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Project Name: Support to Further Implementation of Local Administration Reform in Turkey
Budget: € 4 Million (all financed by the European Commission)
Timeline: September 2009 – November 2011
What has been the situation?
Pursuant to the Articles 123 and 127 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, local administration is an integral part of the unitary public administration system, which also comprises the central administration. Local administration consists of a number of public corporate entities established to meet the common local needs of the inhabitants of provinces, municipal districts and villages, whose decision-making organs are elected and whose responsibilities, powers and basic structure and resources are determined by law.
These entities are, at present: metropolitan municipalities (16), municipalities (2926), special provincial administrations (81) and villages (around 34 000). With the approval of the central administration (governor or Council of Ministers), all these basic entities may also establish unions for joint delivery of local services or for other purposes. These unions (more than 1 000) are also public entities that belong to the local administration system.
In accordance with the Constitution, the central administration has the power of administrative tutelage over the local administrations, in the framework of the principles and procedures set forth by law, with the objective of ensuring the functioning of local services in conformity with the principle of the integral unity of the administration, securing uniform public service, safeguarding the public interest and meeting the local needs in an appropriate manner.
This tutelage was being exercised through district and provincial governors appointed by the central government, as well as through the General Directorate of Local Authorities (GDLA) and other units in the Ministry of Interior (such as the Board of Inspectors). However, while maintaining tutelage as a constitutional principle, the new laws adopted in 2004-2005 have introduced a drastic shift in the relationships between central and local administration, to set them in line with the standards and criteria laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Article 8).
Until recent legal reforms, Turkish local administrations were mainly responsible for a limited set of traditional local services such as town planning, urban infrastructure facilities (i.e. water supply, sewage and waste water disposal), urban highways, geographic information systems, urban traffic and transport services, hygiene and solid waste collection and disposal, policing, fire fighting, emergency, rescue and ambulance services, cemeteries and funeral services, forestation, parks and green areas. However, the steady and fast process of urbanisation and migration from rural areas to urban areas (more than 70% of the total population lives in cities) has had a big impact on the coverage and quality of such basic services, as well as on the costs for their provision. Moreover, the new legislation adopted in the past years has expanded the scope of the responsibilities of local administrations in the provision of public services, as well as in the promotion of the social and economic development of the relevant communities.
From an economic and financial perspective, local administration (local public sector) output, in terms of % of GDP, has remained around 4%, with a significant decrease over the period of 1999-2003. The participation of the local administrations in Turkey’s consolidated public expenditure (excluding debt service) stands at the level of 10% (7-8% if debt service is included). Municipalities account for more than 80% of the consolidated budgets of the local administrations. (World Bank; Turkey, Municipal Sector Review 2004).
After the signature and ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government by the Republic of Turkey (in 1993), and linking with past reform efforts (even in late 1970s) which failed to materialize because of the general political developments in the country, several successive governments have been working on the formulation of new policies and legislation aimed at the reform and modernisation of the local administration system in Turkey, in the context of broader policies on public administration reform.
However, it was with the 58th and 59th Governments (formed after the 2002 general elections) that these reform intentions and efforts have started to materialize. From the outset, these two governments declared an intention to undertake a process of rationalisation, modernisation and decentralisation of the system of public administration in the country and, following up from this declaration, new legislation on local administrations have been prepared and enacted in the years 2004-2005. This legislative package consisted of new laws on municipalities, metropolitan municipalities, special provincial administrations and unions of local authorities. The new Law on Public Financial Management and Control, also applying to local administration, was adopted in late 2003 (later amended in 2005).
The implementation of all these new legal instruments poses huge challenges to local administrations (elected representatives and staff), to their unions and to the central administration bodies responsible for local administration, namely the Ministry of Interior, governorates and district governorates. Such challenges are particularly acute concerning full information and understanding of the changes introduced by the new legislation as well as regarding the development of the institutional and professional capacities required for implementing an important number of the reforms approved by the Government and the Parliament, which includes strategic planning, multi-annual budgeting based on programmes, introduction of standards and performance indicators for public services, establishment of effective internal control systems mostly based on ex-post audits, access to information and citizens’ participation in decision-making processes – through consultations and institutional representation of civil society organisations, as well as formulation and management of projects aimed at socio-economic development of the relevant communities.
The reform process of local administration in Turkey has been supported by a number of international donors and development agencies (World Bank Municipal Sector Review and Municipal Services Project, UNDP Local Agenda 21 project, etc.). The EU has also been active in this area, through the external aid programmes managed by the EC in the context of Turkey’s pre-accession process. Since 2005, the Ministry of Interior and the EC Delegation in Turkey have been managing a EU funded project under the title of Support to Local Administration Reform Programme (referred to as LAR 1, hereinafter) with technical assistance provided by UNDP-Turkey. LAR 1, which was completed in November 2007, involved the provision of technical assistance and training to enhance reform capacities and modernisation at the central administration, local authorities (municipalities and special provincial administrations) and unions of local authorities, including awareness-raising and support-mobilisation for local administration reform. The main objectives of LAR 1 have been to strengthen reform capacities at the Ministry of Interior as well as at the unions of local authorities, to improve budgetary procedures and service performance at the selected pilot local governments and to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of human resources of local governments through the development and implementation of two main training programmes for local government staff. What is our mission?
The overall objective of the project is to ensure effective, transparent, inclusive and participatory local government in Turkey, in particular through full implementation of the new legislation adopted in 2003-2005.
The specific objective of the project is to develop and strengthen the administrative capacity and co-operation of Turkish Ministry of Interior (particularly General Directorate of Local Authorities, governorates and district governorates), unions of local authorities and local authorities themselves in the task of ensuring effective implementation of new policy and legislation on local administration.
As the contractor of the project, UNDP will establish a Technical Assistance Team to provide the necessary technical assistance to the Ministry of Interior for the implementation of the activities foreseen under the project at the highest possible standards, which will support the local administration reform in Turkey in achieving the objectives explained above. How are we doing this?
The experience of UNDP as a result of the implementation of LAR 1 points out that:
In local administrations, capacity building efforts should give priority to the following target groups: 1) mayors and elected members of municipal councils and provincial assemblies, 2) deputy mayors, secretaries-general and other top managers of the local administrations. An additional target group of great importance for the successful implementation of the reform is the members of the new Audit Commissions, as well as the technical staff to be involved in internal audit. Alongside traditional awareness-raising and training activities, it is important to design and implement a certain number of all-encompassing demonstration of practical experiences (pilot projects) through which learning and outputs can be replicated to a larger number of local authorities.
The long-term sustainability of the efforts and progress depends to a great extent on the development of a consistent and comprehensive strategy for capacity building in local administrations, which can be embraced and owned by all stakeholders. A key component of this strategy should be the establishment of a high quality and accredited training programme for local administration managers, focusing on the development of skills and capacities required for leading changes in local administrations.
In the medium-term, the role of the central administration vis-à-vis the local administration will have to undergo a profound transformation: tutelage and command-and-control systems must be replaced by the capacity to coordinate and lead the development of additional reform policies and instruments, to establish appropriate and flexible regulatory frameworks for local administrations and services including minimum standards and to develop and manage instruments of co-operation between central government and local administrations. The mandate, organisation, management culture and practice, technical resources and human resources capacities of the central administration units responsible for local administrations will have to be reviewed and adjusted to the new framework. Training for the staff of the Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Local Authorities, integration, upgrading and further development of ICT-supported databases and management information systems and further development and refinement of existing programmes to support investments in small-scale local infrastructures in the villages and municipalities with less resources and capacities should be prioritized.
In the process of building a modern system of local administration, the unions of local authorities will be called to play a very important role. However, the capacity of the unions of local authorities is still very limited. For this reason, the development of the capacities in the unions needs to be supported, with a particular emphasis on the development and implementation of a strategy for improving communications between the national union (TBB: Union of Municipalities in Turkey) and all the LAR stakeholders. A second priority in this area should be to support the development of a better understanding and capacity among local authorities in Turkey as regards the benefits of inter-municipal partnerships, both international and domestic. As highlighted in the draft strategy elaborated under the first LAR project, and notwithstanding the role to be played by the central administration (Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the key tasks and responsibilities in this field belong to the unions of local authorities.
The strengthening of participatory and inclusive decision-making at the local level will require a decisive support to the effective establishment and regular operation of the newly introduced urban councils, as well as to a limited number of innovative projects and initiatives involving co-operation between local authorities and civil society, so as to create a bank of best practices which can be used as a reference for spreading and deepening citizens’ participation in decision-making in all local administrations in Turkey.
With the experience gained in Turkey since the reform initiatives were first launched in early 2000s and with the experience obtained through LAR 1 as mentioned above, the intervention logic of the technical assistance is designed to:
Address specific needs through the organisation of training programmes, awareness-raising events, study tours, and by developing new tools including handbooks, guidelines, online tools and improving the already existing ones.
Develop and execute functional strategies such as enhancing participatory mechanisms and developing municipal co-operation.
Implement pilot projects and initiatives to test the efficiency and effectiveness of the present approaches, tools and interventions that will also be utilized to draw lessons for furthering the local administration reform process.
The main activities of the project are grouped under five components:
Component 1: Capacity Building at the Local Authorities aims to strengthen the capacity of the elected representatives and professional managers and staff of local authorities on service delivery (performance, quality, standardization), gender mainstreaming, environmental protection, strategic planning, multi-year budgeting and investment planning, financial management and control and project identification, formulation and management for sustainable social and economic development of local communities. A training needs assessment activity will be carried out for this purpose and training strategies and tools will be developed accordingly. Based on the outcomes of these activities, training programmes will be organized for the elected representatives and managing directors of local authorities. In addition to these, pilot actions on standardisation of municipal services and on service improvement will also be implemented within the scope of Component 1.
Component 2: Capacity Building at the Unions of Local Authorities is aimed at improving institutional communication among the unions of local authorities and between the unions and other relevant national and international organisations. The project will develop and implement a strategy and action plan for this purpose. The project will also design a communications toolkit to support the development of required communication capabilities at the TBB.
Component 3: Strengthening Local Participatory Mechanisms aims to strengthen the capacity of the urban councils and other participatory mechanisms to foster democracy, transparency, accountability and citizens’ involvement in local administration. For this purpose, a strategy for the promotion of participatory mechanisms will be developed within the scope of Component 3 and pilot projects and actions will be delivered involving co-operation between municipalities and civil society organisations at the local level.
Component 4: Improvement of Municipal Coordination and Co-operation aims to increase the number and broaden the scope of the twinning arrangements both between Turkish and European municipalities and also among Turkish municipalities. It is also aimed at improving co-operation in the management of local public services. Activities within the scope of Component 4 will focus on the promotion of municipal partnerships and the project will implement pilot actions involving co-operation between Turkish and European local authorities.
Component 5: Capacity Enhancement at the Ministry of Interior is aimed at improving the qualifications of the human resources, technological systems and infrastructure, working environment and work procedures at the General Directorate of Local Authorities. The activities to be implemented for this purpose include functional and organisational improvements at the GDLA, assessment and improvement of the existing investment programmes, development of an online management information system for the collection of financial administrative data from the local authorities and international study tours.
How will Turkey benefit?
A more effective, transparent, inclusive and participatory local government machinery in Turkey will not only improve the overall public governance system in the country but can also lead to significant improvements in the welfare of people at the local level, the cumulative effect of which can lead to enhanced human development. As such, project’s impact is expected to be observed at many levels including efficiency gains through better use of public resources and enhanced responsiveness and inclusiveness of local governments, effective governance through the exchange of know-how between local authorities and increased quality and quantity of “demand” from the citizens along with high quality “supply” by the local authorities through the enhancement of participatory mechanisms.
Who are our partners?
The main beneficiary of the project is the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Turkey, General Directorate of Local Authorities. The partners of the project are the governorates, district governorates, municipalities, special provincial administrations, unions of local governments (TBB: Union of Municipalities in Turkey and regional unions of local governments) and civil society organisations in Turkey.
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Contact Information:
Leyla Şen, PhD
Programme Manager
UNDP Turkey CO
Tel: +90 312 454 1189
Email: leyla.sen@undp.org
Bülent Açıkgöz
Project Administrator
UNDP Turkey CO
Tel: Tel: +90 312 454 1128
Email: bulent.acikgoz@undp.org |
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