Since 2009, citizens of Slovenia have been able to send proposals for amending the law to the local government using a special application. That this type of citizen participation in decision-making is good is evidenced by the fact that in the last few years alone, several thousand proposals have been received in this way. The Government of Slovenia considered the majority and accepted 22 initiatives. So, for example, some taxes for the purchase of vehicles for the disabled and tougher penalties for those who violate the ban on selling alcohol to minors have been abolished. In the civil sector, they believe that something like this would be useful in Montenegro as well.
And while the Montenegrin government promises that communication with citizens will be improved through the development of special applications, the NGO sector notes that they would be useful, but that some previous ones that were supposed to improve the implementation of public hearings still do not work.
To change healthcare, education, employment of young people.
This is only part of what Montenegrin citizens are asking from the Government. So, for example, some taxes for the purchase of vehicles for the disabled and tougher penalties for those who violate the ban on selling alcohol to minors have been abolished. In the civil sector, they believe that something like this would be useful in Montenegro as well.
"Absolutely, electronic applications would facilitate the participation of citizens in decision-making," said Milena Milošević from the Alternative Institute (IA).
The Government reminds that through the former "Voice of Citizens" e-petition portal, which is no longer active, a proposal for the construction of new kindergartens submitted by the Association "Parents" was accepted. Now a platform for combating the gray economy, "Be Responsible", and a service through which citizens can report suspected abuse of official vehicles, are functioning. That all this is not enough is confirmed by the Communication Strategy for the next two years, which the government recently adopted.
"In which the insufficient level of information among citizens about certain government policies is recognized, as well as the fact that research has shown that the vast majority - 80,5% of citizens use the Internet. These data unequivocally indicate the need for further improvement of e-services in various areas. There is no doubt that communication with citizens will be improved in the coming period and in the plan of creating special applications," the Government of Montenegro states.
The Alternative Institute notes that, apart from electronic participation in decision-making, the traditional way - public hearings - does not work either, because they are not conducted properly. The E-consultation portal, which was supposed to improve this, and which functions in the environment, has not started working yet, but it was supposed to at the beginning of the year.
"According to our research, less than 1% of citizens took part in a public debate, which is definitely an extremely low percentage, and the blame should definitely not be placed on the citizens. We hope that such an application will finally come to life and that it will be actively promoted to citizens so that they really used the benefits provided by new technologies," said Milošević.
Milosevic emphasizes that it does not matter when citizens are involved in the decision-making process
"What we often criticize our administration, the government, is that they involve citizens when it's already too late, when all the solutions are on the table, when they are often written in a language that the citizens do not understand, because we should definitely not expect all citizens to be lawyers," she said. is Milošević.
The Government points out that during the last year they communicated with about 10 thousand people. They also note that according to the Constitution, citizens, if they collect 6 signatures, can propose a law to the Assembly. But such initiatives were not enough. Still enough to warn citizens who are more ready to remain silent than to take some action.
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