Strengthening Municipal Resilience to Corruption


This  intervention  aims  to  reduce  the  space  for  corruption  on  municipal  level  through  support  to  mayors, municipal councils and administration in municipalities willing to engage in anticorruption efforts. The project will help state institutions to create or improve and implement mechanisms, policies and legislation to address high-corruption  risks  priority areas  e.g. procurement, urban planning,  licensing.  It will  target  also  the CSOs (citizens) and the media to raise their awareness and capacities to recognize corruption and know their rights. 

Country/region Topic Period Budget
North Macedonia
Governance
Anti-corruption organisations
15.12.2022 - 31.10.2028
CHF  5’562’000
Background North Macedonia has been facing significant challenges to upholding the rule of law and combat entrenched high-level and petty corruption, exacerbated by political divides. High-level corruption plays a significant role as it favors the interest of specific political and business power groups over the public interest of the citizens. State Audit Office’s findings recommendations for improvement are not being discussed regularly in Parliament and the audited public institutions are not being held accountable.  Corruption is present also in the local governance where municipalities provide direct services to their citizens, such as water and sanitation, waste management, construction and land use permitting, education and health. There is a widespread belief among citizens, experts and international community that there is a lack of will, capacity and resources to combat corruption. 
Objectives Strong municipal integrity systems and practices that minimize corruption risks and increase citizen trust are created and institutionalized.  
Target groups Mayors, municipal councillors, municipal administration, civil society organizations and citizens, investigative journalists, oversight institutions.  
Medium-term outcomes

Outcome 1: Municipalities are better equipped to perform in a more transparent and corruption resilient manner to identify and mitigate corruption vulnerabilities. 

Outcome 2: Civil society and media have enhanced capacities  to  better  monitor municipal  decision-making processes and service delivery. 

Results

Expected results:  

  • Municipalities have  stronger, and gender sensitive, anti-corruption mechanisms  in place in key service/high impact  areas. 
  • Municipalities open their  processes to public scrutiny through  open data and regular public consultation. 
  • Regulatory mechanisms  are enhanced and/or introduced to  decrease opportunities for corruption at the municipal level. 
  • Civil society and media  conduct oversight of key local issues  and engage in anti-corruption advocacy. 


Results from previous phases:   The findings showed systemic weaknesses contributing to financial mismanagement and poor service delivery: poorly formulated laws; limited clarity in decision-making authority; lack of public access to local decision-making, lack of internal control mechanisms and oversight. Basic mechanisms for prevention of corruption are missing in most LSGUs: rulebooks for procurement and other processes; systems to report service delivery to citizens; training in new laws; digitization tools and document management systems. Urban and rural planning, protection of environment, communal services and healthcare were identified as main areas at high risk of corruption. There is a lack of capacity and resources to combat corruption, and political influence over decision-making is well-spread. Switzerland’s comparative advantage is the long-term systemic interventions in decentralization, and an established collaboration with the relevant political actors, public institutions and CSOs. The need and demand for this intervention has been confirmed through a series of interviews and workshops with the key stakeholders. 


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
International or foreign NGO
Private sector
  • Other international or foreign NGO North
  • Foreign private sector South/East

Implementing partner
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) 

Coordination with other projects and actors 7F-0870.02 Parliament Support Programme; 7F-05262.06 Civil Society Support Facility; 7F-08397.02 Empowering Municipal Councils; Other development partners: SIDA, EU, USAID, OSCE. 
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    5’562’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    977’514 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF   376’137 Budget inclusive project partner CHF   11’162’000