Associaton of the Units of the Local Self-Government of the Republic of Macedonia - ZELS

When is ZELS first established Established on April 26, 1972; May 18, 2005; - Constitutive General Assembly of the new ZELS composition; Elected President: Mr. Andrej Petrov Two Vice Presidents: Mr. Nevzat Bejta Mr. Koce Trajanovski

Who is ZELS Unique Umbrella Organization; ZELS is consisted of all 84 municipalities and the City of Skopje; ZELS Structure: Governing Board – consisted of 15 members General Assembly – consisted of all 85 mayors in Macedonia Supervisory board

Establishment of 11 committees: ZELS Committees Establishment of 11 committees: Financing Committee; Municipal Administration Committee; Culture Committee; Communal Issues Committee; Rural Development Committee; E-Municipalities Committee;

Establishment of 11 committees: Community Development Committee; Education and Sport Committee; Urban and Spatial Planning Committee; Environmental Protection Committee; Health and Social Care Committee;

ZELS Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of the Republic of Macedonia (implementation of the operational program); signed on March 5, 2003; Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Finance; Memorandum for Understanding with the Ministry of Local Self-Government and Civil Servant Agency; October 23, 2003

Cooperation with international organizations and donors High level of cooperation with: Make Decentralization Work Project - DAI/MDW Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development - SDC OSCE UNDP EAR VNG International GTZ Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia

ZELS international activities Active participation in the bodies of the Council of Europe – The Congress of the Local and Regional Authorities CEMR membership NALAS membership – Network of Associations of regional and local authorities of the South East Europe – under auspices of the Council of Europe

Workshops and trainings Organizing a lot of workshops and trainings for capacity building of the municipal administration in the sphere of: Legal regulations; Local Economic Development; Urbanism; Preparation and implementation of municipal projects; Capacity Building of Elected Representatives

System for informing of the municipalities and the public on regular basis Preparation and distribution of Newsletter: - Macedonian - English: 2350 copies - Macedonian - Albanian: 500 copies Preparation and distribution of weekly reports in Macedonian and Albanian language; Preparation and updating of dynamic web page.

Assistance to the municipalities Constant assistance to the municipalities for realization of the municipal projects; Contacts with the donor organizations and institutions for overcoming of the municipal problems. Lobbying Legal Advises

Collection of membership fee Increased Collection rate of ZELS membership fee:

Audit of the financial management of ZELS Financial Audit provided by international Audit agency; Transparent cost elaboration for the membership and public;

ZELS Administration Increasing the number of employees from 2 to 9; Active engagement for coordination of the work of the committees, the international cooperation, training, logistic support and all the current activities of ZELS.

QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION