Government Accountability Initiative Quarterly Report (April 1 - June 30, 2018)

Cooperation has been established with counterpart institutions and a stakeholder network for each component has been mapped. The most notable achievements in the second quarter include local self-governments (LSGs) providing a positive response to GAI's Open Call for Expression of Interest to receive technical support on various topics. Twenty-nine (29) LSGs throughout Serbia responded to the Open Call, achieving diversity in geographic and socio-economic representation. The Open Call allowed LSGs to select from a variety of assistance areas that GAI offered. Requests received from the LSGs cover a number of governance topics, including enhancement of public service delivery, improving transparency in governance, increasing public participation in budgeting and monitoring public expenditures, developing local anti-corruption action plans, and monitoring whistleblower promotion and protection. The new leadership of the State Audit Institution (SAI) and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) have readily engaged in productive dialogues with GAI. The leaders of both institutions affirmed their need to build institutional capacity and their desire for areas of technical support that GAI can provide, as identified in GAI Work Plan for Y1. Both SAI's and ACA's leadership have prioritized leadership and management training, and assistance in updating their strategic plans. SAI's President also assigned equal priority to enhancing performance auditing with training over time for up to 200 auditors representing nearly one-half of the SAI workforce. Discussions with the SAI President and the Chairperson of the National Assembly Committee on Finance State Budget and Control of Public Spending underscored their desire to increase utilization of SAI reports for oversight of government performance at the national and local levels. GAI reached agreements with the President of SAI and the Committee Chairperson to facilitate dialogues and build mechanisms to enhance their communication and improve utility of SAI reporting to the National Assembly. GAI's initial assessment of the requirements for an Electronic Registry of Corruption Cases (ERCC) and the needs of specialized Public Prosecutors' Offices, the Anti-Corruption Court Units, and the Ministry of Justice, indicate delays in the institutions' implementation of activities necessary to establish a fully functional ERCC. Delayed planning has resulted in a lack of IT infrastructure in the four specialized A/C Units, as well as the inconsistent roll out of the Standardized Application for Prosecutors' Offices and the Automated Case Management System for Courts. Statistical reporting on the new set of criminal offenses related to corruption has not been fully transitioned into new reporting templates for all intended users, as was anticipated by this time. GAI is continuing its assessment of the legal issues relating to case registry and reporting requirements, data quality and completeness, personal data protection, business process streamlining, software development and IT management issues necessary for the development of an ERCC. GAI will be able to define technical specifications for an ERCC once the intended beneficiary institutions finalize their plans for IT infrastructure, management systems roll out and reporting templates. The GAI Work Plan for Year 1 outlines specific objectives and activities for the remaining quarters of the year, including the development of an ERCC and the provision of technical support to SAI and ACA. The plan also includes activities aimed at enhancing the capacity of LSGs and promoting transparency and accountability in governance.