The event was organized by the project "Strengthening Voice and Accountability: Citizens’ Participation and Oversight of Budgetary Processes". This project is implemented by the Development Policy Institute and financed by the Swiss Government through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It ensures participation of citizens in budgetary processes and strengthens the capacity of municipalities to improve citizens’ livelihoods.

Citizens participate in budgetary hearings organized by municipalities during which they identify and select priority problems. Municipalities then applied for grant support from the Swiss-funded project. The grants were awarded on a competitive basis to provide funding for municipalities to realize these community initiatives.

“I hope that citizens will continue to be involved in the budgetary processes at the local level, it is an important element of democracy, which strengthens accountability of local authorities towards citizens and enables an effective and efficient use of public resources,” - said Danielle Meuwly Monteleone, Deputy Head of the Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic. 

The competition for grant support covered all municipalities of the Osh and Naryn provinces, which are applying a participatory budgetary process model. The committee has selected 38 projects out of more than 120 applications. The committee consisted of the representatives of the President’s Administration of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Finance, the State Agency for Local Self-Governance and Interethnic Relations, the Union of Local Self Governments and the Development Policy Institute.

Out of 38 initiatives, 20 (53%) will address pre-school and school education services; 11 (29%) will improve access to municipal services; 6 (16%) - recreation services for local community members; and 1 (2%) - access to information.

The list of winning municipalities is as follows:

The Swiss-funded project "Strengthening Voice and Accountability” has been working since 2011. Previously, it covered Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad and Chui provinces.

Chairperson Shaikova stressed the high importance of the Centre: “During the electoral cycle between 2015 to 2017 about 13,000 SRS/CEC experts have been trained on a smooth organization of elections, use of ICT equipment, appropriate delivery of information, effective electoral disputes resolution mechanisms for successful election campaigns. Therefore, the need for having such training centre is still urgent, as skills and knowledge should be updated regularly to be in shorthand with new technologies and innovations”.

Citizens want transparent, effective and accountable governments, with institutions that empower people and are responsive to their aspirations. The SRS, with the support of the UNDP, the Government of Switzerland and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, has addressed this need by introducing these novelty technologies, which demanded a new set of knowledge and skills of SRS staff. Eventually, this cooperative work has led to an opening of the Capacity Development Centre.

“Knowledge and innovation are inseparable from each other - they drive societies and economies around the world. I believe this Capacity Development Centre will become a knowledge hub for the SRS staff, who is working towards building strong institutions and democratic society in the Kyrgyz Republic. UNDP promotes innovation, capacity development, and empowerment through sustainable approaches which we can share with our partners to bring the technologies and innovations for the benefit of people”, said Dr. Ozonnia Ojielo, UN Resident Coordinator/ UNDP Resident Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic.

“Change is the driver of progress and today the SRS demonstrates that change is already taking place in the public services industry in Kyrgyzstan, and the OSCE is proud to be a part of it,” said Ambassador Chiveri, Deputy Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek. Indeed, the Centre will play a significant role in maintaining and upgrading the SRS’s knowledge for improving the provision of public services and heightening inter-organizational communication.

The SRS Capacity Development Centre was an important part of the Kyrgyz Election Support Project 2 (KESP2), which was implemented by UNDP and financed by the Governments of Switzerland and Denmark. The project aimed to support the SRS and CEC in organising free, competitive, and peaceful elections throughout the Kyrgyz Republic. To achieve this goal, the SRS and CEC officials need to be well trained and to have access to modern and safe technology.