Financial governance in local administrations inefficient

BELGRADE - The governance of public finances in Serbian local self-government authorities is inefficient, State Audit Institution (DRI) President Radoslav Sretenovic said on Tuesday.

The biggest problems lie in control of budget spending, lack of respect of the law and omissions in internal auditing, while subsidies are a matter that is not regulated by the law at all, Sretenovic said.
"Control mechanisms for governance of public finances must be set up in the local self-government authorities," Sretenovic said at a conference on improving the governance of public finances at local level.

Over the past three years, the DRI has issued 59 opinions and over a thousand recommendations regarding financial reports by local self-government authorities, Sretenovic said, adding that the operations of more than 12,000 legal persons and institutions in Serbia are subject to audits.

UNDP Resident Coordinator in Serbia Irena Vojackova-Sollorano said that local self-government authorities need assistance for more efficient governance of public finances, which she said must become more transparent and more responsible.

In a year that saw the country's public debt and budget deficit both rise, the Serbian citizens would like the governance of public finances to be more transparent, she noted.

The regional conference in Belgrade, which brought together officials of local authorities, was organised by the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities with support from the UNDP.

The conference was also attended by Ivan Bosnjak, state secretary at the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, and Assistant Minister of Finance Goran Cvejic.