New projects for more administration transparency

Today at the Headquarters of the Internal Affairs Ministry, Minister Tomislav Karamarko and Dražen Komarica, Chairman of the non-governmental organisation Judges Web, signed the Agreement on Cooperation between the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatia and Judges Web. This marks the beginning of the realisation of the projects "Digitalisation of instructions and directions for police work" and "On-line Police Stations" which shall be realised by the Judges Web in cooperation with the Police Directorate of the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatia.

The Judges Web is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation with ten years of successful operation in the field of applying modern technologies and enhancing the quality of work of state institutions, and in providing citizens with access to requested information.

Chief of Police, Zoran Ničeno, said that the European Commission stated in its latest "Report on the progress of the Republic of Croatia" that more transparency in public administration is necessary and the realisation of these projects is one positive step in that direction.

- The main aim of these projects is the creation of efficient mechanisms which shall enhance the relations between the Internal Affairs Ministry and the non-governmental sector in the Republic of Croatia. – said Ničeno.

This portal will publish information which shall be free and available to everyone. This shall contribute to a better promotion of the police and therewith also the citizens' trust in police work will be increased.

- The Project "Digitalisation of instructions and directions for police work" will help all officials of the Internal Affairs Ministry to easily and quickly access information essential for day to day work. This project – the digitalisation of instructions and directions – shall significantly decrease the burden of administration and increase work efficiency – emphasized Ničeno.

In a modern way and in accordance with global standards, the Project "On-line Police Stations" will provide citizens with detailed and useful information on police stations. The functionality of the application will meet the project criteria agreed upon with the Police Directorate and therewith enable an increased transparency of police work.

The Chairman of the Organization Judges Web, Dražen Komarica, told us that he is extremely honoured that after ten years of experience his non-governmental organisation has the opportunity to cooperate with the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatia.

- The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the e-Croatia (e-Hrvatska) project played an important role in the realization of this project and thanks to them administrative obstacles in the granting of donations were resolved. The value of the project which shall be implemented in the next year is higher than the mere donation of equipment as it requires the digitalisation of data which will take many working hours – said Komarica.

With the realisation of these projects, the Police Directorate of the Internal Affairs Ministry will receive permanent ownership of computer equipment – 26 computers and the development of software solutions in accordance with own instructions and directions which is of interest for the sustainability of these projects. The project costs shall be entirely borne by foreign donators. Thus, the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has secured 470 thousand euros of aid for this project.

- The civil sector plays an important part in every modern democracy, not as the enemy of the government, but as a desirable partner – concluded the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Croatia, her Excellency Nienke Trooster and added that she strongly supports this kind of cooperation.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Tomislav Karamarko, thanked the Government of the kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the Judges Web for this valuable donation which marks the beginning of a multiannual project.

- The project is important because it will be practical and applicable to the mutual benefit of the officials of the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatian and our citizens, whereby it simultaneously modernizes our infrastructure, while this project simultaneously becomes an example of how the relation of on-governmental organizations and one ministry can be articulated – stated Karamarko, and added that this is also a confirmation of the extremely good relations of the Netherlands and Croatia which continues to strongly support Croatia in the last phase of the negotiations with the European Union.

Larger transparency, easier access to information and better technical infrastructure are the requirements of a modern democracy. The cooperation of state authorities and civil society organisations greatly contribute the realisation of these goals.

mup.hr, 20.09.2009.

Comments