Public Finance for Development Programme in Montenegro contributed to the increase in local revenue collection in several municipalities, the latest 2020 report states.
The latest 2020 report on the implementation of Public Administration Reform Strategy in Montenegro (PAR Strategy) confirms that activities implemented through the Strengthening transparent and accountable Public Finance Management in Montenegro project led to improvements in public administration. The project is the fruit of a cooperation between the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic (MF SR) and the UNDP, running under the Public Finance for Development programme. In addition to the PFM reform at the central level, the project support is aimed at improving the financial and regulatory situation of the local self-governments.
The implementation of the new Law on Local Self-Governments Financing and secondary legislation resulted in local revenue enhancement in the central and northern Montenegrin municipalities. There has also been an improvement in quality of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), compared to previous years. The project delivered an upgraded version of the RIA Regulatory Impact Statement at the local level to help determine what effect a new regulation would have on citizens, the business community, and the municipality. Conducting RIA at the local level is expected to have an impact on the improvement of overall business environment in the country. The project activities also covered training for officers in selected Montenegrin municipalities to enhance their analytical skills.
Support from the Slovak Ministry of Finance
Achievements in the areas of public administration, fiscal consolidation, and management of public funds are crucial for Montenegro to make progress on its path toward EU membership. The joint activities of the UNDP and the Slovak Ministry of Finance have been successfully contributing to it.
The MF SR support has also been positively acknowledged in relation to setting up the Visualization of local finances in Montenegro website. The portal provides data visualization of local budgets in Montenegro, thus improving transparency and accountability in public finance management. Recently, the website has been updated with 2020 finance data for all Montenegrin municipalities.
About the Strategy
The main objectives of the Public Administration Reform Strategy for the 2016-2020 period were:
- Improvement of the competences and organization of civil servants at all levels of the administrative system;
- Reorganization of agencies exercising public powers;
- Improvement of the process of selection of candidates and of the existing performance appraisal system;
- Delivery of administrative services at the highest possible level;
- Establishment of a comprehensive system of mid-term policy planning;
- More functional and more efficient local self-government units.
The support of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic is based on these goals defined in the Strategy.
