The project will provide local self-governments and local communities of Naryn and Osh oblasts with new opportunities for capacity development. It will improve citizens’ engagement in budgetary processes at the local level and promote enabling environments for building dialogue between citizens and local self-governments.   

The events will be attended by representatives of the Government’s Office of the Kyrgyz Republic, the State Agency for Local Self-Governments and Interethnic Relations under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of the Government in Naryn and Osh oblasts, the Embassy of Switzerland, representatives of the rayon state administrations, as well as heads of all municipalities of Naryn and Osh oblasts.

“Switzerland has been providing long-term support to Kyrgyzstan in improving local self-governance and service delivery at the municipal level in various oblasts across the country already for a number of years. I am convinced that the project will now also contribute to more transparent budgetary processes and better services for citizens in the villages of Naryn and Osh oblasts”, said Lucien Aegerter, representative of the Embassy of Switzerland.

The project includes the provision of competitive grant support to address priority issues of local communities. This project was previously successfully implemented in Jalal-Abad and Issyk-Kul oblasts from 2012 to 2015, and is currently ongoing in Chui oblast. 

The event was organized in the framework of the Public Service Improvement Project financed by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by a consortium of organizations composed of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation and the Development Policy Institute.

The Service Improvement Action Plan aims to identify in a participatory manner priority public and municipal services as well as to plan and improve the organization and provision of these services. The Service Improvement Action Plan of the Ak-Chiy Aiyl Aimak focused on the repair and rehabilitation of water infrastructure and also on the organization and sustainability of the service provided to more than 1000 people.

During public hearings broadly attended by the population, a new tariff for drinking water was discussed and thereafter approved by the local council. The municipality also introduced new mechanisms for effective management of drinking water services, such as municipal-private sector partnership and allocation of subsidies for vulnerable groups of the population who cannot afford paying for the service.

“The service of drinking water supply in Ak-Chiy municipality was looked at in a systemic manner, from the rehabilitation of the water system, to the enhancement of the management capacities of the self-government, the establishment of a tariff system that would allow sustainable and affordable provision of quality services as well as the maintenance of the system, and the creation of a subsidy mechanism ensuring that all citizens will have access to water,” – said Véronique Hulmann, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic.

"After having applied a methodology elaborated by the project, we calculated the most optimal tariff for all. Despite the fact that after the calculation, the tariff has doubled, the population reacted to this with understanding, because everyone knew that earlier the tariff was adopted without justifications and calculations," - said Elmira Sultanbayeva, Chairwoman of the Ayil Kenesh.

In total, the Swiss financed Public Service Improvement Project supports the implementation of 36 Service Improvement Action Plans of rural municipalities for a total of 92 million soms, including 30% contributions from the municipalities. The priority services that will be supported by the project are sustainable access to safe drinking water, rehabilitation and accessibility of preschools and schools, improvement of communal and housing services in municipalities, etc.