Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Center for investigative reporting have presented today in Sarajevo the project "Monitoring of Public Administration Reform", which aims to increase the transparency of public administration reform in BiH.

The project authors emphasize that the public administration reform is the basic precondition for accessing the European Union and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness  of state, entity and the Brčko District institutions. The reform is guided under  the framework of the Strategy of public administration reform and includes the activities which  should improve strategic planning, public finance, human resources management, administrative systems, communications and e-government.

"We all know that the public administration reform process has been lasting already  for about ten years, however, when it comes to the results, we still believe that they are not satisfactory, that it is necessary to make a lot of effort  in order for citizens of BiH  to have  the administration  they expect, independent, depoliticized", has been said by the executive director of Transparency International of BiH, Srđan Blagovčanin.

Blagovčanin pointed out that the research has shown that the biggest problem in the process is the absence of political will  for  the public administration reform.

Executive director of the Center for investigative reporting, Lejla Bičakčić said that the politicians must be aware that they  were elected by  citizens, and that  the project objective is to improve communication with the public  through a series of investigative stories  and thus contribute to  democratic dialogue of citizens and institutions in BiH. The rReforms have been going so far  very slowly,  while the results are very limited, has been shown by the research.

"Public administration reform is a long and challenging process. We have opted to accept the European standards and principles in order for the  BiH administrative space to be able to correspond  with the administrative  space of the European countries. Public administration reform  has been lasting since 2006. The results we have achieved are a halfway, because through this process four levels of government have been involved", has been said by the National Coordinator for Public Administration Reform, Semiha Borovac.

"The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden continues to support the public administration reform process, but we expect more concrete results. The  objective is to create  preconditions for more transparent, more efficient and more effective public administration in BiH and for it to be  in service of all citizens", the Ambassador of Sweden, Fredrik Schiller has said.

Human resource management in public administration, public finance management and transparency, accountability and integrity of public administration are issues that will be in the focus of Transparency International of BiH and the Center for investigative reporting.