Citizens and local self-government - a new law for new times

Not every law is a reform. Some change procedures, and some change the way the state functions. The proposal for a new Law on Local Self-Government belongs to the latter group.

The new law was created through a broad dialogue with municipalities, the professional public, the civil sector and international partners, with a clear goal - to make local governments stronger, more accountable and closer to citizens.

The text of the law is also the result of comprehensive coordination between the relevant ministries, since the local self-government system permeates almost all segments of social and economic life. The new legal solutions represent a balance between further strengthening of decentralization, stronger accountability mechanisms, higher quality of public services and the need to ensure a functional, sustainable and efficient management system at all levels of government.

Analyses of the functioning of the existing system have confirmed what citizens and local communities have been pointing out for years: excessive dependence on the central level, insufficient coordination, and uneven administrative capacities. Therefore, this law represents an important step in the process of decentralization and modernization of local government.

However, decentralization does not only mean more competences. It also implies greater responsibility. The development of local communities will not depend on formal powers, but on the ability to translate them into concrete results for citizens. In this sense, the success of municipalities will be measured by the quality of services, implemented projects and the ability to create new development opportunities.

A special value of the law is the stronger positioning of citizens in the decision-making process. New mechanisms of direct participation are introduced, primarily citizens' assemblies, and the institution of citizens' initiative is further strengthened. Local self-government bodies are obliged to respond to citizens' initiatives, petitions and applications within clearly prescribed deadlines.

Democracy is not an event that happens once every four years. It implies constant communication between citizens and institutions. Therefore, citizens must no longer be passive observers of the work of local government, but active participants in making decisions that affect the quality of their lives.

One of the important innovations is the establishment of a system of strategic monitoring of local government results. We do not want an administration that will deal with formal reports without real content. We want a system that measures the effects of policies, identifies problems and enables their timely resolution.

The law also provides a strong incentive for the digital transformation of local government. Modern administration must be faster, simpler and more accessible to citizens. Technology is not an end in itself, but a means to more efficiently exercise rights and provide better quality public services.

On Montenegro's European path, local governments have a special role. That is why the law envisages strengthening capacities for the preparation and implementation of projects financed from European funds. This means more opportunities for infrastructure development, improvement of public services, environmental protection and creation of better living conditions for citizens.

The law also introduces mechanisms for overcoming institutional blockages in situations where political crises threaten the exercise of citizens' rights to local self-government, disrupt the functioning of local institutions, and slow down the social and economic development of local communities.

A particularly important innovation is the introduction of criteria for acquiring city status, which were developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance. City status must not be an administrative privilege, but a confirmation of the achieved level of development, capacity and quality of public services. Greater powers must be accompanied by greater responsibility.

At the same time, by introducing the status of a city, we are abandoning the previous monotypic model of local self-government and introducing a system that better suits the different levels of development of local communities in Montenegro, namely the so-called polytypic model. Such an approach follows the concept of asymmetric decentralization, which the Ministry of Public Administration and the Government responsibly and purposefully manage, creating the prerequisites for further transfer of competencies where there are capacities to perform them in a quality manner.

And this is just the first step towards full decentralization. With what we have prescribed, we are changing the logic of the local self-government system and building municipalities that are more responsible, more efficient and more prepared to take on more responsibilities. Because decentralization must not be a random process, but a carefully designed reform that strengthens local capacities and transfers powers when the conditions are in place for them to be carried out in a quality manner and in the interest of citizens.

This law is not just a reform of local self-government. It is a reform of the relationship between the state and citizens. Its ultimate goal is not a stronger administration, but stronger local communities and a better life for people.

Because a successful state is built from the bottom up - from strong municipalities, responsible cities, and active local communities.

The author is the Minister of Public Administration in the Government of Montenegro