarajevo, 2012

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