site.btaDraft Legislative Changes Divide Bulgaria into Four Regions

117 POLITICS - REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACT - DRAFT REVISIONS Ampl 2

Draft Legislative Changes
Divide Bulgaria into Four
Regions


Sofia, October 2 (BTA) - Under draft amendments to the Regional Development Act, Bulgaria will be divided into four regions: Danubian, Black Sea, Southwestern, and Thracian-Rhodope region. Rather than having an administrative centre, these regions will have cities set to carry out activities of planning, programming, resource provision, monitoring and assessment of regional development. The draft revisions were presented by Regional Development and Public Works Minister Petya Avramova at the 13th annual meeting of local authorities, organized by the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria on Tuesday, her ministry reported.

Avramova said that the draft changes also envisage a new system of documents for strategic planning of regional development.

Also envisaged is a two-level governance model of regional councils for development of regions, which will comprise management and expert technical staff. Their powers will be broadened. Regional development councils will be removed.

The draft amendments are about to be subjected to public consultations and interdepartmental coordination.

This change in the regional policy model is carried out with the support of the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and has been coordinated with the European Commission, Avramova specified.

Addressing the annual meeting of local authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev said that the introduction of e-government is essentially an administrative reform. He commented that e-governance meets decentralized resistance and shakes up the whole order of the administration's work. E-governance processes take away power from the administration and make its work traceable, thus revealing who meets deadlines and observes the law, Donchev added. He recalled that the electronic connectivity between administrations should be achieved by the end of November, while this process has been completed for ministries and state agencies.

In his words, 26 out of the 28 regional administrations are ready to exchange documents electronically. Participating in the process are 218 municipalities, 21 are about to be tested, 11 have applied for participation, and 15 have not taken any steps yet.

Donchev also said that cybersecurity is a priority in the administration's electronic connectivity.

Labour and Social Policy Minister Bisser Petkov told the meeting, as quoted by his ministry, that municipalities will play a key role in implementing the reform in the area of social services. He also said that a working group with the Labour Ministry is preparing a bill on social services, under which municipalities, and not the Social Assistance Agency, will assist people when they require social services. A social service will be established by decision of the corresponding municipal council in conformity with the future national map of services, Petkov explained.

The bill promotes public-private partnership and decentralization of social services, he said. Social services will be funded through single expenditure standards. A new agency for quality of social services will be established within the number of permanent staff at the Labour Ministry, Petkov also said.

RQ, LI/DS
/ДЛ/