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North Macedonia

Informing women on the rights and the services available to them with the Programme (MK0085)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Macedonia, Second Action Plan, 2014-16

Action Plan Cycle: 2014

Status: Inactive

Institutions

Lead Institution: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health

Support Institution(s): Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Macedonia

Policy Areas

Capacity Building, Gender, Marginalized Communities

IRM Review

IRM Report: Macedonia End-of-Term Report 2014-2016

Starred: No

Early Results: Marginal Marginal

Design i

Verifiable: No

Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

Informing women on the rights and the services available to them with the Programme

IRM End of Term Status Summary

XII. Anti-Corruption: Health and General Budgets

Commitment 3.8: Transparent Health Budget

Commitment Text: 3.8. Publishing information about […] health budgets, with particular focus on the budgetary and financial implementation of preventive programs of the Ministry of Health, obtained through a procedure of access to public information www.esem.org.mk.   

Commitment 5.1: Open Budget Initiative 

Commitment Text: 5.1. Implementation of the Open Budget Initiative.

Commitment 7.5: Analysis of Women’s Health Program   

Commitment Text: 7.5. Analysis […] to implement the program [for the early detection and prevention of disease of the reproductive organs in women].

Commitment 7.6: Awareness-Raising on Women’s Health Program

Commitment Text: 7.6. Informing women on the rights and the services available to them with the Programme [for women’s health through an information campaign…].

Responsible institution(s): Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Health

Supporting institution(s): Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Macedonia

Start Date: 1/1/2014   End Date: 31/12/2016

Commitment aim

This cluster of commitments was designed to promote budget transparency, with a particular focus on health budgets.

Status

Midterm

Commitment 3.8: Limited

Commitment 5.1: Limited

Commitment 7.5: Substantial

Commitment 7.6: Limited

Commitment 3.8 endorses civil society efforts to request and release information received (if access is provided) from the Ministry of Health (MoH). According to the IRM midterm report, inclusion of this measure in the OGP action plan allowed the proactive release of some data; however, a substantial amount of information is still unavailable, even though formal requests have been filed.

The ministry reported that it had contracted a service provider to lay out and print the Citizens’ Budget, and that it had received a first draft. Civil society, meanwhile, complained that the Citizens’ Budget had to be published together with the government’s budget to be meaningful, and that the delay, already incurred, made the measure ineffective. The IRM review found that the 2014 balance sheet data were not very useful, with no explanation of the different variables. Hence, it was difficult to compare.

Commitments 7.5 and 7.6 refer to the independent monitoring of health programs and their services, including raising awareness and budget allocations. The self-assessment did not contain any information on the progress of this measure. However, the Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Republic of Macedonia reported that significant progress had been made in improving cooperation with the Ministry of Health under the previous two commitments.[Note 101: Darko Antic, Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Macedonia, Written Submission to IRM.]

For more information, please see the 2014-2016 IRM midterm report.

End of term

Commitment 3.8: Limited

Commitment 5.1: Not started

Commitment 7.5: Complete

Commitment 7.6: Limited

The government’s self-assessment reported that the Ministry of Health created a new web platform to publish information stemming from commitment 3.8. However, the IRM researcher could not find the website, and the Ministry did not provide a link. The Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Republic of Macedonia confirmed that the website was unavailable, that the ministry developed reports on only five of the 20 programs, and that it partially developed reporting forms on only three. The ministry did not report on 12 of the programs.[Note 102: ESEM, Shadow Report on the Implementation of the OGP Action Plan 2014-2016, (Skopje: ESEM, 2016), available at: http://bit.ly/2dUryWV [in Macedonian].] None of the reports are available publicly.

The IRM researcher found no evidence that the Citizens’ Budget was produced for either 2015 or 2016.[Note 103: International Budget Project, Open Budget Initiative 2015: Macedonia, available at: http://bit.ly/2cQHvvM.] The last available budget was produced by civil society in 2013,[Note 104: Marjan Nikolov, Citizens Budget for 2013, (Skopje: CEA, 2013), available at: http://bit.ly/2dwLaBD [in Macedonian].] while a new citizens’ final account (for 2014) was based on the released data.[Note 105: Nikica Mojsoska Blazevska, Citizens’ Final Account for 2014, (Skopje: MCIC, 2016), available at: http://bit.ly/2dsyrKZ [in Macedonian].] Overall, the government provided little budget information, and the mid-year review, Citizens’ Budget, and pre-budget statement were not available. The Macedonian Center for International Cooperation lobbied for the release of budget information, but the institutions’ unwillingness to release data meant these activities remained incomplete.[Note 106: IRM interview with Marija Sazdevski, MCIC.]

Commitment 7.5 was completed, and the analysis of the women’s health program was published in September 2016.[Note 107: ESEM, Report from the Monitoring and Analysis of the Program or the Early Detection and Prevention of Disease of the Reproductive Organs in Women, (Skopje: ESEM, 2016), available at: http://bit.ly/2cZrDaH [in Macedonian].] This was an initiative by a non-profit association that could have been implemented without OGP. The recommendations of the analysis could have been followed up by the government, since the report was published at the end of the OGP cycle, but they had no effect on the government within the period covered by this report.

The government provided no information on commitment 7.6. Activities to raise awareness were conducted independently as stand-alone initiatives by non-profit organisations,[Note 108: See, for example, the work of the National Roma Centrum at: http://bit.ly/2dEdxJD or ESEM at: www.esem.org.mk. ] and did not have any added value from inclusion in the OGP action plan.

Did it open government?

Access to Information: Marginal

Civic Participation: Marginal

Public Accountability: Did not change

This cluster of commitments was designed to improve fiscal transparency overall, and more specifically, in the health sector. Before the country adopted the second action plan, there was little fiscal transparency. The promise of an Open Budget and Citizens Budget[Note 109: A clear and simple summary specifically developed for the public that should be widely distributed with the annual budget. For more information, please see the International Budget Project, The Power of making It Simple: Governments Guide to Citizens’ Budget, available at: http://bit.ly/1Y2d34o. ] could have had a transformative impact, but the IRM researcher found only limited implementation, mostly by civil society.

Progress on this cluster only marginally improved access to information, mainly through information gathered and analysed by civil society.[Note 110: http://www.fiskalnatransparentnost.org.mk/.] Several initiatives collected and published the income and expenditures of all municipalities.[Note 111: http://sledigiparite.mk/.] They also published all data collected from direct public procurement contracts as well as budget expenses, including all contracts since 2011 which were worth over 1 million euro.[Note 112: http://opendata.mk/. ] Analysis of this data showed that half the value of all contracts made by all 83 municipalities is allocated to 34 companies, while the remaining half is split among 1.323 companies. In the last three years, 39 million euro were contracted under urgency procedures, and an additional 35 million euro with contract amendments. In both cases, there was no transparency or competition. The released data were compiled by civil society via regular, often lengthy, access to information procedures, or by observing public procurement processes.  

These commitments provided a framework for meetings and cooperation between civil society and the Ministry of Health. Civil society organisations, through OGP working groups, met three times with representatives of the ministry, which strengthened their relations. While this contributed to building trust, civic participation improved only marginally. Both the government’s end-term assessment and civil society[Note 113: IRM interview with Darko Antic, Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Macedonia.] noted that cooperation between the two involved only the sharing of information. 

Finally, publishing the Citizens’ Budget (commitment 5.1) and analyzing the women’s health program (commitment 7.5) could have potentially increased public accountability, but did not. First, the Citizens’ Budget was not produced. The EC noted that budget transparency is not ensured in Macedonia, because clear, comprehensive, timely, and reliable budgetary and statistical information is not available publicly.[Note 114: EC, Annual Progress Report for 2016, 11.] Second, the analysis of the women’s health program included only one program, the results of which were not utilised by the government. The findings of the analysis point to the need for serious measures. According to the survey, 56% of women and girls over the age of 14 do not have a primary gynecologist, hence, are not accessing any government-sponsored preventive programs. Furthermore, there is no access to a primary gynecologist in 35 municipalities, and access is limited to a small number of gynecologists in the other 29 municipalities.[Note 115: Ibid., footnote 7.] Therefore, it is clear that these two commitments did not change government practice, since no public facing element was established for citizens to request further action in health provision in the country. 


Carried forward?

The new action plan specifically targets fiscal transparency in all sectors. A new commitment (5.1) pledges to introduce the open budget practice, while other commitments (5.2 and 5.7) specifically target health budget transparency, as a nod to the commitments in this cluster. The government has vowed to publish data on budget spending for all 20 programs, develop framework and publish reports on implementation of one preventive and one curative program, and raise awareness among citizens. 

North Macedonia's Commitments

  1. Awareness-raising about Access to Information Rights

    MK0121, 2018, Capacity Building

  2. Public Access to Central Register of the Republic of Macedonia

    MK0122, 2018, Beneficial Ownership

  3. Mapping homeless and socially endangered families and individuals

    MK0123, 2018, E-Government

  4. Monitoring property status of elected and appointed officials

    MK0124, 2018, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  5. Assessment of anti-corruption legislation

    MK0125, 2018, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  6. Open Treasury

    MK0126, 2018, E-Government

  7. Publishing procurement information

    MK0127, 2018, E-Government

  8. Health Sector Transparency and establish a cost impact assessment mechanism

    MK0128, 2018, Capacity Building

  9. Employment program transparency and impact assessment mechanism

    MK0129, 2018, Capacity Building

  10. Cataloging data sets in state institutions

    MK0130, 2018, E-Government

  11. regional open data initiatives

    MK0131, 2018, Open Data

  12. Financial Transparency Tools

    MK0132, 2018, E-Government

  13. Improvement in Local Public Service Delivery

    MK0133, 2018, Beneficial Ownership

  14. Inclusive local decision-making

    MK0134, 2018, Gender

  15. To resilient Skopje via data availability

    MK0135, 2018, Infrastructure & Transport

  16. Access to Justice Development

    MK0136, 2018, Justice

  17. Improving access to justice for marginalized groups of citizens

    MK0137, 2018, Capacity Building

  18. Awareness-raisinga about Climate Change

    MK0138, 2018, Environment and Climate

  19. national assembly capacity-building

    MK0139, 2018, Capacity Building

  20. Increasing the financial transparency of the Assembly of RM

    MK0140, 2018, Fiscal Transparency

  21. Better Access to Information

    MK0140, 2018, E-Government

  22. Parliamentary TV channel

    MK0141, 2018, E-Government

  23. Citizen participation in Assembly

    MK0142, 2018, Legislature

  24. Creation of open data standards

    MK0089, 2016, Legislation & Regulation

  25. Improvement of the open data platform and its approximation to the citizens

    MK0090, 2016, Capacity Building

  26. Rising awareness of open data

    MK0091, 2016, Capacity Building

  27. Cataloging and categorization of data sets held by state institutions

    MK0092, 2016, E-Government

  28. Open data Linking on the state institutions’ portals

    MK0093, 2016, E-Government

  29. Improvement and facilitation of the access to information

    MK0094, 2016, Capacity Building

  30. Implementation of the Law on Whistle-Blower Protection and raising the awareness for whistle-blowing

    MK0095, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  31. Open data on property status of elected and appointed persons

    MK0096, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  32. Promotion of integrity, transparency and accountability on local level and monitoring the progress

    MK0097, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  33. Promotion of cooperation and increased proactivity in the prevention of corruption and conflict of interests

    MK0098, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  34. Starred commitment Open budget initiative

    MK0099, 2016, Fiscal Transparency

  35. Open Data on Health Programs

    MK0100, 2016, Fiscal Transparency

  36. Creating a legal obligation for the contracting authorities for mandatory publication of information regarding the public procurement contracts on their websites

    MK0101, 2016, Fiscal Transparency

  37. Involving representatives of associations and foundations, as well as other civil society organizations, in transparent and objective manner in sector working groups for planning and programming of IPA 2

    MK0102, 2016, Public Participation

  38. Publication of data on signed contracts and received assistance through Infrastructure Development Program (ORIO) Netherlands

    MK0103, 2016, Aid

  39. Introduction of a publicly accessible register of concession contracts

    MK0104, 2016, E-Government

  40. Increased budgetary fund benefits in preventive and curative health protection for citizens

    MK0105, 2016, Capacity Building

  41. Publication of data on planned and realized domestic and foreign assistance for rural development and agriculture on a quarterly basis

    MK0106, 2016, Aid

  42. Determination of data on state assistance to be published and their publication

    MK0107, 2016, Aid

  43. Developing standards for transparency and open data on local level

    MK0108, 2016, Capacity Building

  44. Establishment of new tools to improve financial transparency and accountability of Local self-government units

    MK0109, 2016, Capacity Building

  45. Improvement of the institutional consultation mechanism at the local level

    MK0110, 2016, Capacity Building

  46. Capacity strengthening for cooperation between the local self-government units and civil organizations

    MK0111, 2016, Capacity Building

  47. Monitoring and evaluation of service quality at the local level

    MK0112, 2016, Capacity Building

  48. Improvement of the local level social services

    MK0113, 2016, Capacity Building

  49. Improvement of disabled people social inclusion at the local level

    MK0114, 2016, E-Government

  50. Improvement of the local level communal services

    MK0115, 2016, Capacity Building

  51. More information for the citizens on the Ombudsman institution

    MK0116, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  52. Favorable legal environment for social contracts

    MK0117, 2016, Civic Space

  53. Developing climate policies at national level in a transparent and participatory manner

    MK0118, 2016, Environment and Climate

  54. Open data on climate change at national and local level

    MK0119, 2016, Capacity Building

  55. Ensuring private sector accountability and involvement in national climate change action

    MK0120, 2016, E-Government

  56. Advancement of the consultation process with stakeholders in the policy creating process

    MK0087, 2016, E-Government

  57. Cooperation advancement with the civil sector

    MK0088, 2016, Capacity Building

  58. Enhancement of the ENER portal and optimization of the process of public consultation

    MK0036, 2014, E-Government

  59. Implementation of the measures from the Strategy for Cooperation of the Government with the Civil Society (2012-2017)

    MK0037, 2014, E-Government

  60. Strengthening the rules for work and use of ENER

    MK0038, 2014, E-Government

  61. Publication of the results of using ENER - " Mirror of the Government "

    MK0039, 2014, E-Government

  62. Monitoring of openness of government institutions in the processes of policy making and law drafting "Mirror of the Government: public participation in the process of law drafting" Annual Report – assessment of:

    MK0040, 2014, Public Participation

  63. Capacity building of civil society organizations to monitor the implementation of policies

    MK0041, 2014, Capacity Building

  64. Raising the awareness about the benefits of Open Government Partnership:

    MK0042, 2014, Capacity Building

  65. Greater public awareness and use of participatory policy making through the internet portal e-democracy by the institutions, companies, chambers, civil society and citizens

    MK0043, 2014, E-Government

  66. Starred commitment Establishing of an advisory body to promote cooperation, dialogue and encourage the development of the civil society, composed of representatives of the Government, administrative bodies and civil society organizations

    MK0044, 2014, Public Participation

  67. Improved implementation of the Code of Good Practice for the participation of civil society in the policy making process

    MK0045, 2014, Capacity Building

  68. Open data of the bodies and public sector institutions according to their technical features which they create in exercise of their powers that will be made available for use

    MK0046, 2014, Open Data

  69. Setting of technical standards for the data format and the manner of its publication prescribed by the Minister of Information Society and Administration.

    MK0047, 2014, Open Data

  70. Establishing a Central catalog of public sector data published for use based on a catalog of data from the bodies and the institutions of the public sector www.otvorenipodatoci.gov.mk (opendata.gov.mk)

    MK0048, 2014, E-Government

  71. Establishing a database for the contact person in the bodies and institutions of the public sector where a contact person shall be appointed responsible for the technical adaptation and publishing of data for use, their publication on the website of the authority and responsibilities for the accuracy of the catalog data www.opendata.gov.mk.

    MK0049, 2014, Open Data

  72. Introducing the possibility for submission of a request by the interested parties for new datasets for use.

    MK0050, 2014, Open Data

  73. Establishing a platform for data mashing (pilot 11 institutions)

    MK0051, 2014, E-Government

  74. Trainings for implementation of the Law on Use of Data from the Public Sector

    MK0052, 2014, Capacity Building

  75. Raising public awareness about the right to free access to public information through the created and conducted media presentations and educational campaign

    MK0053, 2014, Capacity Building

  76. Establishing of inter-sector working group for determining the compliance with the Convention of the Council of Europe for access to public documents and setting national legal requirements for accession to the Convention

    MK0054, 2014, Public Participation

  77. Educating officers and officials at the information holders (Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information)

    MK0055, 2014, Capacity Building

  78. Making a new web site of the Commission (Ministry of Information Society and Administration)

    MK0056, 2014, E-Government

  79. Regular posting and updating the list of information holders

    MK0057, 2014, Capacity Building

  80. Availability of all public information on the web sites of the information holders (all holders)

    MK0058, 2014, Capacity Building

  81. Improving the financial and human resources of the Commission (Ministry of Finance, the Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information and the Ministry of Information Society and Administration)

    MK0059, 2014, Capacity Building

  82. Increasing the cooperation of the Commission with associations and foundations and municipalities in RM through Memorandum of Cooperation

    MK0060, 2014, Capacity Building

  83. Publishing information about budget and program implementation of health budgets, with particular focus on the budgetary and financial implementation of preventive programs of the Ministry of Health, obtained through a procedure of access to public information www.esem.org.mk

    MK0061, 2014, E-Government

  84. Amending the Law on Free Access to Public Information (Ministry of Justice)

    MK0062, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  85. Starred commitment Adoption of amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption in the direction of:

    MK0063, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  86. Implementation of activities to raise awareness of public administration and citizens to report corruption and other unlawful and impermissible actions

    MK0064, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  87. Introducing guidelines to the integrity system and their further piloting in the municipalities and central level institutions

    MK0065, 2014, Capacity Building

  88. Defining a methodology for assessing the risks of corruption by updating the concept of integrity

    MK0066, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  89. Developing a methodology for monitoring the progress of implementation of integrity systems (integrity index) for local self governments

    MK0067, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  90. Developing a methodology for monitoring progress in implementation of integrity systems by the civil society (through tools for social responsibility)

    MK0068, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  91. Continuously promote the use of IT tools for social responsibility in the municipalities and other institutions

    MK0069, 2014, Capacity Building

  92. Building the capacity of civil society organizations to monitor anti-corruption practices at the local level through research and a LOTOS study

    MK0070, 2014, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  93. Defining the scope of the elected and appointed persons who are obliged to submit declarations of assets and interests statement - Preparation of the Register

    MK0071, 2014, Asset Disclosure

  94. Implementation of the Open Budget Initiative

    MK0072, 2014, Fiscal Transparency

  95. Starred commitment Public procurement

    MK0073, 2014, Open Contracting and Procurement

  96. Foreign aid and foreign investment

    MK0074, 2014, Aid

  97. Developing capacities at local level for the implementation of mechanisms for proactive communication with citizens

    MK0075, 2014, Capacity Building

  98. Establish an electronic platform (dashboard) with indicators for the budget and delivery of local services

    MK0076, 2014, E-Government

  99. Improving local services through direct collaboration with citizens

    MK0077, 2014, Public Participation

  100. Transforming the part of local services in e- services

    MK0078, 2014, E-Government

  101. Participatory policy making at the local level- obligatory consultations with citizens in drafting/amending of the most important acts and documents in the local government (budget, strategies, urban plans, statute)

    MK0079, 2014, Legislation & Regulation

  102. Increasing accountability and promoting the concept of informed consumers and citizens, service users and rights through:

    MK0080, 2014, Capacity Building

  103. Publication of the results of the projects for evaluation of public administration

    MK0081, 2014, Capacity Building

  104. Inclusive elementary and secondary education for persons with disabilities

    MK0082, 2014, Education

  105. Enforcement activities of the Center for Safer Internet Action Plan in accordance with (Inhope Macedonia)

    MK0083, 2014, Capacity Building

  106. Analysis of the results obtained in field research at the national level to implement the program

    MK0084, 2014, Capacity Building

  107. Informing women on the rights and the services available to them with the Programme

    MK0085, 2014, Capacity Building

  108. Increasing responsibilities and promote the concept of environmental protection (DEM – AD Treska, Makedonski Brod and other stakeholders):

    MK0086, 2014, Environment and Climate

  109. ENER on line participatory tool in legislation drafting; 1)Publishing draft laws; 2)ENER usage data

    MK0001, 2012, Public Participation

  110. www.e-demokratija.gov.mk - on line tool for participatory policy making

    MK0002, 2012, E-Government

  111. Introduction of online petitions

    MK0003, 2012,

  112. Implementation of the Strategy for Cooperation of the Government with the Civil Society Sector

    MK0004, 2012, Public Participation

  113. Code of Best Practices for NGO Involvement

    MK0005, 2012, Capacity Building

  114. www.opendata.gov.mk

    MK0006, 2012, E-Government

  115. Development of business model for open data

    MK0007, 2012, Open Data

  116. Prioritizing opening of data

    MK0008, 2012, Open Data

  117. Use of inter-operable services as guidance in opening data

    MK0009, 2012, Open Data

  118. Plan and monitor the implementation of the plans for opening the state institutions information.

    MK0010, 2012, Open Data

  119. Analyses of the legal framework enabling open data.

    MK0011, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  120. Improving services through www.uslugi.gov.mk

    MK0012, 2012, E-Government

  121. Integration of Citizen Logs, their update and publishing

    MK0013, 2012, E-Government

  122. ‘Traffic light’ project for citizens’ evaluation of the administration.

    MK0014, 2012, Public Participation

  123. Provision of the Government services through cloud computing.

    MK0015, 2012, E-Government

  124. Introduction of one-off request for the information from the citizens.

    MK0016, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  125. Use of harm test. and 2. Publication of information gathered through the Free Access Law

    MK0017, 2012, Right to Information

  126. Publication of easy to search public information.

    MK0018, 2012, Right to Information

  127. Ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Public Documents.

    MK0019, 2012, Legislation & Regulation

  128. Electronic submission of requests for access to public character information.

    MK0020, 2012, E-Government

  129. Training of access to information officers.

    MK0021, 2012, E-Government

  130. Identification of low interest areas for business investments. 2.Publication of research.

    MK0022, 2012, Education

  131. Scientific and research cooperation through the Internet.

    MK0023, 2012, E-Government

  132. Publication of information from the State Statistical Office for further scientific purposes.

    MK0024, 2012, Education

  133. Available information about the Inspectorates

    MK0025, 2012, Justice

  134. Introduce integrity systems for anticorruption policies in the public administration.

    MK0026, 2012, Capacity Building

  135. Open Budget initiative

    MK0027, 2012, Fiscal Transparency

  136. Public Procurements

    MK0028, 2012, E-Government

  137. Foreign assistance and foreign investments

    MK0029, 2012, Aid

  138. Opening of information by the Municipalities

    MK0030, 2012, Open Data

  139. Free access to information training local self-government officials

    MK0031, 2012, Capacity Building

  140. Integrity system on local level.1. Established methodology. 2. Piloting in 10 municipalities.

    MK0032, 2012, Conflicts of Interest

  141. Promotion of consumers information in selected areas.

    MK0033, 2012, Gender

  142. Availability of information related to: roads safety, air quality, safety of workers

    MK0034, 2012, E-Government

  143. Public health information

    MK0035, 2012, Health