Representatives of the Macedonian Government, representatives of the UN, dear friends,
Being a representative of a country divided into almost 450 municipalities it goes without saying that I find today’s topic, inter-municipal cooperation, of great importance. The Norwegian Government has supported UNDPs work in this field for many years because we know from our own experience how important it is to establish a well-functioning cooperation between municipalities and between local communities.
A municipality-based, decentralized system normally has great democratic values. However, it also calls for extensive practical cooperation. Not every municipality can have it’s own hospital. Consequently, there is a need for cooperation in the field of healthcare – among the municipalities and between the municipalities and the central Government. Excactly the same applies in the educational sector. And, needless to say, in the field of transport and maintenance of infrastructure.
Water maintenance and sanitation require cooperation across municipal borders. So does the taxation system.
But challenges remain. In most countries, including Macedonia, the municipal cooperation can be further enhanced and made more effective. For instance, is the potential for municipal cooperation with regard to waste collection systems fully utilized? Is there room for improvement, generally, concerning joint efforts in the field of the environment? What about tourism, which in many cases could involve several municipalities? And a sound business development requires comparable and predictable conditions, regardless of municipal borders.
In other words: municipal cooperation is not a process that has been finalized. It must continue, both because remaining problems need to be resolved and because new opportunities should be addressed through local cooperation. It is the Norwegian experience that municipalities need to interact. If they don’t they risk to lose the justification for being identified as legal and formal entities in the overall, national administrative and political system. That is, normally, the nightmare for any citizen involved in local or municipal politics.