U.S. Government Assists City of Sisak with E-Government
EMBASSY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
USAID
Zagreb, Croatia
U.S. Government Assists City of Sisak with E-Government
Zagreb, May 19, 2006 - On Monday, May 22, the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Greg Delawie, and the Mayor of Sisak, Dinko Pintarić, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will initiate an e-government system for the City of Sisak. Representatives from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and local officials will also attend the ceremony. The event will take place at 11 a.m. at City Hall in Sisak.
USAID will work with the City of Sisak to develop an e-government system tailored to the cities needs. The three most important characteristics of this system are: (1) improvement in work performance within a local government, (2) real-time on-line service to citizens and businesses, and (3) interactive communication between local governments and citizens.
Currently fifty-five local governments in Croatia use the e-government system, as well as four counties: Zagrebačka, Primorsko-goranska, Vukovarsko-srijemska and Požeško-slavonska. Over 1.5 million citizens have access to this system.
This is part of USAID's Local Government Reform Project that provides technical assistance to local governments throughout Croatia. The goal of the assistance is to improve the management capacity of local governments in order to improve services and to adjust to new challenges stemming from decentralization and Croatia's efforts to join European Union.
USAID is the primary assistance organization of the United States Government. Since 1992, the United States has provided over $407 million to Croatia (much of it through USAID programs) to strengthen democratic institutions and assist in postwar reconstruction and the return of refugees, to support de-mining and economic development, and to provide educational and training opportunities. The U.S. has also provided guidance and support to the Croatian judicial and military sectors to further Croatia's integration in Euro-Atlantic institutions.