SWEDISH, DUTCH AND U.S. AMBASSADORS LAUNCHED MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 24,2008) - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Charles English, the Swedish Ambassador to Bosnia Lars-Erik Wingren and the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bosnia Karel E.T.I. Vosskuhler have launched an expansion of the jointly funded, $30-million program for the Bosnian municipalities. The program is the second phase of the US-Swedish, $20-million Governance Accountability Project (GAP).

The second phase was launched at a conference in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo that brought together the mayors of GAP’s 56 partner municipalities.

GAP assisted 41 municipalities throughout Bosnia so far to build their capacities and improve service provision to citizens.The development of One-Stop-Shops (OSSs) was a GAP flagship activity intended to provide efficient, user-friendly and transparent service delivery, increase citizens’ satisfaction and improve trust in local government and democracy.

Since December 2005, when the first GAP-supported OSS was inaugurated, an additional 40 citizen service centers have been opened, benefiting some 1.5 million Bosnian citizens.

Over the next five years, an additional 30 municipalities will participate in similar activities in the second phase of GAP. As a unique example of donor coordination, GAP will continue to establish OSSs, improve budgeting and financial management, and advance urban planning and zoning, USAID said.
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