US embassy cable - 05SOFIA1795

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SOFIA 001795 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
FSI FOR LMS/SPS - MCMULLEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, BU 
SUBJECT: DEMOCRACY BUILDING: SUCCESS STORIES AND BEST 
PRACTICES 
 
REF: SECSTATE 182307 
 
1.  Democracy building in Bulgaria has been a lengthy 
process with multiple dimensions.  The USG has been 
actively involved with different aspects of the reform 
efforts and can claim excellent results and success in 
many areas.  There are two areas where the USG is a 
pioneer in terms of providing timely assistance and 
introducing good working models - local governance and 
strengthening the central government's transparency. 
These two success stories are a direct outcome of the 
assistance efforts of the US Agency for International 
Development (USAID) in Bulgaria. 
 
2.  Democracy building programs are also promoted under 
two additional grant programs at the U.S. Embassy in 
Sofia:  Office of Public Affairs' program for Democracy 
Commission Small Grants (grants under $24,000), and the 
Peace Corps' Small Projects Assistance (grants under 
$5,000).  For details on how the U.S. Embassy 
administers Democracy Commission Small Grants Program 
in Bulgaria, see paras 10 and 11. 
 
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Municipal  "one-stop shops" bring democracy  closer  to 
the people 
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2.   USAID works with local governments to become  more 
efficient, to improve local services, and to lobby more 
effectively for their interests at the national  level. 
Work at the local level makes changes tangible for  the 
people and makes them the primary beneficiaries of  the 
reform  efforts.  Citizens' involvement in the decision 
making  process brings democracy closer to the  people. 
Local  governments do that best when  they  open  their 
doors  to  the people and see them as their  customers. 
That  is  why  a  major element of USAID assistance  to 
municipalities has been the establishment of  municipal 
"one-stop shops". 
 
3.   USAID successfully supported the establishment  of 
37  Municipal Customer Service and Information  Centers 
in  Bulgaria (municipal "one-stop shops").  The centers 
have  gained  nation-wide recognition as an  innovative 
tool  for  achieving better quality  of  administrative 
services,  enhanced  efficiency of the  administration, 
and increased transparency.  In fact, these centers are 
the  first  practical application  of  e-government  in 
Bulgaria at local level.  These centers facilitate  and 
accelerate citizen access to many municipal services by 
delivering  effective services in an open manner.   The 
"one-stop   shops"   appropriately   incorporate    key 
municipal    administrative    services,    such    as: 
Registration   of   Documents,  Citizen   Registration, 
Municipal  Real  Estate  Property,  Municipal  Finance, 
Labor  and  Human  Resources, Business  Activities  and 
Licenses,  Local  Taxes and Fees,  Urban  Planning  and 
Construction  etc.   Through the "one-stop  shops"  the 
municipal    administrations   have    also    improved 
considerably   their  information   and   communication 
channels with the local community. 
 
4.   The  initiative  brought  different  benefits  and 
advantages   for   the  different  participants.    The 
citizens  have  enjoyed the friendly and  business-like 
environment  of the new establishments and have  gained 
better  access to information - catalogues of services, 
information  boards  and flyers, information  of  other 
institutions, municipal websites or portals,  which  in 
turn  has  saved  them a lot of time and  efforts  when 
municipal  services were required.   In  addition,  the 
"one-stop   shops"  have  substantially   reduced   the 
opportunities   for   corrupt  practices,   simply   by 
eliminating  the  direct  contact  between  the  person 
applying   for  a  particular  administrative   service 
(license,  permit,  etc.)  and  the  official  who   is 
responsible  for  the provision of  the  service.   The 
municipal staff members have enjoyed the opportunity to 
have  sufficient  time for provision  of  high  quality 
services   and   for  improvement  of   intra-municipal 
communications.  The municipal leadership has benefited 
from  the more effective management of the municipality 
and an improved public image. 
 
5.  Although fairly simple to implement in the computer 
age, the "one-stop shops" were an entirely new practice 
for   the  country.   The  successful  launch  of   the 
initiative in several municipalities was sufficient  to 
generate  enormous interest among the local authorities 
all over the country.  Now, nearly one third of the 264 
Bulgarian municipalities apply the concept in one  form 
or another. 
 
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Strengthening government transparency through a Public 
Procurement Register 
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6.  An efficient and open public procurement system 
provides citizens and businesses with better access to 
information about public projects and ensures that 
public money is spent in a transparent manner.  This 
not only encourages better use of public resources but 
also increases trust in the government. 
 
7.  For the past two years, USAID has supported the 
reform of Bulgaria's public procurement system through 
legislative drafting and technical assistance.  To 
support the development of a new Public Procurement 
Law, a number of working groups, comprised of 
representatives from ministries, the business community 
as well as leading Bulgarian and international 
consultants were established.  After the new 
legislation adopted in 2004 established the Public 
Procurement Agency - a monitoring entity charged with 
overseeing public procurement contracts - it became the 
focus of USAID support.  Assistance was provided for 
the development of a common procurement vocabulary and 
official forms for procurement announcements.  The bulk 
of USAID assistance was targeted at the development of 
a Public Procurement Register. 
 
8.  The Public Procurement Register is a serious step 
towards transparency, accountability and efficient 
control over public sector spending.  The Public 
Procurement Register saves time and generates savings 
in public spending.  Finally, the Public Procurement 
Register is a part of the GOB's e-government strategy 
and as such it will ensure connectivity to the European 
Commission (EC) procurement database. 
 
9.  Recognizing that the government is just one part of 
the good governance equation, USAID has recently 
stepped up its efforts to involve business associations 
to monitor public procurement in particular sectors, 
suggest legislative and implementation changes and come 
up with company lists to complement the information 
available in the Public Procurement Register.  USAID 
will thus continue to support Bulgaria's efforts to 
improve governance and make government more transparent 
and accountable. 
 
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Strengthening Democratic and Civic Involvement through 
Grassroots Programs Implemented by Non-Governmental 
Organizations in Bulgaria 
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10. US Embassy Sofia's Public Affairs Section (PA 
Sofia) organizes an annual SEED-funded small grants 
competition under an inter-agency Democracy Commission. 
USAID, Peace Corps, U.S. Department of Justice, and 
Embassy Sections for Political Affairs, Economic 
Affairs, and Security issues are members of the 
Democracy Commission.  The members of the Democracy 
Commission review approximately 250 small grants (under 
$24,000) per year and approve a total of approximately 
35-45 SEED funded and EUR/ACE approved grants (totaling 
around $500,000 per fiscal year).  The Embassy began 
this program in FY 1994 with $200,000 per year, with 
increases each year since then. 
11. The Democracy Commission Small Grants Program is 
designed to strengthen Bulgarian NGOs so that they can 
develop grassroots programs which respond to the 
communities they serve.  PA Sofia conducts a country- 
wide outreach program in Bulgaria to promote the goals 
of the Democracy Commission program, including through 
press releases, website-based application process, and 
weekly consultations by CAO and Cultural Assistant. The 
Program works closely with Peace Corps volunteers 
assigned to Bulgarian NGOs, and relies on USAID's 
expertise and input in the review and approval process. 
Projects funded under the Small Grants program may be 
of short duration (i.e. outreach to youth groups or 
marginalized communities in advance of parliamentary 
elections to help these groups understand their rights 
as voters); may be pilot projects (i.e. developing 
teaching materials for high school students to learn 
about Roma folklore and local history); and/or may 
build civic awareness between youth audiences and civic 
leaders in small communities (i.e. waste recycling 
project managed by students at three high schools in NE 
Bulgaria). 
 
LEVINE