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USAID/OTI Serbia and Montenegro Field Report
October 2002
Program Description
In the fall 2000, OTI launched the Democratic Transition Initiative (DTI) in Serbia and Montenegro to consolidate the political gains achieved in the elections of that year. DTI's strategy in 2002 is to work at both the local and republic levels to engage citizens and promote activities that will increase the pace of reform. DTI's efforts target key sectors of reform including: the judiciary, economy, local self-governance, anti-corruption and minority-rights promotion. DTI also seeks to increase awareness and knowledge of human rights issues, expand the dialogue on truth and responsibility, and support electoral activities. DTI has offices in Belgrade, Nis, Kragujevac and Podgorica. OTI's implementing partner in Serbia and Montenegro is Creative Associates International, Incorporated. Since October 2000, OTI has approved 632 grants worth more than $14 million.
Country Situation
SERBIAN ELECTION FAILS TO PRODUCE A PRESIDENT - Serbia failed to elect a president in the second-round run-off elections held on October 13, with a final official figure of only 45.5 percent voter turnout (more than 50 percent of registered voters must cast a ballot for the elections to be valid). Democratic Party of Serbia leader Vojislav Kostunica won 66.8 percent of votes cast, and Miroljub Labus, running as an independent candidate, secured 30.9 percent. New Serbian presidential elections must be held by December 5, 2002 at the latest.
HUMAN COST OF THE ELECTION FAILURE - The Belgrade daily newspaper Blic published an article under the headline "Abstention Wastes Four Hundred Apartments" in which it claimed that the low-voter turnout in the second round of Serbia's presidential elections cost Serbia $10 million. The daily wrote that the State could have built four hundred apartments, four new schools, rebuilt sixty kilometers of road, or invested in the modernization of hospitals with the $10 million that will be needed to repeat elections.
MONTENEGRO SUPPORTS PRO-INDEPENDENCE PARTIES IN ELECTIONS - President Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists and its Social Democrat allies gained ground and secured an absolute majority of 39 seats in the 75-person Montenegrin Parliament as a result of the elections held on October 20, 2002. The election result is an indication of significant pro-independence sentiment. President Milo Djukanovic thanked his voters for backing the For a European Montenegro Coalition in the early parliamentary elections. Voters appeared to penalize the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro for siding with the Together for Change coalition (pro-Yugoslavia coalition). In the April 2001 parliamentary elections, the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro received 7.8 percent of the vote. In October 2002, it received 5.7 percent, a decrease in support of 27 percent over 18 months.
NEW STRATEGY FOR JUDICIARY REFORM - The Serbian Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with leading experts, launched preparations for long-term reform of Serbia's judiciary. The strategy announced October 9 is geared towards establishing an independent and professional judiciary through independent financing of courts, organizational and legislative changes, and focusing on relations between courts, judiciary bodies and citizens.
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION CONTINUES - Yugoslav delegates attended the first conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) recently held in Ottawa, Canada. GOPAC is an international network of parliamentarians organized by region to fight corruption and promote effective governance. Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic stated that "Serbia is almost totally free from abuse and corruption following a series of critical reforms undertaken over the last two years". While clearly an overstatement, pressure from various civil society organizations (such as OTPOR) over the last year has caused the government to focus on corruption issues. Evidence that the government continues to struggle with the issue was seen in October when Serbian police confiscated smuggled goods, including 17,570 boxes of cigarettes, 7,600 liters of oil and oil derivatives, and 920 liters of contraband foreign-produced alcoholic drinks. This confiscation prevented the Serbian economy from losing about $2 million in tax revenue.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY WELCOMES YUGOSLAV MEMBERSHIP - The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly voted in favor of Yugoslavia's accession to the Council of Europe, conditioned on the adoption of a new Constitutional Charter for Serbia and Montenegro. Understanding that the new Charter will not be adopted by the November 2002 meeting of the Council's Committee of Ministers, the next opportunity for the Council to vote on the issue will be during their May 2003 meeting.
DTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
THE END OF AN ERA - On November 13, 2002, USAID/OTI's Democratic Transition Initiative (DTI) in Serbia and Montenegro officially closes its doors. Field offices have been active throughout the month monitoring the completion of projects. Nis, Kragujevac and Podgorica field offices closed by November 1, leaving the Belgrade office to complete final administrative and reporting requirements. An official closedown event in Montenegro with grantees and international partners took place in Podgorica on October 31. Serbia grantees, staff and collaborators gathered in Belgrade on November 8 to reflect on the significant contributions they have made to supporting political change, free elections, improving community infrastructure, and more recently, improving public information about the reform efforts.
Following the overthrow of the Milosevic regime, OTI launched its Democratic Transition Initiative (DTI) program, the final phase of its involvement in Serbia and Montenegro. The program continued to work on signature OTI sectors such as alternative media, civil society organizations and elections. In 2001, DTI also supported the diplomatic efforts of the U.S. Embassy to foster peace in Southern Serbia by implementing timely confidence-building measures in the Presevo and Bujanovac municipalities. The 2001 strategy delivered Community Impact Projects (CIPs) throughout Serbia and Montenegro. In 2002, with the advent of the USAID Mission's Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program, DTI's program redirected its strategy from CIPs to Pace of Reform initiatives. DTI's strategy involved working at the republic and local levels to engage citizens to push for quicker implementation of reforms and to enhance citizens' knowledge of what reforms mean and how reforms will affect them. DTI supported a coalition of NGOs and media outlets to implement campaigns on five prioritized sectors of reform. At the same time, DTI supported an umbrella campaign designed to link key reforms to an overarching vision for the future direction of Serbia and Montenegro being linked to Europe.
DTI completed a total of 632 project grants, including: 36 supporting civil society, 177 community improvement projects, 60 projects supporting election processes in Montenegro, Serbia and southern Serbia; 101 media projects; and 258 projects supporting reforms related to anti-corruption, economic policies, local self-governance, minority rights and judiciary reform campaigns. DTI provided $14 million in assistance to Serbia and Montenegro over the past two years and leveraged an additional $7.9 million in matching contributions from federal and republic-level ministries, local governments, citizens and other international donor organizations.
WORKING TO THE END: OTI'S PROGRAM REACHES 1,350 SCHOOLS
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| An educational poster designed to teach first-grade children the importance of tolerance and respect for human differences. |
"Tolerance in My World" is an educational aid designed to teach first-grade children the importance of tolerance and respect for human differences. It consists of a series of 12 cartoon pictures, developed by child psychologists and tested by focus group studies, illustrating different situations where children are required to discuss the merits of tolerance in society. OTI supported the Nova Skola (New School) publishing house to produce and distribute free of charge the teaching aid to 1,350 schools throughout Serbia by the end of October. In up to five locations, a teacher training service is to be organized in cooperation with the Serbian Republic, Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of National and Ethnic Communities. The program will be covered by local media agencies and the national children's television station. On October 10, Ambassador William Montgomery, together with the Serbian Minister of Education and the Federal Minister of National and Ethnic Communities, officially launched the teaching aid in a small ceremony held at the Drinka Pavlovic Elementary School in Belgrade.
B. Indicators of Success
EVALUATION AND LESSONS LEARNED - A formal program evaluation was completed in October 2002 by Development Associates, Incorporated, with the final report expected in early November. Additionally, OTI and Creative Associates International, Incorporated have agreed to hold an After Action Review of the DTI program from December 16 -18 to capture key management lessons learned.
HANDOVER ACTIVITIES - As part of DTI's closeout strategy, significant efforts were made to hand over key activities in municipalities where DTI was active. Consequently, of the 60 municipalities in Serbia and Montenegro where DTI-CIP activities were implemented, 46 (77 percent) were picked up by USAID's Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program. Additionally, OTI's work in Montenegro with Akcija (Action), which is a reform-orientated coalition of NGOs, media and academics, will be continued through USAID Podgorica's civil society implementing partner ORT. USAID Montenegro recently awarded ORT $500,000 in grant-making money to fund Akcija reform activities over the next year.
C. Grants Activity Summary
Since October 2000, DTI has approved 632 grants worth $14,052,008. DTI approved the final grant on September 30, 2002, and completed 87 grants during October. The remaining grants will be completed by November 13.
Total USAID/OTI Grant Activity in Serbia and Montenegro since October 1, 2000
| Civil Society Org. Support |
36 |
36 |
$873,681 |
$181,302 |
$1,054,983 |
| Community Impact Activities |
177 |
165 |
$5,084,125 |
$5,264,357 |
$10,348,482 |
| Election Processes |
60 |
60 |
$1,768,633 |
$302,550 |
$2,071,183 |
| Media |
101 |
100 |
$1,714,959 |
$379,973 |
$2,094,932 |
| Pace of
Reform |
258 |
251 |
$4,607,389 |
$1,812,895 |
$6,420,284 |
| Grand Total ** |
632 |
612 |
$14,048,788 |
$7,941,076 |
$21,989,864 |
Grand Total** -- This total includes 51 RONCO grants approved between October 1 - December 22, 2000.
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| Mr. Dario Dancic, Finance Manager |
D. Program Personalities
The DTI's program success has largely been a result of its dedicated and professional local staff. The four field offices and two Belgrade offices provided a platform from which 11 program development officers, five administrative officers, three finance officers, three procurement officers, two engineers, two computer system technicians, two drivers, one information officer, one public campaign specialist and three senior managers implemented the fast, flexible and timely transition program. The mix of unique individuals and their diverse backgrounds complemented program activities superbly and provided for creativity in its implementation. The following is a sample of some of the personalities involved in implementing this program:
MR. DARIO DANCIC, FINANCE MANAGER -
Dario was born in Croatia and moved to Belgrade during the conflict. He is a graduate of the economics faculty at Belgrade University and is currently completing post-graduate studies in management. Dario has been with the USAID/OTI program for four years and is currently negotiating with various USAID partners for a new position on completion of the program.
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| Ivan discusses grantee requirements with Procurement Officer, Miss Julijana Jovanovic |
MR. IVAN VUKOJEVIC, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT OFFICER -
Ivan is a community-participation specialist and was particularly active in mobilizing citizen support for DTI's Community Improvement Projects. As the program shifted focus, Ivan led local self-governance activities as part of the pace of reform campaign. Ivan graduated from Belgrade University as an aeronautical technician. He has been with the USAID/OTI program since 2000, and he hopes to secure a new position where he can continue to assist Serbia's transition.
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| Jelena Jovanovic, Administrative Assistant |
MISS JELENA JOVANOVIC, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT -
Jelena joined the USAID/OTI program in 2001, after working in the Yugoslav film industry. Jelena is fluent in English, French and Japanese and wishes to pursue a career in the public relations field. On completion of the program, Jelena will continue her language studies and is enrolled in a simultaneous translation course in Belgrade.
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| Ambassador Montgomery presents the DTI team with an award in recognition of its dedication and professionalism. |
THE FINAL WORD: OTI SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO TEAM -
"The transition in Serbia and Montenegro is not complete, but we feel good about the contribution our program has made to getting Serbia and Montenegro on the right course. We are thankful for the cooperation we have experienced with our local partners over the years and to the U.S. Government and taxpayers for providing the funds to make a difference."
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