UNDP ENHANCES PROFESSIONAL SKILLS OF ARMENIAN MUNICIPAL SERVANTS

ArmenPress
Nov 8 2004

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS: The Ministry for Coordination
of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Operations of
Armenia and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) inaugurated
today a new project on the Establishment of the Municipal Service
System. A UNDP press release said the aim of the project is to support
decentralization and help strengthen communities by focusing on the
legislative, educational, technical and operational systems that
are necessary to ensure viable, accountable and effective local
administrations.

Considerable progress has been made since local self-governance
was introduced in 1995. Two laws have been adopted and three local
elections have occurred. Armenia has joined the European Charter
of Local Self-Governance and communities are now recognized as
legal entities. Communities receive 100 percent of the revenues from
property and land taxes and a share of the revenues from profit taxes
and nature protection fees.

Despite these achievements, local prerogatives remain limited and
communities still depend on subsidies from the central government
to provide vital public services including education and healthcare.
Widespread poverty and Armenia’s administrative division into large
number of communities remain serious obstacles to effective local
self-governance.

Within the framework of the project launched by Hovik Abrahamian,
Minister for the Coordination of Territorial Administration and
Infrastructure Operations, and Lise Grande, UN Resident Coordinator and
UNDP Resident Representative, a package of legal acts aimed at ensuring
viable municipal service systems will be introduced. Steps will also
be taken to introduce performance-based budgeting at the local level
and training on fiscal decentralization will be provided to community
heads, members of local councils and municipal civil servants.

Grande noted: “Together with the Government of Armenia we are trying
to strengthen local communities. This is particularly important
because small villages and former industrial towns have suffered
enormously during the past decade. Their economic viability has been
undermined and large parts of their populations have been forced to
emigrate. To ensure that Armenia remains strong and unified and that no
one is left behind, the country needs effective and accountable local
administrations, capable of providing public services and supporting
the general needs of the community.”

The Establishment of Municipal Service System project is a
two-year project with a budget of USD 312,700. To ensure successful
implementation, a Steering Committee will be formed comprised of
representatives of UNDP, Ministry for Coordination of Territorial
Administration and Infrastructure Operations, the Public Administration
Academy of Armenia and other partners.