UNDP PRESENTS "ROA RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES" DATABASE AND "PERFORMANCE BUDGETING" CONCEPT IN LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

Noyan Tapan
Oct 20, 2009

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Today Ms. Consuelo Vidal, UN Resident
Coordinator / UNDP Resident Representative and Mr. Vache Terteryan,
First Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration, within the
framework of UNDP Community Development project, presented to the
public "RoA Rural and Urban Communities" database and the "Performance
budgeting" concept in local self-government system.

Welcoming the guests, Ms. Consuelo Vidal said, "These two initiatives
that UNDP has implemented with the RoA Ministry of Territorial
Administration are highly important to support the decentralization
and local governance processes in Armenia".

"RoA Rural and Urban Communities" database includes data on 865 rural
and 48 urban communities as of 1 January 2009. The database, among
others, includes territorial and socio-demographic indicators, namely
population, social groups, level of education, migration and employment
for rural and urban communities. The database includes also indicators
that assess the state of the community’s facilities and infrastructure,
such as healthcare, cultural, art, sports and other facilities. Also,
economic characteristics that include administrative territory of
the community, land distribution according to the types, forms of
property and irrigation, as well as the existence of industrial
enterprises and the level of employment in them. Also reflected in
the study are the harvesting indicators of cultivated rural lands,
as well as their market price.

The "Performance budgeting" concept in local self-government system
includes tools for planning, distribution, use and oversight of
budgetary means of the targeted communities, which will enable to
use the limited resources in the most efficient way, taking into
consideration the community priorities.

Ms. Consuelo Vidal expressed hope that "the full installment of the
concept and its application in local self-government system will
register sustainable development and will promote the efficiency of
performance budgeting processes, as well as active and responsible
engagement of community residents in local democratic processes".

According to the UN Armenia Office, the concept has been installed
during the last two years in more than 20 rural and urban communities
of various regions of Armenia. The theoretical provisions have passed
a practical experience, while practical points were supplemented with
expert recommendations and situational adjustments.

Representatives of the Government of Armenia, local self-government
bodies, international and local organizations, as well as mass media
participated in the event.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress