The information system for social services, the so-called Social Record, simplified and accelerated the procedures.
"If citizens are looking for the right to material security, which is quite often the case, now they can only exercise their right by showing their identity card without bringing, for an average family it was necessary to bring 30 documents", said Aleksandra Višnjić from UNDP.
So far, nine institutions have been networked, but the system did not function well during the two-year operation
"The connection between the centers and the registries was not always possible, established, or the withdrawal of data was not always possible. The most problematic was this Central Population Register, of the two years that the social record has been in operation, for nine months it was not possible to obtain data from the Central Register. Why Is that so? Well, the reasons are REZ hardware failures. Another problem is that the data in those registers are not correct," said Jovana Bulatović from the NGO Institut Alternativa.
The NGO sector suggests that the databases be used in the future as a basis for new public policies and coverage of all those who need help. Adis Balota nevertheless warns that we are still far from a functional system.
"We saw that the central registry did not function for exactly nine months, exactly during the period when the transitional government was functioning. First, political will is needed to manage such complex projects, and secondly, certain competences and knowledge," said Balota.
So far, about 350 decisions have been issued through the Social Card, and about 80 payments are made every month. However, part of the budget money is flowing out, because, for example, one-time grants are not part of this information system.
"The problem is that one-time grants are also given at other addresses, in all ministries, all administrative bodies, public companies. My opinion is that this complete system must eventually end up under the umbrella of the information system in the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare," said the former Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Boris Marić.
"It is interesting to say that Cetinje, for 2013, when the elections were held, allocated over 90 thousand euros for one-time financial aid, and if you look at the data of the Ministry of Finance, you will see that the capital spent zero euros for social protection. The lack of systemic control is a big problem ", said Ivana Bogojević.
The authorities say that the municipalities are not networked because it was not foreseen in the project. For five years of the project, according to UNDP data, 1,8 million euros were spent on the information system.
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