Environment Protection and Regional Development Minister Juris Pūce (AP!) met with representatives of the Association of Non-Governmental Organisations “Latvian Civic Alliance” and the think tank “Providus” in order to discuss the work of the Ministry in the drafting of the new Law on Local Governments and the mechanisms to provide for opportunities to involve local residents more in local government work and decision-making. . Representatives of the Ministry and experts from non-governmental organisations have today discussed the rules of the draft law on public consultations, collective submissions, population boards and public information.
Minister Pūce: "The Ministry, working on the new municipal law, has set out a series of priorities where civil society has ample opportunities to engage in local government work and decision-making. The involvement of non-governmental organisations in the drafting of the bill has provided a valuable vision for better models of public participation in municipalities."
The Ministry is currently actively working on the new Local Government Law. . During the drafting of the draft law, working groups on public participation in the work of local governments were organised, including representatives of various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and made their comments and recommendations on how to improve the work of local governments and to involve local residents more actively in decision-making. s. Experts from Providus and the Latvian Civic Alliance made valuable recommendations, including in relation to the participation budget, where Providus produced a large study of other countries' experience in implementing and implementing the participation budget. Representatives of the Ministry and organisations discussed how to better strengthen compliance with the principles of openness in the work of the City Council. The Ministry, including after discussions with NGOs, has included a requirement in the new draft law that the meetings of committees, commissions and councils are open and their agenda is available at local government houses. . The recommendations of Providus and the Latvian Civic Alliance on public consultations and collective submissions were also taken into account.
Representatives of the Ministry thanked the organisations for their work and recommendations, as well as called for further cooperation in the drafting of the bill, including expressing their views also during the review of the Law in the responsible commission of the Saeima, arguing the need for more active involvement of residents in the work of local governments.
On the other hand, representatives of Providus and Latvia's Civic Alliance acknowledged that the new law was necessary and welcomed the fact that the draft law had sufficient time to hear various opinions and suggestions. .
Since the adoption of the Law on Local Governments in 1994, significant changes have been made to the general public administration, which inevitably necessitate changes to the legal framework for the operation of municipalities. In developing the new Law on Local Governments, the Ministry has removed existing gaps and contradictions identified by involving, field representatives and other ministries, as well as the objective of ensuring timely management, stimulating further democratisation, separating decision-making power from executive power, reducing concentration of power and increasing the regular participation of local society.
As one of the forms of population involvement, the implementation of the participation budget is envisaged, thus ensuring a democratic process that enables citizens themselves to determine how part of the local government budget for development issues is spent. . This will promote people's cooperation with the municipality, mutual trust and full and targeted cooperation. U.
The draft law is intended to introduce a requirement for municipalities to provide a population board in order to maintain a dialogue between citizens and the idea. . The Law also provides for the possibility for residents of the local government to submit a collective submission to the City Council.
From tomorrow, WE are inviting citizens to participate in the discussion of the new municipal law by making their proposals. . From tomorrow, the draft law will be available to all interested parties on THE website.
Information prepared by:
Public Relations Department
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development
Tel. .67026533 e-mail: prese@varam.gov.lv