FACING THE REQUESTS OF CITIZENS
29.07.2014

The introduction and implementation of the Quality Policy in Palilula municipality is successfully working to achieve complete satisfaction for consumers - citizens. According to the President Boban Džunić, work of Municipal Administration provides benefits to citizens in accordance with high standards of work. With the existing resources of Municipal Administration, in mid last year there was 'Office for quick answers opened. Provided by modern information exchange, it takes place in a way that interested citizens can submit requests to the Service Center counter-government of the City Municipality of Paliula, as well as by email and phone. Submitted requests of citizens are processed within 48 hours and applicants receive feedback within three days. This solution avoided the current practice of delaying to address communal problems, says President Džunić, transferring jurisdiction from one service companies, and other organizations on administrative silence.

Unfortunately, there are those individuals among the citizens, who often without merit accuse the municipal administration. Recently, a citizen of M.R. from Vrbas street, asked for troubleshooting "drainage of rainwater and wastewater." Municipal Administration reacted about the problem on an expedited basis, informed the JP Directorate for the construction of the City of Nis and asked to examine this issue and take appropriate action. A procedure was implemented, and citizen MR from Vrbas street is notified by mail, which, unfortunately, did not want to take. But, in the exercise of their rights, M.R. was outraged with no basis for accusing tardiness of municipal administration - says Mihajlo Lazarevic, group coordinator for utilities of Municipal Administration.

Municipality is regularly monitoring the realization of the Program of development of the city of Nis for the current year, however, in certain areas of the municipality of Palilula, which has over 80,000 residents, citizens express dissatisfaction with the pace and quality of work planned and investment, particularly in the utility of the infrastructure, says President Džunić. Expectations of our citizens are united and jurisdiction of city municipalities are very narrow. The public needs to know that we have launched an initiative to enable the transfer of some act or other jurisdiction to the city municipalities. We asked that the "city municipalities" receive the transfer of part of the powers that a city has, rather than the powers the Republic transferred to the City. This problem is present since 2004, when in the purpose of decentralization of local government, City of Niš was divided into five urban municipalities. Cooperation with the city as a whole is good. We understand the problems that we present before the city management, says Boban Džunić, but it is important that the city municipalities of Nis have greater authority, in order to solve problems in the field faster for our citizens.

A similar initiative on the major responsibilities of municipalities is sent from other urban municipalities. We do this because we are still "under scrutiny" of our citizens, rightly expected to work in their interest.