November 26, 2009

26. November 2009.

Yesterday, nineteen municipalities signed in Indjija an Agreement on Starting the Process of Getting a Certificate of Being a Municipality with a Favorable Business Environment. This document is important because it should provide a guarantee to businessmen and potential investors that they would receive services and information that facilitate the conducting of business operations. Out of 53 local self – governments that applied, Sabac, Medvedja, Bujanovac, Nis, Pirot, Smederevo, Zrenjanin, Pancevo, Krusevac, Lapovo, Kocevlja, Stara Pazova, Sombor, Zajecar, Sremska Mitrovica, Cacak, Valjevo and Ruma entered the program.

According to Mladjen Dinkic, Minister of Economy, business climate is of key importance for attarcting investments, and that is why competition and the race for standards should be introduced.

He says that industry would slowely move from the EU to Serbia next year, because our country failed to increase taxes during the economic crisis, while other countries in the region did it, so that Serbia became more competitive.

The decision of investors to invest in the terrirory of a municipality depends on the quality of communication between the local self-government and businessmen, as well as on the quality of information provided by the local self-government and on the speed the information is conveyed.

„In that respect, as little bureaucracy as possible, as fast decision-making as possible and as simple approcah as possible will guarantee more investments and jobs,“ Mr. Dinkic said. He also reiterated that investors dislike complications and stalling, as well as corruption, which results from complications and stalling, and added that local self-goverments should abolish unnecessary documents at the local level.

This program is implemeted by the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), which cooperates with the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, the Provincial Secretariat for Local Self-Government and Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) and the USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA) program.