Optimus - Center for Good Governance

However, with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) co-funded “Sub-national Competitiveness” (SNC) project, implemented by the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), the situation started to improve. This project developed the methodology and a model for the establishment of “One Stop Shops” (OSS), tasked with issuing the construction permits. In the cities of Vranje and Niš, the local stakeholders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) defining the roles and responsibilities of all decision makers in the construction process and outlining the required time for every phase. The Memorandum envisaged that one office was to be set up within the local government, authorized to acquire conditions and approvals from the utility companies and the Cadastre on behalf of the investors.

The European Partnership with Municipalities - EU PROGRES Programme, funded by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, continues to replicate this tested model of cooperation among the local stakeholders, though slightly amended to suit the new needs. In Leskovac, Ivanjica and Novi Pazar, the process of establishing the OSSs started by signing of the protocol of cooperation between the local administrations and public utility companies, to regulate the steps within the licensing process through a specialised web based software. In Vranje, where this protocol already existed, the EU PROGRES opened the One Stop Shop. It is expected that once the OSSs are fully operational, later in 2014, the process for issuing permits should be reduced from current 97 to 77 days. This would bring the beneficiary local governments into the European average of between 66 and 85 days for the construction permit issuance.

EU PROGRES will make the OSS software application available to a follow-up project of the SNC, the “Improving Environment for Businesses at Local Level through Regulatory Reform” programme, funded also by Switzerland and implemented by the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) and OPTIMUS - Centre for Good Governance. This should be of large assistance to other local governments in the area of reforming procedures related to the construction sector. Hence, the achievements of the previous projects will be further capitalised and leveraged, as other local governments are expected to be encouraged by the successes to reform procedures related to the construction sector.

Finally, EU PROGRES was one of three projects invited by the Government of Serbia (Ministry for Urbanism and Construction) to participate in a work group commissioned to perform a comprehensive analysis of the national licensing legislation and to prepare a draft package of new legislation to further simplify and enhance efficiency of the construction permit procurement process.

Switzerland has thus anew demonstrated its commitment to support Serbia’s transition towards a modern democracy and sustainable market economy, carefully aligning its intervention with the national strategies and the plans for Serbia’s accession to the European Union. By building on and leveraging the achievements of previous initiatives when developing new support programmes, Switzerland pursues to maximise efficiency, ensure sustainability and long-term impact and create value added of its projects.