New Urban Governance Project will improve public services and citizen participation in budgeting in ger areas of Ulaanbaatar

Press release, 15.09.2015

Ulaanbaatar, September 14, 2015: The new Urban Governance Project - aimed at strengthening citizen and governance capabilities for improved delivery of public services and participatory budgeting for ger area residents in Ulaanbaatar - was officially launched today.

urban-governance
Urban Governance project focuses on improving service delivery for residents in the ger areas - remote and underdeveloped districts in Ulaanbaatar City. © D. Davaanyam

The project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will be implemented by The Asia Foundation in collaboration with the City Municipality of Ulaanbaatar for the next four years. 

The project launch brought together more than 150 representatives from the Capital City Governor’s Office and the Mayor’s Office, Ulaanbaatar districts and khoroos and civil society to discuss the project’s goals, outcomes and future collaboration.

“We are working to strengthen Ulaanbaatar city’s self-governance based on direct citizen participation by ensuring the transparency and openness of our state affairs and improving citizens’ access to public services,” said Head of Ulaanbaatar City Mayor’s Office, B. Badral at the launch workshop. “Our ultimate goal is to build a city that is competitive and provides a safe and healthy environment for its residents.”

The project will focus on empowering district and khoroo governments to deliver public services and involve citizens in budget decision-making. To achieve these objectives, the project will work closely with local governments and citizens to ensure that services and investments respond to citizens’ priorities.
 
“This project marks a milestone for SDC’s presence in Mongolia,” said SDC Director of Cooperation Markus Waldvogel. “It is the first time that SDC has decided to cooperate on improving governance and furthering decentralisation in an urban area, having the capital city municipality as a partner.”

Mr Waldvogel said the project would empower residents of ger areas to participate in, and take responsibility for, improving their livelihoods. It was about fostering citizens’ roles in developing democratic, accountable and transparent local government.

“Now, in multi-partnership, we are pooling our teams and know-how to work hand-in-hand with the city to develop this new project,” said Meloney Lindberg, The Asia Foundation - Mongolia Office Country Representative.

“The project goal will be achieved through the attainment of five outputs, which are: Increasing citizens’ participation in budgeting and planning; improving public service delivery; strengthening the government’s capability, and institutionalising capability-strengthening programmes.”

The project selected 33 khoroos in Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas spanning all nine of the city’s districts, and will reach an estimated 330,000 citizens. The project will be implemented in partnership with civil society organisations represented by the Open Society Forum, Transparency International and the Centre for Democracy Education.

Press release, 11.11.2015

ULAANBAATAR —The World Bank and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) today launched a US$3 million project to boost social accountability in Mongolia in the next four years.

socia-accountability
SDC in partnership with the World Bank launched a project to support social accountability in Mongolia.

The Mainstreaming Social Accountability in Mongolia (MASAM) project seeks to support government efforts to increase transparency and accountability, and give impoverished communities a greater voice on issues affecting them.

“The project builds on years of innovating and experimenting on social accountability in Mongolia by citizens and government bodies, and follows last year’s Glass Account Law that we consider an enabling legal reform for transparency,” said James Anderson, the World Bank Mongolia Country Manager.

“Through MASAM, we hope to facilitate concerted action around institutionalizing social accountability at all levels.”

MASAM will focus on building skills and capacities of citizens and civil society groups in poor and vulnerable regions of Mongolia, and working with local governments to enable sustained outcomes throughout the project.

“We believe that civil society and citizens have an important role to play in strengthening the accountability of public officials, reducing corruption and improving public service delivery,” said Markus Waldvogel, Director of Cooperation of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

“This project will encourage citizens and civil society to exercise their rights to do so.”

The MASAM project will be implemented over four years in 10 aimags and districts of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. It will benefit poor and marginalized groups by involving them in social accountability processes, empowering them to hold public officials accountable for improving the quality, access and delivery of services in their communities.

The participating aimags and districts will be selected according to poverty rates, health-related risks and access to education, as well as the commitment by local governments to implementation.

At the national policy level, the project will work with the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Secretariat to institutionalize social accountability measures in formalized and sustainable ways.

Contacts:                    

Tina Puntsag + (976) 7007-8207, tpuntsag@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit: www.worldbank.org/mongolia

Soyolmaa Dolgor + (976) 11- 341422, soyolmaa.dolgor@eda.admin.ch

For more information, please visit: www.eda.admin.ch/mongolia