Capacity Development Program for Public Administration

(Media Coverage)

MINA NEWS AGENCY, September 9  2003

Contract on state administration development signed

Representatives of the Government of Montenegro, the Open Society Fund in Podgorica and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Office to Podgorica signed today a contract on realization of The Program of state administration capacity development in Montenegro.

The Program is a project that should contribute to reforming the state administration in Montenegro, that is, the development of human resources in the ministries that are to realize the reforms.

"For the time being, Ministry of justice, Ministry of education and Ministry for foreign economic relations are the only beneficiaries of the project that would, depending on its success, would later be expanded to other ministries as well," Djurovic said following the signing of the contract.

The project is to be financed by all three partners and Djurovic said that the sum of €550,000 was provided for the beginning. Of that sum, the Government and the Open Society Fund provided €200,000 each, while UNDP provided €150,000.

He added that depending on the success of the project, assistance of bilateral donors was expected.

Djurovic was appointed chairman of the Supervision Committee that would control the project, while the Executive Committee that would be in charge of operative activities would be chaired by minister for European integrations, Slavica Milacic.

The contract on realization of the project was signed for the period of one year and it can be extended, Sanja Elezovic, director of the Open Society Fund's office to Podgorica said.

Head of the UNDP Office to Belgrade, Francis O'Donnell said he was particularly pleased with the fact that the Government of Montenegro participated in financing of the project and reminded that the United Nations had allocated USD100 million for Serbia and Montenegro last year.