Combating corruption through increased transparency of institutions and active cooperation with citizens and civil society organizations is key to strengthening trust in local self-government, and it is precisely digital technologies that can help effectively fight corruption at the local level.
This was the message sent through the thematic forum “Engaged Community for Corruption Resilience” which was held on October 16 at the Civil Society Resource Center in Skopje, organized by the Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society, Rural Coalition and the Center for Social Innovations Blink 42-21, within the framework of the project “Digital Transformation at Local Level (DIGILOC) – Engaged Community for Corruption Resilience” funded by the Government of Switzerland through Civica Mobilitas.
The goal of the forum was to encourage action against corruption, uniting representatives from institutions, local government, civil society organizations, activists, experts, citizens, and media outlets in a joint fight based on inclusiveness and cooperation.
Aleksandar Krzhalovski, National Team Leader of the Civica Mobilitas Program and Director of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, introduced the event by explaining the purpose of the Civica Mobilitas Program and emphasizing the value of the DIGILOC project as well as the work of partner organizations in the fight against corruption.
In his opening remarks, Bardhyl Jashari, Executive Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation, explained that for a meaningful digital transformation to take place, its benefits need to be accessible to citizens. He emphasized that this is precisely the reason why Metamorphosis is working on this process, emphasizing that with the help of the Openness Index, we are fighting corruption by giving citizens full insight into the work of institutions.
The forum presented the latest findings from the Assessment of Good Governance in Local Self-Government Units in the Republic of North Macedonia prepared through the Openness Index for 2024. Even with a slight improvement, the level of openness of local self-government remains low, as confirmed by the findings of the Openness Index, according to which the average openness of all 81 local self-government units is 37%.
Toni Konjanovski, Mayor of the Municipality of Bitola, which was declared the most open local government according to the Openness Index, emphasized the importance of cooperation with the civil society sector. He emphasized how important it is to understand the responsibility of local authorities towards citizens and how they, as a municipality, are trying to be more open and include citizens in an increasing number of important decisions.
The forum also presented the benefits of the digital tool mZaednica, including new capabilities for consulting with citizens and determining community priorities.
Dragan Ananiev, Secretary of the Municipality of Kochani, which is also a user of mZaednica, explained the benefits of using this platform, especially in the fight against corruption. He explained that although the application has a variety of services divided by sectors, citizens use it most to report problems with communal hygiene.
Project information
The project “Digital Transformation at Local Level (DIGILOC)—Engaged Community for Corruption Resilience” is a project of the Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society from Skopje, implemented in partnership with the Rural Coalition from Kichevo and the Center for Social Innovation Blink 42-21 from Skopje. The project is financially supported by the Government of Switzerland through Civica Mobilitas. The project supports the active involvement of the community in building strong resilience to corruption at the local level. When the community proactively monitors and holds local authorities accountable, it creates a strong ecosystem that reduces corruption. This fosters a culture of transparency and accountability, which prevents the advancement of corrupt practices and contributes to fairer local governance.
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