GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
INITIATIVE
QUARTERLY REPORT (April 1, - July 31, 2019)
Submission Date: August 15, 2019
Contract Number: 72016918C00002 GAI; Activity Start and End Dates: 6 February 2018 – 5 February 2022 COR: Milena Jenovai
Submitted by: Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc. 1899 L. Street, NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036-3804 Tel: 202-452-9700 Email: [email protected]
This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Serbia). It was prepared by Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc.
Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc.
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY INITIATIVE Contract Number 72016918C00002
QUARTERLY REPORT (April 1 – July 31, 2019)
Submission Date: August 15, 2019
Submitted by: Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc. 1899 L. Street, NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036-3804 Tel: 202-452-9700 Email: [email protected]
DISCLAIMER: The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development.
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CONTENTS
ACRONYMS ...... i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ...... 1 ACTIVITY IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS ...... 5 Local Government Accountability ...... 5 Independent Oversight Institutions ...... 20 Adjudication of Corruption Cases ...... 31 Other Technical Assistance ...... 41 PMP UPDATE ...... 42 MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES ...... 47 PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THIRD QUARTER 2019, INCLUDING UPCOMING EVENTS ...... 48
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ACRONYMS
ACA Anti-Corruption Agency A/C Anti-Corruption AMELP Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan AVP Automated Case Management System for Courts CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CSO Civil Society Organization CPI Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection CRTA Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability ERCC Electronic Register of Corruption Cases ERCC WG Working Group for the Preparation, Launch and Testing of an Electronic Register of Corruption Cases ESB Enterprise Service Bus GAI Government Accountability Initiative IOI Independent Oversight Institution JA Judicial Academy LAP Local Anti-Corruption Action Plan LSG Local Self-Government NA National Assembly NA Committee National Assembly Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending MOJ Ministry of Justice OSCE Organization Security and Co-operation in Europe PMP Performance Management Plan PPO Public Prosecutor’s Office RPPO Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office SAI State Audit Institution SAPO Standardized Application for Prosecutors’ Offices SCC Supreme Court of Cassation SCTM Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities SIPRES System for Misdemeanor Courts TS Transparency Serbia USAID United States Agency for International Development
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The second quarter Government Accountability Initiative (GAI) progress report covers a four- month reporting period in accord with a USAID contract modification to align reporting quarters to the February to February contractual year.
The most notable achievements in the second quarter include:
• With GAI’s assistance, four counterpart Local Self-Governments (LSGs) have developed or revised their Local Anti-Corruption Action Plans (LAPs). Three of the four LAPs were adopted by their respective LSG assemblies while the fourth was finalized and will be adopted in September. Support to the LAP monitoring body established by the City of Šabac includes the development of operating procedures and a Code of Ethics.
• GAI developed a model website and Facebook page for local self-governments reflecting regulatory requirements and good governance principles. Based on the model, seven LSGs received detailed recommendations for alignment of existing websites with the model.
• To enhance communication with citizens and facilitate public participation initiatives, GAI held a two-day workshop for the seven counterpart LSGs on how to optimize communication using social media. GAI provided the LSGs with the tools and practical tips to strategically use social media to address the public and communicate effectively with target audiences.
• GAI provided advanced training on whistleblower protection to 31 participants representing 17 LSGs. Through this training, the first of its kind, GAI trained persons authorized to receive whistleblower reports on procedures to investigate whistleblower complaints and provide protections to whistleblowers. This interactive training, using case studies and role play, provided persons designated by local government administrations to receive whistleblower reports with practical strategies for working with whistleblowers.
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• With GAI assistance, Sombor and Dimitrovgrad developed action plans to implement new and innovative approaches in organization of public hearings on budget and local economic development programs. The municipalities’ plans include proactive engagement with local communities, high schools, and business associations; communication with media; and implementation of public awareness raising campaigns aimed at creating public interest in local decision making.
• GAI is continuing to mentor the 12 performance audit teams that have been established across all audit sectors in the State Audit Institution (SAI). GAI’s three performance audit experts continue to provide a combination of remote and in-country assistance to SAI teams as the audits progress, discussing with each audit team scope, data limitations, and methodologies of their audits. GAI developed and provided the teams guidance on how to reduce scope, adapt design matrices to evidence collected, improve audit methodologies, and develop report messages given evidence collected and analyzed.
• SAI auditors and senior management were trained on message development techniques and a dialogue among SAI internal stakeholders was facilitated to foster agreement on scope and sequencing of reporting given data availability and preliminary indications of report message.
• GAI assisted the SAI Sector for Methodology and Development to revise its policy and procedures as currently prescribed in SAI’s Quality Assurance and Control. GAI’s expert reviewed policies and checklists for quality control on all levels including that of the audit team leaders, sector heads who present draft reports to the President for signature, and the institutional level, to ensure consistency in application of quality control policy and procedures.
• GAI assessed ACA’s Asset and Income Declaration verification process. The assessment served as a guide for the development of a risk-based methodology for asset and income declaration review.
• To improve ACA’s recurring evaluation of its effectiveness and efficiency in implementing its core operations, GAI initiated assistance to help ACA improve its analytical capabilities.
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The assistance will enable ACA to improve its evaluations of asset declaration filings, actions taken on conflict of interest determinations, and its reporting to external stakeholders such as the Misdemeanor Courts and PPOs.
• GAI facilitated discussion and agreement between ACA and the Association of Misdemeanor Courts Judges on proceedings on misdemeanor offences that were included in the Law on Prevention of Corruption as adopted by the National Assembly on May 21, 2019. The two most significant changes in the Law, which were discussed and then introduced into the draft, are an increase in the statute of limitations to 5 years for initiation of misdemeanor proceedings, and the possibility to enter into a plea-bargain agreement based on a confession of a misdemeanor offence. These two solutions should enable a greater number of prosecutable cases to be presented by extending the time to bring a case to court and relieving the courts’ burden of deciding minor offences.
• In addition, the initial steps have been completed toward development of an operational plan to implement the Strategic Plan recently adopted with GAI assistance. In a workshop held with senior officials of ACA, GAI facilitated ACA’s review of key performance indicators (KPIs) drafted in the course of preparation of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan, to verify their applicability, measurability, and reliability. The workshop resulted in revision of the draft KPIs to be included in a future update of the Strategic Plan.
• In support of the specialized anti-corruption (A/C) court units and Public Prosecutors’ Offices (PPOs), GAI is finalizing the Anti-Corruption Practicum created to standardize prosecution and adjudication of corruption cases. The Practicum will act as a guide for all legal professionals implementing the 2016 Law on the Organization and Jurisdiction of State Organs in the Suppression of Organized Crime, Terrorism and Corruption.
• GAI’s team of legal and technical experts finalized the in-depth analyses of the legal framework and technical requirements for an Electronic Register of Corruption Cases (ERCC) that will provide timely information on the status of corruption cases and improve the collection of statistics and reporting on corruption cases. Based on these analyses, GAI developed three proposals including recommendations to improve existing case management systems and detailed specifications for the ERCC architecture. The proposals
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were presented to the ERCC Working Group established by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), which will now deliberate on the proposals and select the most feasible option for Serbia.
• A post-mortem analysis of corruption cases has begun. GAI has contracted 4Digits Consulting, assisted by Judge Biljana Sinanović, to perform the analysis, provide insight into practices, and identify bottlenecks both in the prosecution and adjudication of corruption cases. To initialize the process and present the methodology, GAI and the 4Digits team visited the specialized anti-corruption court units in Belgrade, Niš, and Kraljevo. The anti- corruption court in Novi Sad will be visited in August.
• The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and the Supreme Court’s Case Law Working Group formally adopted GAI’s proposal to amend the SCC case law database to produce a list of key words or open descriptors of corruption-related criminal offences. The new list of offences includes those which were introduced by the 2016 Law on Organized Crime and Corruption.
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
Activity Name Government Accountability Initiative Activity (GAI) Start and End Dates 6 February 2018 – 5 February 2022 Prime Implementing Partner Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc. Contract Number 72016918C00002 GAI Local governments Main Projected Counterparts Independent Oversight Institutions Anti-Corruption Court Units Work Plan Period 6 February 2018 – 5 February 2019
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Government Accountability Initiative is a four-year United States Agency for International Development Activity (USAID) initiated in February 2018 with an overall objective to strengthen the capacities and connections of key Serbian government institutions and stakeholders resulting in increased government accountability at the national and local levels. GAI consists of three components: Local Government Accountability, Independent Oversight Institutions (IOIs), and Adjudication of Corruption Cases. GAI counterparts include the State Audit Institution, the Anti- Corruption Agency, local self-governments, specialized anti-corruption courts, and civil society organizations.
The Activity is structured around three components:
o Component 1. Local Government Accountability
GAI supports local governments’ efforts to increase inclusiveness of the public in government decision-making regarding public resource allocations. GAI also creates strategies for local governments to operate in a more transparent and responsive manner.
o Component 2. Independent Oversight Institutions
GAI provides technical assistance to oversight institutions, such as SAI and ACA, to strengthen monitoring of government performance and public officials, and exercise their duties as defined in the institutions’ respective legislative mandates. GAI works closely
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with relevant authorities (relevant ministries, and Parliament) to increase response to findings and implementation of recommendations of oversight institutions.
o Component 3. Adjudication of Corruption Cases
GAI provides technical assistance to specialized anti-corruption court units to establish a system for the collection of unified statistics on corruption cases, distinguishing clearly between different types of criminal offences, the length of cases, and outcome of the proceedings.
Results Framework - Government Accountability Initiative
DO1: Accountability of Key Democratic Institutions Strengthened
IR 1.1 Government Institutions More IR 1.2 Rule of Law and Oversight Improved Responsive to Citizens
Sub IR 1.1.1 Capacity of Government Bodies to Engage Sub IR 1.2.2 Oversight Institutions Enhanced Citizenry
Component 2 – Component 1 – Component 3 – Independent Local Government Adjudication of Oversight Accountability Corruption Cases Institutions
Impact Level Impact Level Impact Level Increased Public Increased Follow-up to Increased Adjudication of Participation in Local Oversight Institutions’ Corruption Cases Government Decision- Recommendations making and Oversight
Output Level Output Level Output Level • Increased Effectiveness • Increased Case • Increased opportunity of Independent Investigation and for public input to local Oversight institutions in Management government Corruption Cases • Clearer processes for • Strengthened public participation Monitoring of decision-making Government
Performance
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The Results Framework for GAI, as depicted above, provides the basis of operation for the three components that form this Initiative. GAI’s overall goal – strengthening the accountability of key democratic institutions in Serbia (DO.1) – aims to deliver two important Interim Results: IR 1.1 - Government Institutions More Responsive to Citizens, and IR 1.2 - Rule of Law and Oversight Improved.
Improving Government Responsiveness on the Local Level
GAI activities are designed to provide support to local governments to enable them to more effectively respond to citizens’ needs, as well as to implement standards and good practices in the field of accountable government consistent with their legal obligations.
GAI’s technical assistance assumes that each local government has unique characteristics with differing capacities; therefore, technical assistance is tailored to the specific needs of each local government. GAI has offered local governments support in areas of importance to citizens, including adoption, implementation, and monitoring of local anti-corruption plans; improving transparency of their work; enhancing civic participation; and providing the prerequisites for whistleblower protection. To share lessons learned, GAI is supporting the exchange of experiences and successes among local governments.
Independent Oversight Improved
To optimize the results and impact of the work of SAI, GAI is supporting the institution to fulfill its mandate consistent with current international professional standards, and reflective of risk- based oversight of government. Assistance is designed to enhance the utility of SAI’s work to the National Assembly, to elevate the level of public appreciation for anti-corruption efforts, and to increase the likelihood that SAI’s audit report recommendations lead to concrete, meaningful improvements in Serbian public sector governance and government delivery of services to the public. GAI aims to achieve sustainable, long lasting results, and build on prior USAID assistance to SAI that included training in performance auditing to build SAI’s capacities to assess whether public entities are achieving economic, efficient, and effective use of available resources.
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GAI’s support to ACA includes a multi-fold capacity building effort to implement ACA’s specific strategic goals, derived with GAI’s support in Y1, and focus on strategies to prevent and detect corruption and enhance productive collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Misdemeanor Courts, specialized anti-corruption PPOs.
Oversight of government is highly correlated with citizens’ access to information. GAI support to the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection (CPI) will focus on promotion of the Right to Know, raising awareness of the importance of free access to public information, and encouraging institutions to be more open in response to citizen, civil society organizations (CSOs), and media requests for public information. GAI will focus on the right of citizens to have access to government information. Until the new Commissioner is appointed, GAI will continue its focus on development of awareness raising campaigns in support of CPI’s mission.
The Law on the Organization and Competences of State Organs in Fight Against Organized Crime, Corruption and Terrorism Financing established specialized anti-corruption court units and public prosecutor offices. The Law, adopted by the National Assembly in 2016, came into force in March 2018. GAI supports the specialized anti-corruption courts and Public Prosecutors’ Offices to enhance their capacities to perform duties newly defined in the Law, identify information critical to improve efficiency in adjudication, and enhance the procedures for data collection to ensure data quality and security. GAI also will facilitate the creation of an Electronic Register of Corruption Cases to enable a seamless interface for specialized corruption court and PPO data, leading in turn to improved case management, monitoring, and adjudication of corruption cases.
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ACTIVITY IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS
In this reporting period, GAI received USAID approval of the updated Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP). The proposed revisions to the AMELP reflect GAI’s consideration of the priorities of the leadership of counterpart institutions, GAI assessments of technical skill levels and operating procedures of counterparts and their information systems, and revised performance measures for the outcomes GAI activities will affect. GAI has also taken into consideration feedback received from counterparts, the results of the survey of 2018 Citizens’ Perceptions of Anticorruption Efforts in Serbia, and the Local Transparency Index scores of counterpart LSGs.
I. Local Government Accountability
GAI Component 1 focuses on providing support to LSGs to increase accountability and inclusiveness in public decision-making. In the reporting period, GAI intensified support to local governments in areas including LAP development and monitoring, increasing local government transparency, public participation, financial discipline, and increasing quality of local service delivery.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
SUPPORT INCLUSIVENESS TRANSPARENCY to 7 LSGs in fortifying engaging the PUBLIC in the work of the LSGs ACCOUNTABILITY in in policy development to BATTLE their daily work and MONITORING CORRUPTION
Source: Clipart from shutterstock.com
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GAI has continued the implementation of tailor-made technical assistance to the first group of seven local self-governments selected, signatories to the November 2018 Memoranda of Cooperation with USAID. GAI has prepared and launched a second Open Call for expression of interest for cooperation with the Initiative.
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1.1 Local Anti-corruption Action Plan (LAP) Development and Oversight
During the reporting period, GAI through Transparency Serbia (TS) continued to provide technical assistance in development or revision of Local Anti-Corruption Plans to Raška, Sjenica, Vrnjačka Banja, and Vranje. As a result, local assemblies in three LSGs adopted LAPs. Vranje has finalized its LAP, and the document is pending adoption by the local assembly in September. Technical assistance was provided to Šabac to make the independent body for monitoring LAP implementation operational.
1.1.A Design/Revision of LAPs and Establishment of Independent Monitoring Bodies –TS has continued assisting five LSGs in the development/revision of LAPs and the establishment of independent monitoring bodies. As indicated in the previous quarterly report, the support delivered has identified that LSGs lack capacities to draft the LAPs, and the public lacks interest to take an active part in the process. In the second quarter, technical assistance focused on facilitating the operation of the working groups tasked with LAP drafting/revisions. The objective was to ensure that public hearings were held before LAP adoption and that the interested public was invited to submit comments and suggestions. Prior to LAP adoption, GAI assisted all supported LSGs to hold roundtables to present the LAPs and discuss the suggestions and comments made by the public. All roundtables had satisfactory media coverage.
Each adopted LAP reflects the specific characteristics and circumstances of the corresponding LSGs. Each LAP identifies corruption risks and corruption prone areas specific for each LSG, while envisaging preventive measures designed in consideration of local implementing capacities. Also, TS experts intensively coached members of the working groups that drafted the LAPs. They led them through the analysis of the Model LAP recommended by ACA, as well as corruption risk assessment and preventive measure development. The working groups were active in identifying specific risks in their administrations that led to inclusion of additional areas and activities beyond those prescribed by ACA. For example, the LAP in Vranje envisages an Annual Anti-Corruption Award, while the LAP in Raška envisages intensive anti-corruption and good governance trainings for local administration over the next two years. The LAP in Vrnjačka Banja
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envisages additional measures to increase transparency and public oversight over local Assembly. o Development of Raška’s LAP – The Municipality of Raška, supported by TS, established its Working Group for LAP development with three civil society organization (CSO) representatives in January. The Working Group prepared the draft LAP and held a public hearing, LAP MEDIA COVERAGE which ended on May 21, 2019. The Municipal Assembly adopted the revised GAI worked with the local media to provide information on the LAPs and to cover the and improved LAP on June 26, 2019. public hearings. GAI and TS will continue to assist Raška, • Raška – Draft LAP for Raška Municipality focusing on the establishment of an Local Anti-Corruption Plan for Raška independent LAP monitoring body. Public Hearing on the LAP in Raška
o Revision of LAPs in Vranje, • Vranje – GAI: on the LAP and LAF Vrnjačka Banja, and Sjenica – The Public Hearing on LAP for City of Vranje foci of GAI’s support to these three LAF -Independent Government Corrector LSGs are improving their existing LAPs, LAP for Accountable Governance aligning them with the model Only One Citizen Present at LAP Hearing recommended by the Anticorruption LAP Public Hearing Held LAP for the Introduction of Accountable Agency, and electing independent Governance monitoring bodies. LAP for Accountable Governance Revised LAP Public Hearing Held o With TS support, Vranje LAP Public Hearing in Vranje established its Working Group for LAF will Be Formed until the End of 2019 LAP Development with one civil • Vrnjačka Banja – society representative in January. Revised LAP Adopted The draft LAP was open to public Public Hearing for Vrnjačka Banja LAP Finalized discussion and the public hearing • Sjenica – Call for Public Hearing for Revised LAP was held on July 22, 2019. In Sjenica’s LAP Available for Public Scrutiny absence of any comments from LAP in Sjenica Open to Public Debate the public, the draft LAP will be Sjenica’s LAP Available for Public Comments reviewed by the City Council and Public Consultations for Sjenica’s LAP
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should be adopted by the Assembly in September. Following adoption of the LAP, GAI and TS will continue to provide support to establish an independent monitoring body.
o Vrnjačka Banja formed its Working Group with two civil sector representatives on January 21. The draft LAP produced by the Working Group was presented for public comment, and the final public hearing was held on June 3, 2019. The Municipal Assembly adopted the revised LAP on June 5, 2019. This LSG will be further supported to establish the independent LAP monitoring body.
o The Working Group in Sjenica was formed with two representatives from civil society and one member of the public on January 17. The work on LAP revision was led and heavily supported by TS experts. The draft LAP was presented to the public via a public hearing process, completed on May 7, 2019. The Municipal Assembly adopted the LAP on June 7, 2019.
o Establishment of Monitoring Bodies – GAI, through TS, is providing technical assistance to the independent monitoring body for LAP implementation in Šabac. During the reporting period, TS organized two workshops with members of the independent monitoring body to strengthen their capacities and knowledge on LAP monitoring, communication with local administration and the public, and collection of information for reporting. The workshops included input from representatives of BIRODI, an organization with wide experience in LAP monitoring, and former members of the Local Anti-Corruption Forum from Nis, the first LAP independent monitoring body in Serbia. TS guided the adoption of the body’s Operating Procedures and Code of Ethics and supported development of the body’s Annual Operational Plan.
o Frequently Asked Questions on LAP – GAI finalized the design and shared with ACA Frequently Asked Questions on LAP (LAP FAQ) which were developed by BIRODI, in cooperation with ACA and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM). The document provides answers to 51 questions asked by
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LSGs during the process of LAP development and will help local governments to overcome challenges identified in the process of LAP development.
1.1.B Raising Public Awareness – The process of LAP drafting in all four assisted LSGs was publicly announced and promoted through press conferences, public calls for WG participation for interested members of the public and representatives of CSOs, as well as through public hearings held on draft LAPs prior to their adoption. Counterpart LSGs, GAI, and TS used press advisories, press statements, and social media to communicate progress in LAP implementation. The public hearing processes in each supported LSG ended with public roundtables to discuss all received comments and suggestions. Local media outlets followed and reported on the process. It should be noted that public interest in this topic is generally weak in all LSGs. It indicates a lack of tradition in public participation, general lack of trust in local governments, and the widespread opinion that personal input does not matter. On the other side, feedback received from all roundtables indicates that GAI support has significantly contributed to the credibility of the process.
1.1.C Workshop on LAP Monitoring Mechanisms – In Q2, TS has been implementing the methodology GAI developed for the coordination of LAP implementation and monitoring in Šabac and will continue to use it in supporting the other four LSGs in LAP monitoring. Although ACA confirmed the usefulness of the proposed methodology, it has not yet adopted it in the form of guidelines/principles on LAP monitoring.
1.2 Transparency
All seven LSGs in the first group of GAI counterparts expressed a need to improve communication of relevant information to the public to increase transparency in governance. GAI has initiated technical assistance to create more user-friendly platforms for local government engagement with the public.
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1.2.A Website and Social Media Platform Improvement – In Q1, GAI developed a model website for local governments based on legal requirements and good governance principles, and reflective of functions and services performed by local governments that local residents require. GAI also created an IT tool to evaluate local websites, provide guidelines on website maintenance , and to generate recommendations for improvement. This tool can be also used by local governments to conduct self-assessment of their websites and to track future progress. A workshop to present the models for website and Facebook content, as well as individual recommendations for counterpart LSG websites, was held in Belgrade on April 8, 2019.
Representatives from the seven partner LSGs joined GAI for an interactive workshop to discuss recommended improvements to their individual websites and strategies for immediate and longer-term solutions. Representatives from TS and of other donor projects working in the IT arena joined the workshop.
GAI is now piloting the website model with the City of Vranje. Vranje also requested GAI’s assistance to include a budget portal during development of the new website. The selected web developer, 30 Hills, began working on the website and budget portal in July.
Early in July, GAI followed up with counterpart LSGs on progress made in implementing the recommendations provided to each LSG for website improvement. Sombor is continuously working on aligning its website with GAI recommendations to increase data accessibility and visibility. Dimitovgrad initiated the development of a new municipal website based on GAI’s recommendations. Sjenica intends to work on an e-government section of
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its website beginning in September. GAI will continue monitoring implementation of recommendations.
1.2.B Use of Social Media for Improved Interaction with Residents – GAI organized a two-day, hands-on workshop with internet and electronic media specialists, the Executive Group, on June 18-19, 2019, in Belgrade to enhance local governments’ use of social media to communicate with the public.
The workshop was developed especially for local government representatives responsible for public relations management, communication with the public, and social media management. Officials from mayors’ cabinets, local economic development and youth offices, and local administration units participated in the training. The workshop agenda focused on areas participants pre-identified as opportunities for growth such as: communication strategy development, knowing your target audience, creation of a social media campaign, crisis communications, and use of social media metrics to improve communication.
1.2.C Action Plans to Respond to LTI Scores – The activity is planned for Q3-Q4, as it relies on the published scores of the 2018 LTI.
On May 16, 2019, during USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Brock Bierman’s visit to Serbia, GAI organized a USAID Serbia workshop on LSG actions taken to enhance governance. Transparency Serbia facilitated the discussion with representatives of
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Sombor, Šabac, Vranje, Raška, Sjenica, Dimitrovgrad, and Vrnjačka Banja, focused on preliminary results of TS’ 2019 Local Transparency Index.
The participants discussed the importance of the support of GAI and the impact of cooperation in the defined areas to improve the results of the Local Transparency Index in the next cycles of the research. Key areas of cooperation include the improvement of web presentations, transparency of the budget process, the involvement of citizens in the process of developing local policies, development, implementation, and monitoring of local anti-corruption plans, improvement of the quality of local services, and transparency of the work of local public enterprises.
1.3 Public Participation
In the reporting period, GAI focused on building capacities of the counterpart LSGs, to improve conduct of public hearings and citizen engagement in planning budgets and local economic development. GAI will support public awareness campaigns to raise the interest among businesses, associations, and the general public to take part in the processes.
1.3.A Guidance for Organization of Public Hearings – With GAI support, the City of Sombor adopted a new approach for the preparation and organization of public hearings on the 2020 Budget. A Working Group was appointed to implement the newly developed action plan for the organization of the public hearing related to the budget. GAI’s support will continue from August to December 2019, to implement Sombor’s Action Plan for the Organization of a Public Hearing on the 2020 Budget and promote public hearings to raise awareness and facilitate public participation.
1.3.B Obtaining Public Input for Local Economic Development Program Planning – Technical assistance provided to Dimitrovgrad in Q1 resulted in the adoption of the Action Plan for the Organization of the Public Hearing for the 2020 Annual Local Economic Development Program and the appointment of a Working Group that will lead its implementation. During the reporting period, GAI initiated technical assistance to support the Working Group with implementation of the Municipality’s action plan.
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1.4 Municipal Open Budgets
GAI is working with the LSGs to facilitate a culture of openness and information sharing on public spending.
1.4.A Development of Budget Portal in Vranje – During Q2, GAI developed the specifications and opened the call for provision of services to develop a new website and budget portal for the City of Vranje. The specifications took into consideration recommendations developed, based on international best practices on use of budget portals for citizen participation in budget planning and oversight, feedback from three focus group discussions with residents of Vranje, and a workshop with Vranje officials, held on April 5, 2019. GAI contracted 30 Hills to create the new website and open budget portal, and on July 16 met with the City officials to agree on the timeframe and activities to be undertaken. It is expected that the new website and budget portal will be developed in Q3.
1.4.B Workshops on Increasing Financial Discipline – As a result of discussions with representatives of Vrnjačka Banja in Q1, GAI conducted a comprehensive assessment of local public finances in the Municipal administration and local budget beneficiaries (i.e., local public companies and other public services) and produced a set of draft recommendations to improve financial discipline (budget planning and execution, and reporting on spending).
Training for officials and managers of the local administration and other local public entities of Vrnjačka Banja, based on the recommendations, was delivered on April 23 and 24, 2019. The workshop was attended by representatives of 37 local budget users from the municipality of Vrnjačka Banja including the sports center, kindergartens, public companies responsible for communal services, tourist organization, cultural center, health center, local library, and municipal finance and budget departments. The training agenda included presentation of the analysis and recommendations for the local finance and budget process,
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including program and capital budgeting and the public participation practices. Participants provided feedback on the draft recommendations and proposed actions to contribute to local finance strengthening, like the establishment of an independent budget advisory body (such as the Fiscal Council that operates on the national level) or restructuring tourist festival and event funding to include private sector co-funding, especially from new investors in tourism. Participants expressed an interest in attending follow-up and more advanced training to strengthen local program and capital budgeting processes in the future.
Drawing on the workshop conclusions, the consultants developed a set of recommendations on local finance improvement, which were shared with Vrnjačka Banja officials to improve local budgeting and public finance management.
1.4.C Development of Public Expenditure Tracking Tools – This activity has been postponed to Q3 and Q4, given that other specific technical assistance provided to LSGs was identified as priority. GAI continues to try to identify adequate national and local level partners to initiate dialogue about these tools.
1.5 Public Services
Based on the assessment of public services in five counterpart LSGs including Sombor, Šabac, Vrnjačka Banja, Raška, and Dimitrovgrad, GAI initiated the following interventions:
1.5.A Customer Satisfaction Surveys – GAI selected CESID to administer customer satisfaction surveys in five LSGs (Sombor, Šabac, Vrnjačka Banja, Raška, and Dimitrovgrad). GAI and CESID administered surveys of individuals and businesses in Sombor, Šabac, Raška, and Dimitrovgrad in June and July. The survey in Vrnjačka Banja will be organized in August. The survey results will identify public services that should be improved and will provide a baseline and methodology for LSGs to continually monitor quality of specific services.
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1.5.B Establishment of Single Administrative Points – This support is focused on the cities of Sombor and Šabac, to help them establish single administrative points (SAPs) for procedures for local government departments that administer high volume transactions suffering from serious backlogs. In the reporting period, GAI continued intensive consultations with both Sombor and Šabac, as well as the Administrative Efficiency Project implemented by GIZ and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (STCM), to identify the type of support needed. With ambiguities in the legal framework and obstacles in merging services and procedures that are administered from the national level, GAI’s strategy was to first identify procedures that are locally administered and identify opportunities for their merger and optimization. Following consultations with various stakeholders, GAI is providing the following technical assistance:
o In Sombor, GAI held a workshop with City administration representatives and identified several opportunities for creating SAPs. Sombor identified several opportunities such as social services provided by local administration, e.g., the consolidation of the request for granting the customer energy-vulnerable status with the request for subsidizing the price of utility services, or the consolidation of requests for financial support for children from the same family on the basis of the already realized right to financial social assistance. Also, representatives cited the potential to merge procedures for recording the change of property ownership (in the tax administration) with recording the change in parties responsible for payment of utilities (in public utility companies). GAI is currently conducting a feasibility analysis for each of the identified options to select the service to implement the SAP.
o In Šabac, GAI organized a joint meeting with SCTM to discuss opportunities for SAP creation and coordination of technical assistance. Based on the agreement, GAI is focusing on merging procedures for the change of citizens’ data upon residence change and simultaneous change of personal data in all local entities, as well as optimization of procedures for specific social benefits.
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1.5.C Improvement of Communal Services – Based on the customer service survey, GAI identified the type of technical assistance to Raška and Vrnjačka Banja.
o Raška – GAI will provide technical assistance to establish effective mechanisms for public oversight over local public investments in utilities/infrastructure and quality of work done. The selected subcontractor will develop a methodology for public monitoring and quality assessment of local investments in utility infrastructure and an appropriate community-based monitoring tool, such as a community score card, that will enable public oversight over implementation of Raška’s Annual Investment Plan for 2019.
o Vrnjačka Banja – Based on the findings of the satisfaction survey, and given that tourism is the main economic sector in Vrnjačka Banja, GAI agreed with the LSG to support development of a monitoring system to enable users of services to report problems with service delivered by any local utility provider via a single text message, phone call, or email, and to receive an answer within 48 hours. GAI will confirm with municipal leadership including the Mayor of Vrnjačka Banja and local companies their mutual commitment to support development and sustained implementation given complexities of such systems.
1.5.D Improvement of Municipal Services in Dimitrovgrad – The LSG addressed the customer survey results indicating the need to improve efficiency of municipal services by establishing a document management system, internal reporting mechanisms, and monitoring of day-to- day performance of the administration by residents and businesses. Since the SwissPRO project is assisting Dimitrovgrad to improve procedures, GAI is currently verifying whether GAI support to develop and implement the document management system is necessary, or if the assistance will be provided by SwissPRO.
1.5.E Workshop on Electronic Governance – As mentioned above, GAI organized a workshop on the model website and Facebook content and invited the Office for E-Government to discuss with the LSGs website content requirements. Unfortunately, the representatives of the Office for E-Government were unable to attend. Following finalization of the website model, GAI provided the model to the Office for E-Government for comments, but no
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response was received. GAI will continue to explore the possibility to hold a workshop for Group 1 and Group 2 LSGs on topics relevant to and challenging for e-governance.
1.6 Whistleblower Protection
Execution of the first subcontract with Pištaljka in Q1 2019 resulted in the organization of three rounds of basic trainings, and Recommendations for Rulebooks on Whistleblower Protection at the Local Level distributed to all LSGs that participated in whistleblower trainings. GAI negotiated a second subcontract that includes implementation of the fourth round of basic training and advanced training for designated persons.
1.6.A Basic Training on Whistleblower Protection – Activity completed and reported on in Q1.
1.6.B Handbook for Persons Designated to Manage Whistleblower Protection Programs – Pištaljka and GAI expert Tom Devine prepared the handbook in this reporting period. The handbook should facilitate the work of authorized persons and includes information from basic and advanced trainings on whistleblowers protection.
1.6.C Advanced Trainings on Whistleblower Protection in LSGs – GAI is the first donor-assisted activity to offer training to local governments on whistleblower protection and to assist them to set up internal whistleblowing systems. Based on feedback from previous trainings on the basics of whistleblower protection, GAI organized a two-day Advanced Whistleblower Protection Training workshop for local governments in Belgrade on June 5- 6, 2019. The workshop was delivered by GAI’s international whistleblowing expert, Mr. Tom Devine, and Pištaljka.
A total of 31 participants including designated persons and heads of local administration representing 17 local government units participated in this highly engaging, dynamic workshop. The training was the first of its kind and provided deeper insights into whistleblower protection practices through case simulation specifically
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prepared for persons who attended the basic whistleblower training sessions organized by GAI throughout Serbia.
Trainers used role-playing exercises to focus participants on communication with whistleblowers, better understanding of the scope of the Law on Whistleblower Protection1 and relevant procedures, and the development of skills and investigative techniques necessary to take action based on internal whistleblower reports.
Participants’ evaluations of the workshop indicated very high satisfaction with the training. Almost all participants indicated they would recommend the workshop to other colleagues. Participants cited the interactive format of the workshop, extensive use of case studies and simulation of work with whistleblowers as the most positive aspects of the workshop.
In July, GAI followed up with participants in prior training to determine if they were able to implement knowledge gained during the workshop and actions taken to improve internal whistleblowing systems in LSGs. Respondents cited improvements made in rulebooks on internal whistleblower procedures, e.g., in Nova Varoš. Respondents from the municipality of Sjenica and the Internal Audit Office of City of Belgrade noted appointment of participants in the training as the first-ever persons authorized to receive whistleblower reports.
1.6.D Implementation of Whistleblower Protection in LSGs – With GAI support, Pištaljka provided technical assistance to the City of Šabac to develop a rulebook on whistleblowing procedures that is in line with GAI and Pištaljka recommendations and adjusted to the local context. As a result, Šabac developed an innovative solution to have a designated commission of three people receive whistleblowing reports instead of a single person.
1 Published in the Official Journal of the Republic of Serbia No. 128/2014
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The rulebook adoption, as well as appointment of several commission members, were completed in March. All commission members attended basic and advanced whistleblower protection trainings while further support is provided for development of Rule of Operations and development of a flyer for informing local administration employees on internal whistleblowing procedure.
1.7 Selection of Local Self-Governments – Second Open Call
On July 16, 2019, GAI opened the second Open Call for LSGs to express their interest to cooperate with GAI on initiatives to create more transparent and accountable governance. This call, unlike the 2018 initiative, is open to municipalities within cities. The Open Call was published on GAI’s website2 and distributed to all LSGs in Serbia. The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, ACA, STCM, and NALED have agreed to disseminate information on the call through their networks. The call will be open until August 9.
Coordination with Other Implementers
GAI continues to maintain and update the inventory of on-going assistance on local governance provided to specific LSGs, and to coordinate technical assistance with other implementers. During the reporting period, coordination with SCTM was seen as a top priority, as they are involved in a number of donor projects which offer support to areas (such as LAPs, whistleblower protection, efficiency and quality of local services), that have potential for overlap with GAI support as well as with the SwissPRO project that provides technical assistance in good governance to LSGs south of Belgrade.
II. Independent Oversight Institutions
In the reporting period, GAI has continued to support SAI’s newly established performance audit capacities and ACA’s leadership in operationalizing ACA’s recently adopted Strategic Plan.
2 For more information please refer to www.odgovornavlast.rs .
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INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT INSITUTIONS
SKILL COMMUNICATION POLICIES AND DEVELOPMENT leading to common PROCEDURES advancing IOIs UNDERSTANDING of are introduced to CAPACITIES and the IOIs findings to STRENGTHEN IOIs EFFECTIVENESS BOOST FOLLOW-UP internally
Clipart source: shutterstock.com, freepick.com, canstockphoto.com
2.1 Assistance to State Audit Institution
GAI’s assistance to SAI remains focused on strengthening oversight of government performance as well as assisting SAI to optimize reporting and communication to stakeholders for better utilization of SAI’s reports. SAI President Duško Pejović also expressed interest to continue to cooperate with GAI to improve public finance management and accountability of public spending in GAI’s work with local self-governments.
2.1.A SAI Strategic Plan Update and Performance Measurement – GAI continued work with SAI’s Sector for Methodology and Development, which is responsible for updates to the Strategic Plan and refining SAI’s methodology for measuring performance against SAI’s Strategic Goals. SAI requested GAI assistance to develop a consistent methodology to report financial and non-financial effects of its audits. SAI leadership intends for the methodology to be used by all audit sectors for all types of audits. To that end, GAI consultants reviewed and recommended revisions to SAI’s quality control and quality assurance policy and checklists to be included in the Performance Audit Manual. Support to the Sector for Methodology and Development is being provided by GAI experts that are mentoring the performance audit teams. In the course of mentoring performance audit teams in July, GAI also assisted the teams in examining evidence collected to support the teams’ reporting on
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the financial and non-financial benefits expected if auditees implement expected audit recommendations.
2.1.B Mentoring Performance Audits – GAI continued its technical assistance to SAI’s development of performance audit skills by supporting the 12 newly established performance audit teams who are conducting performance audits this year. The teams continued to refine their respective audit methodologies to collect evidence and began development of report messages, in accord to the 2019 Annual Work Plan approved by the SAI Council.
GAI’s three experts, Mr. Jess Ford, Mr. Stephen Caldwell, and Ms. Laurie Ekstrand, continue to provide a combination of remote and in- country assistance to SAI teams as the audits progress. During April, Mr. Ford and Ms. Ekstrand used audio-video conferencing to discuss with each audit team audit scope, data limitations, and audit methodologies. GAI developed and distributed to the teams guidance on improving sampling methods.
In-country mentoring provided by Mr. Ford and Ms. Ekstrand in July (8-19), focused on message agreement, report writing, and quality assurance. Attention was also given to review of relevant manuals and policies for alignment with current practices of the 12 performance audit teams. The experts addressed the challenges faced by audit teams and reviewed the objectives and strategies to reach message agreement given evidence that teams had collected to date.
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GAI met with SAI leadership to address the challenges identified in audit planning, risk- based approach to topic selection, as well as approving the audit scope, research objectives, and identifying auditees.
GAI discussed with SAI the overly broad scope of some of the performance audits. Audit teams have encountered poor record keeping by auditees and slow or no responses to audit team requests for data. The relatively short deadline that SAI leadership set for teams to submit draft reports also challenges teams’ abilities to complete data gathering and analysis necessary to draft their reports.
GAI also noted that audit criteria lacked specificity for certain research objectives and the design matrices often were not being utilized as tools to guide the data collection and analysis during the audits. Plenary discussions, facilitated by GAI experts and Chief of Party, were held on July 18 and 19 with the audit teams, Sector for Methodology and Development, audit Sector Heads, and the President-Auditor General to review progress in performance audit implementation and GAI’s suggestions delivered in the course of mentoring assistance. Each team presented their preliminary findings based on evidence collected in the course of audits and was tasked to convince internal stakeholders including audit leadership that the evidence provided a sufficient basis for report messages and potential recommendations. SAI leadership, GAI experts, and auditors from Sector for Methodology and Development
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in charge of institutional level quality SAI: Tone at the Top and Inattention to Internal Controls Contribute to Billions in assurance provided comments. GAI Financial Misstatements and Irregularities in Serbia discussed the need for SAI to manage institutional risk that is inherently higher for SAI President Dr. Duško Pejović announced in a May press conference that SAI’s 2018 audits found RSD 217 performance audits than for financial and billion dinars in misstatements and irregularities in state financial management. He emphasized that if state compliance audits, which do not question authorities properly trained persons preparing financial statements, many misstatements would have been the effectiveness or efficiency of policy averted, and condition in the country would have been much better. SAI’s report emphasized that the implementation by government. President procurement of goods and services not executed in Pejović committed to re-asses potential compliance with the Law on Public Procurement amounted to 1.82 billion of irregularities found in audit risks, audit scopes, and provide high compliance audits. quality control of the audits. Mr. Pejović President Pejović announced that with GAI’s support, SAI will improve their quantification of the effect of lack confirmed the value of GAI’s assistance to of financial accountability in Government’s expenditures. SAI will track implementation of its audit SAI and expressed appreciation for the recommendations and measure its quantitative and qualitative impact on good governance by reporting assistance from GAI experts. He also opportunities to increase revenue collections, identify potential savings in expenditures, and define pointed out that additional assistance would improvements in government performance to benefit be needed for SAI to learn how to measure the citizens of Serbia. SAI Identified Irregularities in Financial Management in 2017 potential audit effects, as well as to update Amounting to RSD 217 Billion SAI: In 2017, Irregularities in Financial Management Amounted to all policies and procedures in performance EUR 1.8 Billion auditing and handling classified information SAI identified irregularities in financial management in 2017 worth RSD 217 Billion during the course of audits. SAI: We Detected Irregularities in Financial Management Worth € 1.8 Billion in 2017 SAI: During 2017, 217 Billion Dinars of State Money Improperly GAI will continue working with SAI Spent leadership to address the challenges State Auditors Filed 21 Criminal Charges SAI: Chagres against Five Faculties identified with the review of the work Even Political Parties are Put Under a Microscope performed by the audit teams in audit Last Year's Mistakes Amounted to RSD 217 Billion planning and implementation, as well as the AUDIT INSTITUTION: RSD 217 Billion from the Serbian Budget Incorrectly Spent! review of the risk-based criteria and AND WE WONDER WHY WE ARE A POOR COUNTRY: The State Incorrectly Spent € 1.8 billion! approach to topic selection and process for SAI: In 2017, Irregularities in Financial Management Amounted to RSD 217 Billion identifying auditees for the SAI Council’s SAI Identified Financial Management Irregularities in 2017 Worth consideration of future performance audits. RSD 217 Billion Irregularities Amounting to RSD 217 Billion Identified with Budget Users
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2.1.C Study Tour to U.S. Oversight Institutions, Washington, DC – Although diligently planned and intensive preparatory activities were carried out through April and May, the Study visit for the delegation of SAI and National Assembly (NA) representatives to Washington, DC, had to be rescheduled for a later date to be determined. The trip was postponed due to unexpected additional administrative visa processing by the US Embassy.
2.1.D Improved System for Recommendation Follow-Up – During Q2, Ms. Ekstrand began reviewing SAI’s existing policies and procedures for audit recommendation follow-up. Ms. Ekstrand held consultations with the Sector for Methodology and Development to examine possible adoption of best practices in the area of recommendation follow-up and the assessment of possible audit outputs, outcomes, and impact. Ms. Ekstrand reviewed policies and checklists for quality control on all levels including the team leaders, sector heads, and the Sector for Methodology level. She strongly recommended the reduction of questions in SAI checklists to obtain relevant information within the quality assurance framework.
GAI will continue working with the Sector for Methodology to develop policies and procedures for a more efficient, uniform, and effective recommendation follow-up system. GAI will also assist SAI to measure impact of past performance audits.
2.1.E Communication, Outreach and Visibility – GAI contracted Ms. Bogdanka Rangelov of Keynote Communications to improve SAI’s communication with media and the public. Ms. Rangelov focused on development of a comprehensive Communication Strategy and guidelines to support messaging of SAI’s new directions and expansion of the performance audit approach to government oversight.
Ms. Rangelov held a kick-off meeting with SAI on April 23, 2019, with President Pejović, the Secretary of SAI, and the Head of International Cooperation and Public Relations. SAI provided Ms. Rangelov an overview of their current policies and procedures related to communications and public relations, some of their related concerns and issues, and introduced her to their internal strategic goal to maintain and improve the reputation of SAI, as well as the aim to increase the outreach of their messages, findings, and recommendations.
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Based on meetings with SAI, an analysis of SAI’s website; media relations policies, procedures, and practices; SAI’s media coverage for 2018 and 2019; and online research, Ms. Rangelov delivered an initial assessment of SAI’s outreach and external communication to current target audiences.
Ms. Rangelov developed a methodology to produce an external communications strategy and operational guidelines for SAI targeted to media and the public. GAI will continue to work with SAI on its communications strategies with the National Assembly, auditees, and other relevant stakeholders in recognition that a comprehensive communications strategy should address all external stakeholders. Perceptions of SAI were collected using in-person surveys of the public and journalists.
In order to create synergies with other donor assistance to SAI, on May 20, 2019, GAI met with SAI and the UNDP project staff supporting SAI and it was agreed that GAI will provide SAI technical assistance to modernize its website content and UNDP will oversee technical IT development upgrades.
2.1.F. Enhancing Utilization of SAI Reporting – During the course of audits, GAI has continued to provide technical assistance to SAI on message development and reporting structure of audit findings and recommendations to optimize the possibility that auditees and the National Assembly will read and utilize SAI performance audit reports. During the in- country mentoring assistance sessions, Mr. Ford proposed for SAI consideration strategies for SAI’s interface with relevant National Assembly Committees on select performance audit topics to increase NA utilization of SAI reporting for oversight of government performance, legislative action, and support for action to be taken by auditees. GAI will help SAI to develop strategies to improve National Assembly utilization of SAI reporting and support implementation of SAI recommendations to auditees and as required, legislative action on SAI reporting by Committees beyond the National Assembly Committee on Finance, State Budget, and Control of Public Spending (NA Committee).
2.1.G. Strengthening SAI and NA Cooperation – Committee Chair Dr. Aleksandra Tomić requested that GAI support the NA Committee to plan a Committee session with SAI President Pejović’s presentation of SAI audit recommendations for legislative and
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administrative improvements of programs in a municipality. The session will be structured to provide an opportunity for the NA Committee and SAI to more fully explore the benefits of collaborative oversight. GAI has requested and is awaiting Chair Tomić to designate Committee staff and MPs to work with GAI on the content and structure of the local session.
2.2 Assistance to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)
Assistance to ACA was provided to implement the Agency’s strategic goals to execute its mandate.
2.2.A Operational Plan and Performance Measurement –GAI facilitated ACA’s adoption of its five-year Strategic Plan 2019-2023, which the Agency published on its website in April 20193. Prior to publication, ACA did not finalize performance measures or define specific activities and corresponding timelines to operationalize its five-year plan. ACA requested additional support from GAI to refine the draft performance measures and develop a corresponding operational plan. On April 22, GAI delivered a workshop on key performance indicators for ACA senior management. The workshop was attended by ten ACA senior officials. The purpose of the workshop was to review strategic key performance indicators (KPIs) drafted in the course of preparation of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan and verify their applicability, measurability, and reliability. The workshop resulted in revision of the draft KPIs that will be finalized and aligned with the Strategic Plan. The KPIs will require setting baselines, targets, and data sources/data collection measures with GAI’s technical assistance.
To implement the Strategic Plan, GAI is assisting ACA to develop an operational plan with strategies to implement the new focus on its mandated activities for the first. Mr. Ljubomir Trajkovski, Operational Planning Specialist, was contracted to provide technical assistance to ACA in developing its 2019-2020 Operational Plan.
Mr. Trajkovski delivered the first Operational Planning Workshop for ACA on July 9 – 10, 2019. Prior to the workshop, on July 8, he met with the ACA Director and Assistant
3 The document is available at: http://www.acas.rs/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/STRATEGIC-PLAN-ENG- 03_print.pdf
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Director for International Cooperation to discuss assistance in developing ACA’s 2019- 2020 Operational Plan. The workshop was attended by 16 ACA senior officials and the staff who were introduced to operational planning tools and techniques, including a balanced score card, an R.A.S.C.I. Matrix, the Walt Disney Circle Action Planning Model, and a logical framework approach. ACA representatives fulfilled self-assessment and SOAR assessment questionnaires that will be used by the consultant to facilitate the operational planning process. At the workshop, the consultant facilitated an exercise to identify activities linked to two Strategic Plan operational goals, define results and discuss potential KPIs. This exercise will be replicated by ACA operational plan development teams during the development of the operational plan in the coming period.
After the workshop, individual follow-up meetings with the heads and representatives of ACA’s sectors were organized on July 11 to discuss the challenges in operational planning process, the future steps and the roles of the members involved in this process. Mr. Trajkovski delivered the updated workbook for ACA to be used by ACA operational plan development teams (OPDTs) during the development of the Operational Plan. ACA has committed to establish OPDTs and to deliver the proposed dates for the individual Skype meetings between OPDTs, GAI, and Mr. Trajkovski. Along with the planned Skype meetings, Mr. Trajkovski will draft a set of operational plan key performance indicators.
2.2.B Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness of ACA –
o Asset and Income Declaration – To create a risk-based strategy to prioritize examination of public officials’ income and asset declaration filings, GAI contracted Mr. Tilman Hoppe, an anti-corruption expert with expertise in the area of income and asset declaration, to develop a risk-based methodology. On June 25, Mr. Hoppe facilitated a roundtable discussion with ACA’s Department for Oversight of Officials’ Assets and Income and the Department for Registers and Records to collect input for an assessment of the Agency’s current procedures for asset and income declaration reviews.
GAI is collaborating with the Organization Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on this initiative. OSCE participated in Mr. Hoppe’s roundtable assessment
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of the methodology. GAI and the OSCE also are jointly planning a regional conference to be held in the fall of 2019 to focus on asset and income oversight practices and application of risk-based methodologies.
Mr. Hoppe assessed ACA’s current practice of maintaining the Register of Officials and the Register of Assets, including ACA’s procedures for developing annual plans for the verification of asset and income reports, and procedures for extraordinary verifications of suspicious reporting of inaccurate and incomplete data. Mr. Hoppe developed a draft risk-based methodology for the selection of public officials, that would then be subject to review and full verification of asset declarations. The methodology calls for ACA to use all possible means beyond the declaration itself to detect any financial irregularity of an official related to his/her declaration.
Mr. Hoppe also reviewed the Asset and Income Declaration Form and the declaration verification process during the roundtable. The review found a lack of monetary thresholds for property and movables of high value to be declared in declarations; lack of clear procedures for self-correction of the declarations; backlogs of declarations to be reviewed for accuracy and registered in the database to become accessible for oversight; inability of ACA to discern which and how many officials are obliged to submit asset declarations; and lack of real-time monitoring of public officials’ compliance with declaration obligations. The assessment, delivered in July, will serve as a guide in the revision and development of a new risk-based methodology for asset and income declaration review.
o Analytical Skill Capacity Building for ACA –GAI contracted Ms. Elizabeth Young, Research and Assessment Specialist, of Singel Consulting to build ACA’s capacity to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of its core oversight functions, including monitoring of asset declaration filings, actions taken on conflict of interest determinations, and reporting to external stakeholders such as the Misdemeanor Courts and PPOs. Ms. Young has been collecting documentation on the performance of ACA Department for Research and Analytics
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and continued research in preparation for her first field visit to Belgrade scheduled for the week of August 19-23.
2.2.C Model Acts of Misconduct – This activity was completed and reported on in the Q1 Report.
2.2.D Conflict of Interest Manual – The GRECO 2017 Compliance Report for Serbia specifically calls for clarifying conflicts of interest for members of parliament, judges, and prosecutors. GAI is assisting ACA to develop a Conflict of Interest Manual to help public officials appropriately identify and manage conflict of interest situations. Mr. Jure Skrbec delivered a draft Conflict of Interest Manual at the end of May. Once the Manual is finalized, it will be presented at a workshop to the staff of the Department for the Conflict of Interest and Lobbying Issues.
2.2.E Enhance Communication and Interaction with the Misdemeanor Courts – Based on the discussions facilitated by GAI between ACA and the Association of Misdemeanor Courts Judges on the implications of the Draft Law on Prevention of Corruption provisions on misdemeanor offences, some of the agreed solutions were included in the Law on Prevention of Corruption adopted by the National Assembly on May 21, 2019. The two most significant solutions included were: a longer statute of limitations for initiating misdemeanor proceedings than the general term (it was raised to 5 years after the offence was committed) and the possibility of concluding a plea-bargain agreement based on confession of a misdemeanor offence (for milder offences). These solutions should lead to a greater number of prosecuted cases, as one of the reasons identified as causing low numbers of prosecuted cases was the short limitation period. The institution of the plea- bargain agreement, which is also a decision on the offence taken by the court, will allow for a swifter decision making and will relieve the courts’ burden of deciding on minor offences.
2.3 Raising Public Awareness on the Right to Access to Information
The term of the previous Commissioner ended in December 2018. The process for the election of the new Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection culminated with the Committee for Culture and Information proposing to the Plenary Mr. Milan Marinović for the function. Mr. Marinović was elected the new Commissioner on July 26, 2019.
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GAI looks forward to establishing renewed cooperation and a technical assistance plan with the new CPI leadership in Q3.
2.3.A Dialogue with CSOs on Use of Public Information – Planned for Q3 2019 and will be reported accordingly.
2.3.B Support to CPI on the Legal Framework for Access to Information – No support under this activity was planned for this reporting period.
III. Adjudication of Corruption Cases
In the reporting period, GAI has continued to support the anti-corruption court units and public prosecutors’ offices in improved adjudication and prosecution of corruption cases, initiated a post-mortem analysis of corruption cases, and worked with the newly established Working Group to deliberate on the possible legal and IT architecture and solutions for the development of an ERCC.
ADJUDICATION OF CORRUPTION CASES
ELECTRONIC SHARING CHAPTER 23 REGISTRY KNOWLEDGE assisting Serbia to to improve corruption to increase meet the case MONITORING ADJUDICATION and EU REPORTING and REPORTING streamline PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS
Clipart source: shutterstock.com
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In April, GAI facilitated a best practice exchange on adjudication of corruption cases, in cooperation with the USAID New Justice Program in Ukraine. At the initiative of the Program, GAI identified Serbian Supreme Court of Cassation Judge Biljana Sinanović to participate in the April 1, 2019 Orientation Program for the 39 newly appointed High Anti-Corruption Court judges of the National School of Judges of Ukraine.
Judge Sinanović opened the session “Comparative Approaches and Lessons Learned in Establishing Anti- Corruption Courts” with senior judges from Slovak Republic, Lithuania, and North Macedonia. The Judge presented the historical development of anti-corruption courts in Serbia, from the Special Department on Organized Crime of the Higher Court in Belgrade to the recently formed Anti-Corruption court units. She recounted the Serbian courts’ challenges and results, plans for the future, and lessons learned during the first year of implementation of the new Law4. Judge Sinanović noted GAI’s ongoing technical assistance to Serbia to draft a Practicum on Investigation and Adjudication of Financial Crimes and Corruption.
3.1 Support to the Anti-Corruption Specialized Court Units
GAI continued to provide support to the specialized A/C court units in Q2, as mapped in GAI Work plan for Y2, reflecting the needs identified during GAI’s initial assessment of the courts prepared in Y1.
3.1.A Practicum on Investigation and Prosecution of Corruption and Economic Crimes – GAI’s working group tasked with drafting the A/C Practicum held six plenary meetings and a series of one-on-one meetings with GAI representatives. The WG also selected
4 Law on the Organization and Jurisdiction of State Organs in the Suppression of Organized Crime, Terrorism and Corruption that came into force in March 2018.
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practitioners to conduct a peer review of the draft Practicum to ensure a wide consultative process in preparing the publication.
In parallel to drafting the text of the Practicum, the WG continued to work on a case study (based on a case prepared by the A/C Unit of the Belgrade Higher PPO) which will be used for the training workshops subsequent to the presentation of the Practicum.
3.1.B Anti-Corruption Case Law Harmonization – In April, the Criminal Division of the SCC and the Supreme Court’s Case Law Working Group formally adopted GAI’s proposal to amend the SCC case law database to produce a list of key words or open descriptors of corruption-related criminal offences5. The new list of offences includes those which were introduced by the 2016 Law on Organized Crime and Corruption.
With the introduction of the new set of key words, users of the SCC case law database are able to track and search cases related to corruption offences which are under the jurisdiction of the specialized anti-corruption court units established in 2018. The most important innovation of the newly adopted change in the database is the introduction of the key words “financial forensic expert” in the evidence section of the list of corruption cases. The inclusion of this position is significant because the 2018 Law is the first to introduce the use of forensic experts into the Serbian legal system.
In May, GAI met with Judge Zoran Ganić, President of the Specialized Court Unit for Suppression of Corruption of Belgrade Higher Court, to discuss further GAI assistance for the A/C courts. GAI discussed support to organize case law harmonization workshops between the A/C court units and the Appellate courts and drafting of a case law bulletin. Other donors, including OSCE and EU, have also expressed interest to cooperate and support this activity. The workshops could be organized twice a year in cooperation with SCC and four Appellate Courts.
5 The amended list of descriptors is available https://www.vk.sud.rs/sites/default/files/otvorena-lista-deskriptora.pdf
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3.1.C Post-Mortem Analysis – In Q2, GAI Selected 4Digits Consulting to conduct a post-mortem analysis of corruption cases, and jointly completed a set of field visits to the specialized A/C court units in July.
First, GAI and 4Digits Consulting met with the President of Higher Court in Belgrade, Judge Aleksandar Stepanović, and the President of the specialized A/C Unit of the Court, Judge Zoran Ganić, to introduce them to the scope of work and discuss sampling of the corruption cases for post-mortem analysis. Judges Stepanović and Ganić agreed with the proposed methodology and activities and offered assistance in the collection of statistics and case sampling. The meeting was also attended by Supreme Court Judge Biljana Sinanović, who will work with 4Digits on the case selection and legal analysis.
GAI and representatives of 4Digits held meetings with Deputy President of the Higher Court in Niš Judge Mirko Drašković, and President of A/C Unit Judge Aleksandar Teodosić in Niš; and with the President of the Higher Court in Kraljevo, Judge Biljana Nikolić, and the President of A/C Unit of the Court, Judge Milan Davidović, in Kraljevo. The meetings introduced the judges to the scope of work and discussed sampling of the anti-corruption cases for post-mortem analysis. Both courts agreed to the proposed collection of statistical data and case sampling.
During the field visits, GAI also met with the heads of A/C PPO units in Niš and Kraljevo. Based on the conclusions from these introductory meetings, the 4Digits Consulting team held meetings for preliminary case sampling using the AVP system in Belgrade, Niš, and Kraljevo. The remaining introductory meeting with the President of the Higher Court in Novi Sad and judges in its A/C unit is scheduled for August.
3.1.D Adjudication Capacity Building – At the end of Q1, GAI organized a second expert judges’ roundtable in Belgrade, in co-operation with the SCC and the Judicial Academy (JA), with more than 50 judges from the four specialized anti-corruption units; the four Courts of Appeals; and the SCC attending, as well as representatives from the donor community. Throughout April, the event was broadly covered by web-based and print media (Radio and Television of Vojvodina, Dnevnik and Politika dailies). Interviews with Judge Pamela Zelinska from the Slovakian Special Criminal Court, and Judge Andrei Claudiu Rus, from the Romanian
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High Court of Cassation and Justice, (NIN and Nedeljnik weekly, Politika and Danas dailies) were published.
It’s Hard to Catch Politicians in Corruptive Activities - Politika daily, April 22, 2019
Andrei Claudiu Rus: Stringent Penalties Do Not Prevent Corruption Danas, April 11, 2019
Three Colors of Corruption Politika daily, April 7, 2019 Fight Against Corruption is Long-Term and Requires Both Good Laws and Preventive Measures, - Nedeljnik weekly, April 18, 2019
A compilation of media interviews with Judge Pamela Zelinska (Slovakia), and Judge Andrei Claudiu Rus (Romania).
3.1.E Annual Judges’ Conference – In June, GAI met with Ms. Mirjana Puzović, Chief of Staff of SCC President, to confirm GAI's assistance for the upcoming Annual Judges’ Conference in Vrnjačka Banja in October 2019. GAI proposed to support two events: a presentation by
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a US federal judge on a selected topic, and a roundtable to present the A/C Practicum and discuss best practices in prosecution and adjudication of corruption. The SCC shared the first draft agenda for the Conference and hosted a donor coordination meeting to discuss planning for the event. With the confirmation of the SCC, GAI secured the presence of US federal judge Jennifer Boal to present during the Judges’ Conference. Proposed topics for the presentation are: types of experts used in criminal proceedings in cases of corruption and financial crimes in the US, rules of procedure that govern their testimony, validity of evidence provided by experts, etc. The proposed date of the presentation is October 11, 2019.
GAI also contacted Belgrade University Faculty of Law to schedule a lecture by Judge Boal to students in October. Prof. Jelena Lepetić, Deputy Dean for International Cooperation, and Prof. Bojana Čučković, Head of Legal Clinic at the Belgrade Law Faculty, confirmed a tentative date of October 10. GAI proposed that Judge Boal’s presentation for students be tailored around challenges in the US system to white collar crime adjudication and sentencing. GAI is working with Judge Boal to refine the topic.
3.1.F Support to Specialized PPO Units – GAI discussed with the four specialized PPO units and the Republic Prosecutor’s Office potential training in areas such as asset disclosure, money laundering, and public procurement. In the coming period, GAI will work with these institutions to identify the most appropriate topics and formats for training.
3.2 Electronic Register of Corruption Cases
In this reporting period, the Ministry of Justice/Sector for e-Justice formally established a Working Group for the Preparation, Launch and Testing of an Electronic Register of Corruption Cases (ERCC WG). The ERCC WG is composed of representatives of the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office A/C Unit, the Higher Court in Novi Sad, the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC), the Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office (RPPO), the Higher PPO in Niš, the Higher Court in Belgrade, and the e-Justice Section of the MOJ. The Deputy Organized Crime Prosecutor, Mr. Miljko Radisavljević, presides over the WG.
3.1.A In-depth Legal and Technical Analyses – The report of the ERCC IT expert was finalized, marking the culmination and completion of the analyses to establish the ERCC. Five
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separate reports represent in-depth legal and technical analyses for an ERCC and reflect assessments of the legislative framework and reporting function, business process streamlining, data protection, and suggested ERCC architecture. A brief summary of each report is given below.
GAI forwarded the culminating IT report and the other assessments of business process and legal frameworks for an ERCC to Ms. Jelena Deretić, Assistant Minister for Judiciary in the MOJ and to Ms. Gordana Lazić, Secretary of the ERCC Working Group, for consideration. GAI requested Ms. Lazić to share the reports with other WG members.
o Legal Framework - The report on legal aspects of establishing of an ERCC provides an explanation of the function of an ERCC as a reporting and statistical tool, with an overview of the legal framework in Republic of Serbia governing data collection in relevant case management systems (AVP, SAPO, and the System for Misdemeanor Courts - SIPRES). The report identifies gaps in the legal framework and proposes amendments which would be needed for establishing an ERCC, as well as proposals for amending data standardization catalogues in AVP and SAPO case management systems.
o Business Processes - The report provides an initial analysis of business processes and maps the main processes during data input and output in the specialized A/C units in courts and PPOs. Also, it identifies discrepancies in case management processes and provides recommendations for business process streamlining and harmonization in the four specialized A/C units.
o Personal Data Protection - The report on personal data protection and an ERCC provides a detailed analysis of the existing legislative framework for personal data protection, with particular reference to existing and future registers and databases in the judiciary, implementation of standards and defining technical preconditions for safe access, and collection and processing of electronic data contained in the registers. It also includes proposed changes regarding personal data collection, processing and protection, when being used as part of case management systems in judiciary as well as data protection requirements necessary for the creation of an ERCC.
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o Proposed Architecture for ERCC - The report encompasses a detailed overview of the existing case management systems in use (SAPO, AVP, SIPRES), Judiciary Service Bus, Data Warehouse, and Business Intelligence, with respect to software features and technologies, interoperability, and infrastructure used in those systems. The report contains proposals for architecture needed to establish an ERCC software solution in the given environment, as described by the other reports, including architectural/design guidelines, detailed description of its structure and “building blocks”, ERCC database model, and Web Service for DB access. It provides detailed explanations of the solution components, user interaction, data exchange, reporting, and security concept reflecting on the proposed technology platform.
Proposed Integration of ERCC with the Enterprise Service Bus
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Several options for implementation of the system architecture of ERCC are given, taking into consideration the existing IT infrastructure in the MOJ and the existing IT systems in use. The recommended ERCC architecture relies on direct connectivity with the Judicial ESB already in use in the Serbian judicial system.
The report also covers a central ERCC’s hardware and software specifications (technology platform and protocols) for data extraction and collection from AVP and SAPO systems and has a set of required modifications to the AVP and SAPO.
The ERCC WG met twice in July. At the first meeting in July, GAI presented the main findings from the legal and technical analysis, introduced details from the proposed architecture for the registry, and discussed the architecture with the WG members. Mr. Mario Maletić Head of eJustice Section, MOJ, advised that the selected technology be complementary with the technologies currently used for various other registries in the MOJ, to save on the maintenance and upgrading costs and ensure sustainability.
At the second ERCC WG in July, the WG members discussed the structure and content of regular and ad hoc reports used by institutions (MOJ, SCC, RPPO) for reporting on corruption. As a baseline for discussion, GAI presented the latest unofficial version of the statistical form for corruption cases proposed by the EU Delegation (“track record” table). The ERCC WG assessed and discussed features of the ERCC dashboard, based on the proposals prepared by WG members from the Belgrade Higher Court, Niš Higher PPO, and RPPO. The complete contents of the dashboard will be
drafted by the Niš Higher PPO ERCC Hardware Architecture representative.
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The MOJ/eJustice Section representatives updated the ERCC WG on the ongoing procurement of SAPO case management system design for all PPOs: contract signing is expected shortly, with an eighteen month timeframe for new SAPO implementation; and the WG suggested that the roll out of SAPO first address the Kraljevo specialized PPO unit, as it lacks access to SAPO.
The WG selected a proposed solution that integrates the ERCC with the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), which was chosen over direct connections between case management systems and the ERCC. The ESB is a platform for data exchange between different software applications within the MOJ and other governmental institutions.
The next ERCC WG meeting will be organized after GAI’s IT consultant, Mr. Goce Armenski, finalizes the data dictionary and database model for an ERCC (September 2019).
3.1.B Electronic Register of Corruption Cases Pilot Development – This activity is foreseen for Q3 after the ERCC WG has finalized its deliberations. GAI will hire a short-term IT consultant who will assist in the preparation of the technical specifications for ERCC development and review of proposals. A comprehensive Scope of Work will be developed including ERCC development, set up, and testing with defined hardware and software architecture solutions.
The specialized A/C unit of Belgrade Higher Court is seen as a potential place for piloting of an ERCC in the first phase of implementation, having in mind the solid IT infrastructure and convenient location of the Higher Court in Belgrade.
Coordination with Other Implementers
In Q2, GAI liaised regularly with the EU IPA 2013 Prevention and Fight Against Corruption project to avoid overlaps and utilize knowledge gained for the purpose of the ERCC design. GAI also coordinated with EUP IPA on organization of judges’ expert roundtables and drafting of the A/C Practicum for investigation and adjudication of financial crimes and corruption.
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The MOJ and the EU IPA Project organized an Anti-Corruption Forum held in Nis on April 10, 2019, to formally mark the first year of implementation of the Law on Organization and Jurisdiction of State Authorities in Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. GAI representatives attended the event, which brought together judges and deputy prosecutors from all four specialized A/C units, and police officers from the A/C Department, to discuss implementation of the law and achieved results.
GAI met with Mr. Radu Koticci, Head of OSCE’s Economic Transparency Unit, to coordinate upcoming activities and plans. Among other issues, discussion was held on possible cross-fertilization between GAI’s post-mortem analysis and an EU-funded regional trial monitoring project of corruption cases, which OSCE plans to implement in the course of the next 3 years (starting from January 2020).
GAI met with the representatives of EU Delegation (Ms. Marija Mitić, EUD Program Manager, and Ms. Mirjana Cvetković, Political Officer) to discuss key findings in the latest EU Progress report for Serbia on corruption, including absence of a track record of corruption cases. GAI informed the EU Delegation of the ongoing and planned activities (ERCC, post-mortem). Ms. Mitić suggested that the post-mortem analysis be used as a baseline for the upcoming EU peer review on corruption issues (tentatively planned for January 2020).
Other Technical Assistance
• 2019 Survey of Citizens’ Perceptions of Anticorruption Efforts in Serbia – This activity is planned for Q3 2019. GAI has initiated discussion with an EU implementing partner on collaboration in design and administration of the 2019 survey. • Engaging Youth in the Fight Against Corruption - In this quarter, GAI met several times with the representatives of the Center for Research, Transparency, and Accountability (CRTA) to jointly identify potential activities to engage, educate, and facilitate youth participation in good governance. A detailed campaign proposal will be included in GAI revised Y2 workplan.
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PMP UPDATE
• Updates to Approved GAI AMELP – GAI has reviewed indicators and data collection methodologies, and scrutinized counterpart data quality. GAI received USAID approval of the revised Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plan on March 5, 2019. The revisions to GAI’s AMELP reflect updates to indicators based on discussion with counterparts to enable better measurement of the impact of GAI activities.
• Indicator 1.2.2.1- Financial Benefits Provided to the Government of Serbia and its Citizens as a Result of SAI Audits – SAI presented its Annual Activity Report for 2018 on May 22, 2019, and the National Assembly discussed and examined its findings and recommendations along with the Proposal of the Conclusions of the Committee on Finance, during the 24th special session of the National Assembly. The SAI Report for 2018 states that the direct financial effects of the audits conducted, as an increase in revenues and reduction of expenditures, amount to 733,72 million dinars, which approximates the target envisaged in Indicator 1.2.2.1 of GAI’s AMELP. GAI’s 2019 target reflecting SAI’s 2018 performance is RSD 738 million.
• Indicator 1.2.2.2 - Number of ACA referrals to PPO and Misdemeanor Courts – As reported by ACA in its Annual Activity Report for 2018, the Agency’s total number of referrals to PPOs and Misdemeanor Courts was 195 as of December 2018, of which 29 were referred to the Public Prosecutors’ Office and 166 to the Misdemeanor Courts. ACA’s reported number of referrals is substantially less than the target of 435 in the GAI AMELP for 2019. According to ACA’s annual reporting, 2016 and 2017 actuals reflected an influx of election year-related declarations submitted to ACA. Although elections were held in LSGs in 2018, the level of declarations were substantially less than in prior years. GAI will continue to update the number of ACA
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referrals to reflect the end of GAI’s reporting period for 2019. ACA published its annual report in April and it was deliberated on and adopted by the National Assembly at the 25th special session in July 2019.
• Local Transparency Index – Indicator 1.1.2 in the USAID/Serbia Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) Results Framework is an overarching indicator of progress, providing an overall understanding of accountability and transparency of government at the LSG level. During the visit of Mr. Brock Bierman, USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, preliminary results of the seven GAI counterpart LSGs were presented. The LTI results found that the average score of GAI’s seven counterpart LSGs (47 out of 100) is above the national average calculated for 145 LSGs (40 out of 100). Three of GAI’s seven counterpart LSGs are ranked in the top 15 scoring LSGs (Vrnjačka Banja, Vranje, and Sombor) and five of GAI’s seven counterpart LSGs have a score above the national average. Vrnjačka Banja is among the top five LSGs out of 145 that improved their score more than 20 points from the last nationwide LTI in 2015. GAI will fully report on the LTI in the Q3 report.
• GAI Learning Session - GAI held a learning session for the second quarter in June as planned in the approved AMELP. GAI’s team goal was to pause, reflect, and learn and specifically to analyze GAI’s activities and results in Q1 and Q2 and integrate the lessons learned into activities in the coming quarters. Each component was instructed to present implemented activities, linking the outcomes to GAI’s Theory of Change6 and focusing on five questions: 1) What was supposed to happen? 2) What was reality? 3) What went well? 4) What did not go well? and 5) What should be changed? Also, each team was tasked to envisage what would happen if there were no GAI support activities for counterparts, and to analyze the potential for sustainability of the activities implemented. Discussions were very active and focused on individual counterpart capacities, reactions, and feedback from assistance provided.
6 GAI Theory of Change is available in GAI’s approved AMELP.
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At the end of each component’s session, GAI determined technical assistance is still relevant, but adaptability is key to optimizing results. GAI’s conclusions and lessons learned will be integrated into the update to the current work plan and future technical assistance delivery.
1. What factors are most conducive to adoption of durable good governance measures at the local self-government level? o Introduction of new policies and new procedures that become part of the business culture of the local governments is crucial. GAI tailored support is still relevant, matching local needs, providing ownership, and ensuring sustainability of the policies and procedures.
o Particularly important is the introduction of transparency of the work of the LSGs and availability of information for citizens, CSOs, and media.
o Improving websites where information is easily available to interested parties is important, but even more important are changes in behavior of the LSG employees to make the information available.
o LSGs need to have the capacities, interest, willingness, and commitment to introduce and integrate new policies and measures.
o With the proliferation of donor support to LSGs in the field of good governance and accountability, constant coordination and cooperation with other implementing partners is crucial, although more complex.
2. How can committed local self-governments be insulated from national political pressures? o Capacities need to be strengthened and trained to make them more capable of efficiently performing their job, offering high-quality citizen-centric services.
o Assist the development of accountable business environments in the LSGs, with transparent procedures and an information sharing culture.
o Promotion of the work of these LSGs and the values they represent.
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o Create networks, sharing knowledge and best practices with the other LSGs ready to be accountable in their work and not to succumb to political or other pressure.
o Identify areas where they can work with CSOs to improve residents’ life in the local communities, generate interest from residents and to jointly work on important initiatives.
3. How can IOIs continue to play an important role in government oversight during a time of changing leadership? o Develop key messages including good examples of institutional governance and systemic weaknesses in government, and consistently communicate messages to external stakeholders in ways that targeted audiences can understand, own, and act upon.
o Strengthen open accountable business cultures in the IOIs, with the introduction of relevant methodologies, procedures, and models.
o Enhance relationships with external champions of good governance for SAI with National Assembly Committees including and beyond the Committee on Spending, CSOs, and media. For ACA continued support to improve interaction with the Misdemeanor Courts, PPOs, LSGs, and CSOs to improve impact on accountable governance.
o Focus SAI and ACA resources on high-impact, high-value “targets” that will increase the public trust in IOIs and their impacts to combat corruption. 4. Why do IOI recommendations not lead to substantial concrete follow-up action? • For SAI: o Legislation that constrains the ability of SAI to aggressively follow-up on recommendations made to an auditee. Current legislation limits the SAI follow-up with auditees to only one- time at the 6-month post-audit recommendation mark. Beyond that 6-month follow-up, the SAI must initiate a new audit, which results in an inefficient use of SAI resources.
o Lack of SAI communication of needed action in a manner that convinces the recipient of the need to take sustainable action.
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o SAI recommendations that are often not specific enough to enable measurable progress, and SAI lack of a consistent and reliable methodology used by all audit sectors to calculate measurable financial or qualitative benefits for government derived from auditee implementation of SAI recommendations. • For ACA: o Lack of committed and aggressive follow-up on filings before the Misdemeanor Courts and prosecutors’ offices.
o Lack of development of sufficient evidence and timely presentation of filings.
o Insufficient consultations with PPOs to build relationships for decisive action on ACA filings.
5. What are the key reasons for limited adjudication of corruption cases? o As there is no body of court case law, the important decisions on the use of new procedural institutes, introduced by the new Law7are not harmonized.
o Specialization of the new units has not been fully implemented in practice.
o Limited resources: lack of counterpart IT equipment, case-management software, and staff. 6. Are the Serbian executive and judicial branches committed to fair, impartial resolution of corruption cases? o The public perception survey by CeSID shows that people have limited trust in and grade the work of courts and PPOs as low.
o No single factor can be associated with the resolution of corruption cases.
o The work of law enforcement agencies is heavily reported on by the media, whereas the follow-up of the prosecution and courts is slow and has limited media coverage, revealing existing discrepancies in the close cooperation of the various bodies to combat corruption, as is envisaged by law.
7 Law on the Organization and Jurisdiction of State Organs in the Suppression of Organized Crime, Terrorism and Corruption.
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An important discussion analyzed the sustainability of the ERCC, identifying counterpart ownership of the ERCC architecture and solutions as crucial. Without counterpart involvement, full support, and commitment, GAI will not be able to implement the ERCC. Once the ERCC is developed, GAI will ensure sustainability by training users in the final stages of ERCC testing. Core sustainability of the ERCC lies with the MOJ’s commitment to adequately plan and manage its upkeep, continually train staff, and oversee the implementation of data input, back-up, and retrieval.
At the end, the following were concluded: • Counterpart ownership is the key to success and sustainability of activities. • Adaptiveness of GAI activities is important. Fostering continual listening, learning, and adapting remains a priority, as is the development of alternative strategies for unforeseen situations. • Donor coordination remains important due to the proliferation of donor assistance in the field of accountability and good governance.
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
At the request of Checchi and Company Consulting to align GAI’s quarterly progress reporting periods with GAI’s contractual implementation year, USAID issued an amendment to Checchi and Company Consulting’s contract. GAI’s report for the second quarter of 2019 includes an additional month (covering April 1 - July 31, 2019). The changes in the reporting periods will be reflected in the revision of GAI’s workplan for Y2, planned for Q3.
In the reporting period, no changes were made in the core long-term GAI staff, while numerous solicitations have been issued and contracted for short term technical assistance positions and Firm Fixed Price contracts to support local self-governments, ACA, and SAI, as well as for
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performance of the post-mortem of corruption cases. GAI anticipates continued high levels of reliance on Firm Fixed Price contracting vehicles and purchase orders to implement its work.
Having received USAID consent, GAI’s project website www.odgovornavlast.rs went live on April 19, 2019. New Look Entertainment, solicited for the development of the website, trained GAI team members on website updating and management, and GAI is updating the website regularly. The website will provide easy access to information and significant results of GAI activities designed to increase accountability, transparency, and public access to government-related information. All GAI solicitations are also available on the website – with easy access to documents and answers to questions raised by bidders during the solicitations.
PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THIRD QUARTER 2019, INCLUDING UPCOMING EVENTS
Local Government Accountability
• Assistance to five LSGs for LAPs – Work on LAP revision/development in four LSGs (Vranje, Vrnjačka Banja, Raška, Sjenica) is expected to be finalized in Q3. Vranje is expected to adopt a draft LAP in September. The four LSGs that have adopted LAPs will receive technical assistance to form commissions for the selection of members to the independent monitoring bodies and to develop public calls that will outline fair and transparent selection criteria. The main challenge will be raising the interest of CSOs, professionals, and the general public in each community. Following the establishment of the independent monitoring bodies, technical assistance will be provided to the bodies to become operational with the development of relevant rulebooks, procedures, and capacity building.
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• LAP monitoring mechanism – GAI will follow up with ACA on issuing guidelines for LAP monitoring and will continue to test and implement the guidelines through direct technical assistance to counterpart LSGs, implemented by TS.
• LAP FAQs – GAI, in cooperation with ACA, will share the LAP FAQs on LAP development and establishment of independent monitoring bodies with LSGs and other relevant stakeholders. ACA has requested GAI assistance to identify strategies, including online tools, to encourage LSG learning, monitoring, adoption, and implementation of LAPs to build on the published LAP FAQs.
• LSG Model Website and Facebook Page – Development of a new website and budget portal for the City of Vranje, piloting website model should be completed in Q3. Group 1 LSGs will be prompted to perform a self-assessment of improvements implemented based on received recommendations. The model website will be offered to Group 2 LSGs, based on expressed interest.
• Training on the use of social media – GAI will publish a Step-by-Step Guide for the use of social media by LSGs and share with counterparts.
• Support to budget public hearing in Sombor – In Q3, GAI will work with the City of Sombor on implementation of the action plan for organization of public hearings. Preparatory activities as well as organization of envisaged events and activities will be organized and supported by the promotional campaign.
• Support for local economic development plan hearings in Dimitrovgrad – GAI will support Dimitrovgrad to implement activities envisaged by The Action Plan for Organization of Public Hearings that include intensive communication with business and business associations, supported by the promotional campaign.
• Budget portal in Vranje – All elements of the budget portal will be designed and developed in parallel with the new website development. GAI will promote the portal to local public and among other interested LSGs as a best practice.
• Follow-up of the financial assessment in Vrnjačka Banja – GAI will seek to confirm with the municipal leadership support for implementation of selected recommendations.
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• Customer satisfaction surveys – The surveys in five supported LSGs will be finalized and final reports will be presented to local leadership. The analysis of the findings will allow for further improvement of local services, while methodologies used will be provided to LSGs for future use in areas not covered.
• Single administrative points (SAPs) in Sombor and Šabac – GAI will finalize the first phase of technical assistance that should result with identified life events/procedures that are feasible to be merged into SAPs in both LSGs. Based on the outcomes, GAI will define further assistance.
• Establishment of public works monitoring system – Technical assistance will be provided for development of methodology for public oversight over local infrastructure works and development of appropriate monitoring tool in Raška. The developed methodology and tool will be made available as models for other LSGs.
• Establishment of system for reporting problems with public services – Pending satisfactory assurance from LSG leadership on system implementation, GAI will commence in assisting the Municipality to implement a reporting system.
• Improvement of municipal services in Dimitrovgrad – Based on feedback from the SwissPRO Project, GAI will decide on what support to provide this municipality in this area to avoid duplication of effort.
• Whistleblower Protection – A handbook for designated persons in LSGs will be published and available for the Whistleblowing Conference in September. Further assistance will be provided to Šabac for implementation for development of operating procedures in early Q3. GAI is assisting the Ministry of Justice, the IPA 2013 Prevention and Fight against Corruption project, and Pištaljka to organize a Conference on the Protection of Whistleblowers on Central and Local Level. The conference will draw the presence of high-level officials, whistleblowers, as well as representatives of the judiciary, local governments, and other stakeholders. GAI will provide the participation of Mr. Tom Devine and a representative of the European Commission.
• Second Open Call for LSGs – Once the Open Call closes on August 9, GAI will evaluate the proposals received and short list a second group of LSGs to be supported by GAI, and
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subject to USAID consent, select Group 2 LSGs. The selected LSGs will sign Memoranda of Cooperation with USAID at an event that will also gather Group 1 LSGs and provide an opportunity for best practice exchange, and discussion of possible cooperation.
Independent Oversight Institutions
• Mentoring Performance Audits – In Q3 Y2, GAI will continue to provide remote and in-country assistance to the 12 SAI performance audit teams, as the audit process progresses towards next phases.
• Communication, Outreach, and Visibility – In the next quarter, based on the research made and agreed methodology, GAI will support the development of SAI’s Communication Plan and an outreach campaign.
• Enhancing Utilization of SAI Reporting – To enhance the NA utilization of SAI reports, GAI plans to support the NA and SAI structure and convene a SAI-NA Committee Session at the local level during Q3. In previous communication with the two institutions, Zrenjanin or Kruševac were discussed as potential locations.
• Support Development of ACA Operational Plan and Performance Measurement – In Q3, GAI will continue to assist ACA in the development of an operational plan with measurable performance indicators and an appropriate methodology for data collection and reporting for strategic goals specifically addressing its core mandates to prevent and detect corruption.
• Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness of ACA
o GAI’s expert Mr. Tilman Hoppe will assist ACA in the revision and development of a risk-based methodology for asset and income declaration review. A second roundtable with ACA to focus on how to best utilize the developed methodology has been scheduled for September.
o Ms. Elizabeth Young, Research and Assessment Specialist, of Singel Consulting will begin to assist ACA to build its capacity to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of its core oversight function.
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• Conflict of Interest Manual – GAI will support ACA’s creation of a Conflict of Interest Manual by first assessing the current framework and then developing the Manual.
• Regional Conference on Asset Declaration – In the coming period, GAI will continue to liaise with ACA and the OSCE to finalize discussions and organize the planned regional conference on asset declaration.
Adjudication of Corruption Cases
• Support to Anti-Corruption Specialized Court Units:
o In the coming period, GAI will publish the finalized Anti-corruption Practicum and present it at two events: in September in Belgrade to a wide audience and in October to judges in Vrnjačka Banja, during the Annual Judges’ Conference. Workshops will be organized in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, and Kraljevo as a follow-up to the presentation of the Practicum. For this purpose, GAI and the members of the WG for the Practicum will develop a case study which will be used as a basic tool for training of the A/C court and prosecutors’ units.
o Workshops with international best practice exchange have been highly commended by judges and GAI is preparing a presentation of a US federal judge during the Annual Judges’ Conference (in October). GAI is coordinating with Judge Jennifer Boal from Boston, MA, to present at the Conference, as well as give a presentation to the Belgrade University Faculty of Law. GAI is consulting with the SCC, the Faculty of Law, and Judge Boal to determine the topics of her presentations.
o Further support to the A/C court units will be provided on the application of AVP module and case law harmonization. GAI will procure services for designing, development, and implementation of in-service training for A/C court units’ staff on the application of AVP module. The training will be coordinated with the MOJ and JA.
o GAI will conduct AVP training for specialized A/C court units. The training was initially planned to be performed in cooperation with the MOJ, which has informed GAI that it lacks the human resources to conduct the training and advised GAI to contract consultants.
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• Development of ERCC – Based on the final report of the IT and other consultants engaged in preparation of legal and technical analysis, and deliberations of the ERCC WG, in Q3 GAI will initiate the preparation for an ERCC design with defined hardware and software architecture solutions. The specialized A/C unit of Belgrade Higher Court is seen as a potential place for piloting of an ERCC in the first phase of implementation, having in mind solid IT infrastructure and convenient location of the Higher Court in Belgrade.
Other Assistance
• 2019 Survey of Citizens’ Perceptions of Anticorruption Efforts in Serbia – In Q3, GAI will prepare for the nation-wide public opinion survey on citizen perception of Government efforts to combat corruption for 2019, which also measures one of GAI’s indicators – Perception of Government Actions to Fight Corruption. This indicator measures the percentage of survey respondents believing that the government is taking meaningful action to fight corruption. GAI will coordinate with the EU project to explore cost-sharing for the survey which they also plan for 2019. • Enabling youth in the fight against corruption – GAI is developing proposed activities targeted at raising awareness among youth of the impacts of corruption on quality of life and anti-corruption efforts.
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U.S. Agency for International Development Serbia
92, Bulever Kneza Aleksandra Karadjordjevica Belgrade
Tel: +381 11 706 4000 Fax: +381 11 3618267 usaid.gov/serbia
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