#MjesneZajednice: An impetus to active engagement of citizens in local communities during COVID-19 outbreak

May 8, 2020

The importance of effective and responsible management systems in response to the COVID-19 crisis

Olovo has a population of about 10,000 and consists of 15 MZs, equally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as other local governments in the country. Residents comply with all measures of crisis staffs of the Municipality and local communities.

More than 150 senior citizens receive food, medicines and other necessities daily, thanks to a network of 60 volunteers, mostly young people, connected through the work of MZs. One of the tasks of the MZ Olovo is to monitor the state of population in its local community so as to improve prevention, as well as the organisation and response.

At the very onset of the pandemic in mid-March 2020, the Mayor of Olovo initiated a working meeting with the presidents of MZ councils, representatives of the Health Center, the Ministry of Interior and other competent institutions. The Mayor also formed a Viber group of all relevant stakeholders to facilitate timely and easy communication.

Representatives of MZs joined in the work of the Crisis Staff immediately in order to carry out an assessment of the situation on the ground and to have timely information for the municipal administration. The goal was to respond adequately and promptly to the needs of citizens in their local communities. MZs have demonstrated the importance of effective and responsible management systems in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Dženan Smajić, President of the MZ Olovo, stressed the readiness and prompt responsiveness of the MZ to the needs of the most vulnerable categories of society, “We have gathered data on the number of our fellow citizens in the MZ who are in greatest need of assistance and forwarded it to the Municipality. In the next step, our fellow citizens received one-off financial assistance, and together with our local community volunteers, we organised the delivery of protective masks, donated by a private company from Olovo for about 8,500 beneficiaries. In addition, volunteers work daily to deliver essential food items where needed, and to deliver medicines to the elderly and socially disadvantaged categories in society.“

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"Strengthening the role of local communities in BiH" is a joint project of the Government of Switzerland and the Government of Sweden, and is implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The aim of the project is to increase the democratic and direct participation of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in local government, strengthen the responsibility of municipal authorities and improve infrastructure and services at the level of local communities.