On 13 April 2021, at the regular Government session, a special item was dedicated to the agenda of the Open Government Partnership Initiative. The session was addressed by the General Director of OGP, Sanjay Pradhan, who addressed the main goals to be achieved with the new fifth National OGP Plan in North Macedonia for the period 2021 – 2023.
“The first goal is to build trust among citizens. Globally, citizens’ trust in governments has fallen to its lowest level in history. According to the 2020 Democracy Perceptions Index, 57% of citizens living in democracies believe that their elected government rarely or never acts in the public interest. Citizens’ confidence globally fell further during the pandemic. The Open Government Partnership approach can help build trust in institutions. The second goal is to build investor confidence, which is crucial to reviving the economy. Open governments must fight corruption and provide equal opportunities for the business sector. The third goal concerns the agenda for accession to the European Union. The principles of the OGP can be vital in meeting the priorities set out in the 2020-2024 Operational Program for the Advancement of EU Membership,” Pradhan said.
In his address at the same session, Prime Minister Zaev stressed the cooperation with civil society and the achievements that result from it: “The government’s approach to cooperation with civil society is expressed through cooperation with the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia and other civil society organizations from the Secretariat for Open Government Partnership and the Ministry of Information Society and Administration advance the process of structured involvement of civil society organizations in the co-creation, development and monitoring of the new National Action Plan 2021-2023. Through this cooperation with civil society, coordinated by the Foundation, the Council for Coordination and Monitoring of the OGP process was established, which is the first model of partnership and equality in decision-making in our country. “Through the OGP Council, a structured mechanism for constant dialogue between the authorities and civil society was established,” said Zaev.
Open Government Partnership is a voluntary international initiative that aims to ensure that governments make concrete commitments to their citizens to promote transparency, foster civic participation, fight corruption, and use new technologies to strengthen good governance.
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13 April 2021