Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
SLOVAKIA
FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999 Actuals Estimate Request Support for East European Democracy $15,000,000 $8,000,000 $2,000,000 Introduction
The goal of SEED assistance is to help root Slovakia firmly in the Western economic and political community and to accelerate its transformation to a healthy democracy and a market economy. Slovakia's macroeconomic performance, while impressive during the period 1994 to 1996 slowed somewhat in 1997. The past year has also been marked by increasing U.S and European concern over trends which call into question the Government's commitment to democratic principles and a pluralistic society.
The Development Challenge
Weaknesses in Slovakia's political-economic strategy became more visible in 1997. Over the past years U.S. assistance contributed to stimulating private sector development and promoted fiscal reform and discipline. Signs of a weakening economy appeared in 1997---in the form of a rise in the budget deficit, an increase in the external current account deficit, and unemployment that reached 13%. These arise from areas of policy and structural reform for which SEED assistance has been offered but resisted to date. For example, in enterprise restructuring there has been insufficient attention to corporate governance issues. Foreign investment, and the technology transfer and management discipline that it brings, has not been encouraged. There is an apparent preference for directed credit rather than market allocation of capital resources.
In large part Slovaks possess the knowledge and skills to manage the economy effectively. Donor assistance has contributed significantly to this development. What has often been lacking is the will to apply this knowledge and these skills in policy and regulatory reform in such areas as liberalizing policies toward foreign direct investment and adopting revisions of the bankruptcy law developed with SEED assistance.
Slovakia has made progress toward establishment of a democracy but still falls short of meeting U.S. assistance expectations in this area. Political factors, especially recentralization of power, casting criticism of government policy as unpatriotic, disregarding certain court decisions and playing the "ethnic card" for domestic political gain, are chiefly responsible for Slovakia's failure to achieve integration in NATO and the European Union (EU) in the first round. There are positive signs, however, that a democratic culture and genuine civil society are emerging at the local level. Local government is beginning to rise to the leadership challenge and many are adopting democratic practices of local government. Slovakia's non-governmental sector is among the most dynamic and developed in CEE. It boasts some of the most talented and imaginative leaders in the region and displays an overall coherence that is rare in a sector that is dispersed and diversified by nature. Overall, however, lack of political will at the national level to undertake the necessary institutional, policy and legal reforms to consolidate Slovakia's political transition has led to backsliding on the democratization front. Given limited opportunities for assistance to be applied to best effect, USAID intends to provide its last year of funding with this FY 1999 request.
Other Donors
The United States and the European Union are the two largest donors in Slovakia. Other key donors include the British Know-How Fund, the Netherlands Embassy, the German Technical Assistance Agency and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. USAID's activities in support
of democracy building are also supplemented by those of privately-funded U.S. and European non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Fund, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the German Marshall Fund, the Westminister Foundation, and the German Stiftungs.
FY 1999 Program
Slovakia has made significant strides toward the development of the basic political and legal structures on which a democratic system rests. The chief deficits are in the newness of these institutions and in a weak understanding among leaders and the population as a whole of democratic practice and behavior. The problem is compounded by the current government's proclivities to centralize political power and at times to place political needs above respect for the rule of law. Slovakia needs to further develop the tradition of participatory democracy so that citizens will act to protect and represent their interests and to check the actions of the state. While there continue to be serious concerns about the Government of Slovakia's (GOS) commitment to democratic principles, there is encouragement in the fact that a genuine civil society is emerging and numerous examples demonstrate that the tradition of citizen participation is beginning to take root.
Absent the lack of political will at the national government level to implement institutional reforms, U.S. assistance has been focused on helping to establish the foundation for a democratic culture, from which a democratic, political, and social system will emerge. In this difficult environment, U.S. assistance in building democracy in Slovakia has had mixed results but there have been some notable positive accomplishments at the local level among local government officials and the non-governmental sector. SEED assistance will continue to target the local level and focus on the building of a democratic political culture by strengthening civil society organizations and independent media.
In FY 1999, U.S. assistance will continue to support increased, better informed citizens' participation in community, political and economic decision-making. Activities will focus on deepening the understanding of the population and government officials on their roles and responsibilities in a democracy, strengthening civil society organizations, such as NGOs, political parties and trade unions which provide citizens with an effective means for participating; and strengthening the independent media as a key source of diverse information which provide citizens with the information they need to make informed decisions and to participate in a meaningful way.
USAID will use the $2.0 million requested in FY 1999 to put in place flexible mechanisms to support Slovakia's long-term democratic transition. These mechanisms include an indigenous grant-making organization which will provide NGOs working in the democracy area with limited support beyond 1999 and also provide a structured framework for identifying and supporting worthwhile democracy building activities in the long term. The organization will help to insure that the progress made to date at the local level will be sustained and expanded, until such a time as the domestic donor base is sufficiently developed to support the work of democracy NGOs. Additionally, funding will be used to promote partnerships and linkages between U.S. and Slovak institutions and organizations to provide a means by which U.S. resources and know-how can continue to be accessed to facilitate Slovakia's longer-term development. These would include university-to-university, trade union-to-trade union, and association-to-association partnerships. These efforts will be complemented by non-SEED activities.
SLOVAKIA
FY 1999 PROGRAM SUMMARY*
(in thousands of dollars)
Strategic ObjectivesEconomic Restructuring Democratic
TransitionSocial Stabilization Cross-cutting / Special Initiatives Total Privatization -- -- -- -- -- Fiscal Reform -- -- -- -- -- Private Enterprise -- -- -- -- -- Financial Reform -- -- -- -- -- Energy -- -- -- -- -- Environmental Management -- -- -- -- -- Citizens' Participation -- 2,000 -- -- 2,000 Legal Systems -- -- -- -- -- Local Government -- -- -- -- -- Crises -- -- -- -- -- Social Benefits -- -- -- -- -- Environmental Health -- -- -- -- -- Cross-cutting / Special Initiatives -- -- -- 2,000 -- -- 2,000
*Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act funds
USAID Representative: Paula Goddard
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: SLOVAKIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Citizens' Participation, 180-SOO2.1
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999: $2,000,000 SEED Act
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1994; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999
Purpose: Increased, better informed citizens' participation in community, political and economic decision-making.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID's Educational Reform Project has met with remarkable success in its endeavor to introduce a "spirit of democracy into the classroom" through the introduction of democratic teaching methods. This project works with teachers, administrators, students, parents, and university pedagogical faculties to provide in-service and university level teachers training, and to institute democratic principles into the Slovak education system. In 1997, the Project entered into an intensive phase of expansion and institutionalization. The Orava Project began cooperation with two additional school districts and an additional university faculty, and core teacher leaders and educational leaders trained in the first years of the Orava Project began to conduct their own seminars for colleagues in the democratic educational instruction practices taught through the Orava Project. The Pedagogical Faculty at Comenius University fully adopted the Orava Project's graduate-level educational leadership program into their program of study and finalized plans for delivery of this program through the University starting in the Fall of 1997. This process of institutionalization and rapid dissemination will continue through the Project's end in June 1999.
USAID's three year Democracy Network Program is nearing completion in Slovakia. The Program has awarded subgrants to 48 Slovak non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in excess of $1.1 million to carry out activities designed to influence the formulation and implementation of public policy, to educate government officials about issues or a policy position, and/or to increase citizen involvement in the policy making process by increasing their awareness and knowledge of issues which affect them. In addition, the Program has provided hundreds of hours of training and technical assistance on topics such as organizational development and management, human resources and staff development, financial management and fund-raising to contribute to the organizational sustainability of Slovak NGOs. Overall, the Democracy Network Program has contributed to a broadened understanding among Slovak NGOs and the wider community of the importance of advocacy and public policy and to deepening their appreciation of the relevance of policy to program goals.
In advance of parliamentary elections which will take place in 1998, a group of seven senior staff members representing various Slovak political parties took part in a three week training program in the U.S. The training program was specifically designed to help them develop their parties' campaign strategy and provide them with the skills to manage an effective election campaign.
In late Fall 1997, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems conducted a Pre-Election Technical Assessment to evaluate the Slovak electoral system and the electoral environment in advance of parliamentary and local elections schedule for the Fall of 1998. This report will provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral system and recommend specific areas of support where the services of the international community could be useful both before and during the election period.
Description: SEED assistance in Slovakia will continue to focus on (1) deepening the general understanding and acceptance of democratic (civic) values and practices; (2) strengthening civil society organizations such as NGOs, political parties and trade unions which provide citizens with an effective means for participating; and (3) strengthening the independent media as a key source of diverse information which provide citizens with the information they need to make informed decisions and to participate in a meaningful way.
Host Country and Other Donors: Major host country counterparts are Comenius University, the Slovak Judges' Association, the ORAVA Regional Administrative Office of the Ministry of Education, various NGOs and municipal officials. Other key organizations include the Netherlands Embassy, the Center for Independent Journalism, the British Know-How Fund, the Open Society Fund, and EU.
Beneficiaries: This effort seeks to benefit Slovak citizens by increasing common understanding of basic principles of democracy and by increasing citizen participation in and access to their government.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: These organizations include the University of Northern Iowa, the International Republican Institute, the Foundation for Civil Society, the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, the National Forum Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, the Free Trade Union Institute, the American Bar Association/Central and East European Law Initiative, the U.S. Information Agency, and the International Research and Exchanges Board.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target Voter turnout: national/local elections 75%/52% (1994) 85%/65% (1998) Increased citizen participation in community/political activities 42% (1994) 50% (1998) Teachers trained in democratic instruction methods 0 (1994) 4,000 (1998)
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