Pencho Milkov is the leader in openness and accountability according to Transparency International - Bulgaria

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov took first place in the "Local Integrity Index" of the global anti-corruption coalition Transparency International.

At an official forum, the annual results were presented, reflecting the anti-corruption capacity of key institutions and sectors: municipal council, mayor, municipal administration, local political parties, business, media, civil society, municipal healthcare. Good examples in policy implementation for efficiency, transparency and accountability at local level were examined.

"Control is an essential task of management, but it becomes much easier for a leader if he allows the system to be observed not only from his eyes, but also from the eyes of society. When you get feedback from citizens, what you see, hear and observe helps. Governance is for the sake of the citizens and must be done together with them", said Mayor Pencho Milkov.

The Local Integrity System Index 2015 offers a comparative analysis of the municipalities in the 27 regional centres in Bulgaria and is based on information from a wide range of sources with a time span of the last two years (official documents, specialised observations in each of the municipalities covered, information obtained under the Access to Public Information Act).

Several key practices bring the mayor of Ruse to the top. Among them are the access to the administration's filing system, which allows citizens to check in real time the progress of their files, and the regular weekly reports, which are publicly available on Facebook and on the official website of the Municipality. As a good example are also reported the dozens of electronic services, the surveys for feedback from citizens, the maintenance of a rubric for questions from Ruse citizens and answers to the mayor, the publication of annual reports on management, the maintenance of an up-to-date page with investment intentions for Ruse and many others.

In an interview for BNR's "Before All" programme, the association's executive director Kalin Slavov listed the most common problems in municipalities: lack of a programme for the mayor's activity, lack of reports on this activity, municipal councils whose publicity goes as far as the announcement of a list of names of municipal councillors.

"In short - everything that gives the feeling of visibility to the activities of these municipal councils", commented Kalin Slavov. According to him, in many cases the communication with the citizens is underestimated or the forces are not enough.

"I don't believe we've come across a case of any malice," he said, adding that with a little help and guidance things could improve.

 

 

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