This program is designed to help building and strengthening of capacities of small municipalities in Serbia (up to 30.000 citizens) in a process of their transformation into modern local self-governments.
There are currently 86 municipalities in Serbia having less than 30.000 inhabitants and even 35 among them fits in group of 40 least developed municipalities in Serbia. Over 1.5 million of citizens of Serbia live in these municipalities in considerably worse living conditions compared to those existing in big urban centers. Besides, donations, international development aid and new investments almost regularly circumvent these municipalities due to their limited capacities. Thus, although the pleas for decentralization are legitimate and justifiable, one should bear in mind that most of these local self-governments are not capable to exercise even the existing competences, not to mention acquiring the new ones. This fact becomes even more disturbing in a context of European integration, since it is estimated. that 70-80 % of the EU legislation is being implemented on the local and regional level
Though this program CenTriR will seek to:
- enhance capacities of local self-governments for planning and stimulating of local economic development
- set up new and upgrade existing offices for local economic development
- build capacities of local self-governments to get and use the EU and other donors’ funds
- improve service providing on the local level
- promote sustainable development of local areas
- encourage inter-municipal, inter-regional and cross-border cooperation in the fields of common interest and transfer of knowledge and experience.
