FYR Macedonia : Decentralization Status Report
To institutionalize the decentralization elements of the peace settlement in Macedonia, the Framework Agreement calls for specific changes in the Constitution, and three specific items of legislation: a new law on local governments specifying the f...
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| Format: | Policy Note |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/09/2624078/macedonia-decentralization-status-report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14642 |
| Summary: | To institutionalize the decentralization
elements of the peace settlement in Macedonia, the Framework
Agreement calls for specific changes in the Constitution,
and three specific items of legislation: a new law on local
governments specifying the functions they are to assume, a
local finance law specifying how these functions are to be
financed, and, a law revising the boundaries of local
governments, on the basis of a new census. While the
Constitutional amendments have been approved, progress on
the rest of the legislative agenda has proceeded slowly. The
census on which the territorial reform was to be based has
only recently been completed. The local government law has
been approved, but requires extensive subsidiary legislation
before it can be implemented. The new finance law is only
now in the drafting process. The next local elections are
scheduled for 2004, thus a considerable amount of work will
be required to ensure that the impact of decentralization
will be perceptible to the electorate by that time. This
paper is directed at two audiences: the first is the
Government, which is now in the process of drafting detailed
legislation on territorial reform, local finance, and the
decentralization of specific sectors. For this audience, the
report lays out some of the issues that will need to be
addressed in the course of implementing the decentralization
provisions of the Framework Agreement; the second is the
World Bank, the European Union (EU) special representative,
the U.S. Ambassador, and other members of the donor
community. For this audience, the report is intended to
describe the present status of the decentralization process,
and suggest a strategy for assisting the Government in this
sequence of reforms. It reviews the existing legal
structure, the expenditure assignment, particularly on
education, social protection, and health care, and that of
public utilities, as well as the revenue assignment through
its municipal taxation, and overall fiscal performance. The
report then examines the decentralization framework
agreement, and the new legislation being, or to be adopted
regarding the local self government law, in particular on
social sectors, and proposed changes on municipal
competencies. Within the action plan, the Government's
current operational program for decentralization of power
2003-04 is presented, outlining the territorial reform which
specifies that new municipal boundaries will be defined on
the basis of a new census. Regarding finance, under the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) report's strategy,
municipalities would later assume responsibility for some
assets, and related maintenance costs during the subsequent
phase of decentralization. |
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