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Montenegro

Improved anticorruption policies (ME0062)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Montenegro Action Plan 2018-2020

Action Plan Cycle: 2018

Status: Active

Institutions

Lead Institution: The Union of Municipalities MoF The Tax Administration The Chamber of Economy

Support Institution(s): NA

Policy Areas

E-Government, Fiscal Transparency, Open Data, Subnational, Sustainable Development Goals, Whistleblower Protections

IRM Review

IRM Report: Pending IRM Review

Starred: Pending IRM Review

Early Results: Pending IRM Review

Design i

Verifiable: Pending IRM Review

Relevant to OGP Values: Not Relevant

Potential Impact: Pending IRM Review

Implementation i

Completion: Pending IRM Review

Description

Improved anticorruption policies
Commencement and completion dates: January 2019 – December 2019
Responsible institution The Union of Municipalities MoF The Tax Administration The Chamber of Economy
Commitment
The issue at stake Given the lack of transparency, citizens have problems in understanding budgeting processes at the local and the national levels. This is further aggravated by the fact that for the time being only annual budgets and final accounts are being published, having a negative bearing on three pillars of budget accountability: transparency, oversight and public participation. Citizens are not familiar with budget policies and the ways how central and local level budgets are planned and spent. The lack of information concerning whistle-blowers, the legal theory and practices in their protection and potential misuses indicate the need for further awareness-raising activities to make the institutions, staff, interested parties and citizens better informed on the matter.
Commitment In line with the OGP principles, budget transparency may prove to be a significant step forward in overall openness of institutions and open new scope for interactions with citizens.
Opening of budgets poses a particular challenge in the context of public participation in policy development, implementation and monitoring. In reference to his, this measure is expected to address in quite a simple manner the need of citizens and target groups to have a more direct insight into financial performance of municipalities and country at large. This will enable continuous broader assessments and analyses of public finance management efficiency and cost-effectiveness. A functional portal with easily searchable databases and sets of data providing insights into specific sections of the budget is an appealing and efficient channel for familiarisation with the decisions on revenue collection and allocation. Development of budget brochures for citizens and of brochures on whistle-blowers fall under public education and information activities to raise awareness of transparency and accountability among individuals, institutions and society at large.
How will it help address the issue
The delivery on this commitment will make budgets more credible. The “Open Budget” portal will provide overviews of local and central budgets, in line with transparent financial management rules, providing graphic presentations of financial statements, presenting debts and liabilities by type, etc., together with the possibility for giving comments. Thus, members of the public and entities interested in public finance will have an easily accessible and understandable database using infographics and generating various types of data for different sections of the budget, and information on budget outlays. Moreover, the data will be provided in such a manner to allow further processing. Promotion and awareness raising of the importance of whistle-blowers in a society, together with a comparative overview of legal provisions and practices of more developed democracies will be one step towards addressing the issue stated above.
Its relevance to OGP values
The delivery on this commitment is relevant for fiscal responsibility, transparency, availability of information, citizen participation in monitoring local public spending in a systematic and functionally sustainable manner and overseeing the work of institutions in line with the principles of ethics and accountability.
Additional information Compatibility with SDGs Reference to SDG 16: ‘Pease, Justice and Strong Institutions 16.6 – Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
BUDGET €19,500
Actions with verifiable results and implementation dates
6.1. Visual presentations of state and local budgets – €10,000 - Annually update visual presentation of the country budget http://budzet.sntcg.com/ - post visual presentations of local budgets at their respective webpages similarly to the presentation at www.mojgrad.me
6.2. Budget for Citizens brochure – €5,000 - Based on the template to be developed by the Union of Municipalities, local selfgovernments will prepare brochures presenting local budgets suited to citizen needs to be used during public consultations and posted on their respective webpages
6.3. Comparative review/study on whistle-blower protection – Whistleblower Cases – €4,500
- the study in place with recommendations for further improvement of the legal framework for governing reports made by whistle-blowers, procedures as per reports, procedures as per requests for whistle-blower protection, etc.
Points of Contact
Responsible person in the implementing entity Igor Pavićević, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Mitar Bajčeta, the Chamber of Economy
e-mail / phone igor.pavicevic@isrcg.org

Montenegro's Commitments

  1. National Identification Document (NID)

    ME0057, 2018, E-Government

  2. E-democracy

    ME0058, 2018, E-Government

  3. Proactive publication of information

    ME0059, 2018, E-Government

  4. Efficient collection of administrative fees

    ME0060, 2018, E-Government

  5. Electronic tax returns

    ME0061, 2018, E-Government

  6. Improved anticorruption policies

    ME0062, 2018, E-Government

  7. Non-governmental participation in the Privatisation Council

    ME0001, 2012, Public Participation

  8. Establishment of electronic enterprise registration

    ME0002, 2012, E-Government

  9. Merging of inspectorates and extracting them from ministries and administration authorities

    ME0003, 2012, Private Sector

  10. Implementation of new building permit legislation

    ME0004, 2012, Private Sector

  11. Establishment of special body to support investment and development projects

    ME0005, 2012, Private Sector

  12. Create e-register of licenses

    ME0006, 2012, E-Government

  13. Adopt regulations for registry maintenance

    ME0007, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  14. Development of an Action Plan with measures to improve regulatory framework in Montenegro

    ME0008, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  15. Quarterly evaluation of implementation of that action plan

    ME0009, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  16. Train civil servants in RIA)

    ME0010, 2012, Capacity Building

  17. Apply RIA in preparation of the Work Programme of the Government

    ME0011, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  18. ‘Full RIA’ is implemented for all laws

    ME0012, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  19. Employment of foreigners reform

    ME0013, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration

  20. Concessions and public-private partnership: Regulatory framework

    ME0014, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  21. Concessions and public-private partnership: Regulation on procedure

    ME0015, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  22. Affirm and advance existing functions of the E-government portal

    ME0016, 2012, E-Government

  23. E-government Portal: More complex electronic services available at the Portal and acceptance of electronic documentation

    ME0017, 2012, E-Government

  24. E-government Portal: Enable citizens to have an active e-participation in creation of laws and other strategic documents

    ME0018, 2012, E-Government

  25. Established online platform for e-petitions

    ME0019, 2012, E-Government

  26. E-petitions: Online platform is made fully efficient

    ME0020, 2012, E-Government

  27. Southeast Europe regional forum

    ME0021, 2012, Capacity Building

  28. Public consultations

    ME0022, 2012, Public Participation

  29. Direct contact with non-governmental organisations

    ME0023, 2012, Civic Space

  30. Systems to improve direct contact with citizens

    ME0024, 2012, Public Participation

  31. Free access to information

    ME0025, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  32. Plain administrative language

    ME0026, 2012, Capacity Building

  33. Preventing conflicts of interest: Raising public awareness

    ME0027, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  34. Preventing conflicts of interest: Training for public officers and public campaigns

    ME0028, 2012, Capacity Building

  35. Preventing conflicts of interest: Political independency of the Commission for Prevention of the Conflict of Interest

    ME0029, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  36. Strengthening integrity

    ME0030, 2012, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  37. Application of code of ethics: Establish an Ethical Board, as an independent body

    ME0031, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  38. Application of code of ethics: Code of Ethics training for civil servants

    ME0032, 2012, Capacity Building

  39. Application of code of ethics: Ensure application of the Code of Ethics through operation of disciplinary bodies and periodic check

    ME0033, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  40. Application of code of ethics: Strengthen Tax Administration and CustomsAdministration internal control mechanisms

    ME0034, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  41. Transparency of criteria for employment, bonuses, and promotion in the public sector

    ME0035, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  42. Reporting on unpermitted building construction

    ME0036, 2012, Infrastructure & Transport

  43. Protection of persons reporting corruption

    ME0037, 2012, Civic Space

  44. Procurement corruption: Help desk

    ME0038, 2012, Open Contracting and Procurement

  45. Procurement corruption: Regulation and awareness-raising

    ME0039, 2012, Open Contracting and Procurement

  46. Establishing central public procurement bodies

    ME0040, 2012, Open Contracting and Procurement

  47. Electronic public procurement system

    ME0041, 2012, E-Government

  48. Budget transparency: Amend the organic Law on Budget with precise deadlines and specific fiscal rules

    ME0042, 2012, Fiscal Transparency

  49. Budget transparency: Presentation of the annual budget and its revisions in a visually comprehensible and simple manner

    ME0043, 2012, Fiscal Transparency

  50. Budget transparency: Identify and develop performance indicators

    ME0044, 2012, Fiscal Transparency

  51. Budget transparency: Amend the Chart of Accounts to improve the expenditure control

    ME0045, 2012, Oversight of Budget/Fiscal Policies

  52. Budget transparency: Improve cooperation between the internal audit system and State Audit Institution

    ME0046, 2012, Audits and Controls

  53. Combatting all forms of discrimination: Carry out activities defined in the signed Memorandum of Cooperation with the NGOs

    ME0047, 2012, Civic Space

  54. Combatting all forms of discrimination: Trainings for police officers for professional conduct with LGBT persons

    ME0048, 2012, Capacity Building

  55. Combatting all forms of discrimination: Trainings for police officers related to disabled persons

    ME0049, 2012, Capacity Building

  56. Combatting all forms of discrimination: Free-up public traffic areas used by disabled. Define procedures for control of passengers & vehicles

    ME0050, 2012, Human Rights

  57. Combatting all forms of discrimination: Adjust the Security Centre in accordance with disabled persons’ needs and appoint a contact person

    ME0051, 2012, Human Rights

  58. Improving media freedoms

    ME0052, 2012, Civic Space

  59. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

    ME0053, 2012, Private Sector

  60. Support to CSR in Montenegro

    ME0054, 2012, Private Sector

  61. Organisation of workshops on corporate social responsibility

    ME0055, 2012, Capacity Building

  62. Development of manual

    ME0056, 2012, Capacity Building