In North Macedonia, the most open municipality is Bitola, and the most closed is Sopishte. The difference between these two municipalities is serious and amounts to 60 percent. This should not be the case, because each municipality has the same responsibilities towards its citizens and every citizen has the right to access information and services. This is shown by the latest results of the Local Government Openness Index for 2024, which were presented today at the Civil Society Resource Center organized by the Metamorphosis Foundation, Rural Coalition, and the Center for Social Innovations Blink 42-21.
At the thematic forum “Engaged Community for Corruption Resilience,” good practices and challenges for more transparent local self-government were discussed in a full hall, with the aim of increasing citizen trust and eradicating corruption.
Welcome speeches at the event were given by Aleksandar Krzhalovski, National Team Leader of the Civica Mobilitas Program and Director of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, as well as Bardhyl Jashari, Executive Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation. The results of the Local Government Openness Index were presented by Mila Josifovska Danilovska, Program Manager at the Metamorphosis Foundation for Internet and Society, while Liljana Jonoski, Director of Rural Coalition, and Toni Konjanovski, Mayor of the Municipality of Bitola, also spoke on the topic.
“The analysis showed that the most open municipalities are Bitola with 67 percent, Delchevo with 66, Demir Hisar with 64, Veles with 60, and Valandovo with 59 percent, while the most closed municipalities are Sopishte, Studenichani, Krivogashtani, Rosoman, and Shuto Orizari. If the most open and most closed municipalities are placed side by side, it will be seen that there is a serious difference of 60 percent. It should not be like this, because every municipality has the same responsibilities towards citizens, each of them has the right to access information and services that affect their lives,” said Mila Josifovska Danilovska.
The openness of municipalities is measured through four parameters: transparency, awareness, accessibility, and integrity. Hence, the most transparent municipalities according to the Openness Index for 2024 are Berovo, Veles, Valandovo, Delchevo, Bitola, and the least transparent is the municipality of Sopishte. Viewed through the principle of awareness, which refers to the quality of planning, programming, monitoring, and evaluation of local policies, the most aware municipality is Gevgelija. As many as 20 municipalities do not publish any information that is identified with the area of “awareness.”
“What is important is to provide visible access to services, along with contacts that will be of assistance to citizens, so that they can be informed about where to get help when using a service. Citizen contact offices are also an important tool, as well as electronic tools, a newsletter, and official social media profiles of the municipality,” added Josifovska Danilovska.
The director of Metamorphosis—which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary—Bardhyl Jashari, emphasized that the promotion of digitalization and its use to improve the quality of life of citizens are the central point and focus of all the organization’s activities.
“In these 20 years, we have worked on building the capacities of state institutions and organizations, we have done a lot of analysis of the e-services available in our country. The needs of citizens are often neglected, which is why we must make the benefits of digital transformation tangible. Digitalization contributes to reducing corruption, but it is not a goal in itself, but rather part of another vision and it can help significantly,” emphasized Director Jashari.
The mayor of the municipality of Bitola—which the analysis showed to be the most open—Toni Konjanovski, stressed that regardless of high-level policies, what touches the citizens is precisely the local self-government.
“The fact that we are the most open municipality is an incentive for us to be even better. We will study the analysis you presented very seriously in order to improve ourselves. We have an obligation to create a transparent and accountable local self-government. It is an honor and pride to work for local self-government, to be open, accessible to citizens. Through me and my image, they see transparency, accessibility,” said Konjanovski, who emphasized that cooperation with civil society organizations is essential for addressing the needs of citizens.
Milan Tancheski, Director of the Center for Social Innovations Blink 42-21, and Dragan Ananiev, Secretary of the Municipality of Kochani, spoke about digital transformation at the local level, as well as the digital tool mZaednica.
The forum aimed to encourage action against corruption, uniting representatives from local government, civil society organizations, activists, experts, citizens and media outlets in a joint fight based on inclusiveness and cooperation.
The thematic forum “Engaged Community for Corruption Resilience” was organized within the framework of the project “Digital Transformation at Local Level (DIGILOC) – Involved Community for Resilience to Corruption,” funded by the Government of Switzerland through Civica Mobilitas.
Link to the original post: Local Government Openness Index: The most open municipality is Bitola, the most closed–Sopishte
