FUNCTIONAL DECENTRALIZATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA: REALITY OR A WISH?

Abstract

Decentralization, in the broadest sense of the word, implies anti-centralism or the existence of several
independent decision-making bodies with narrower or wider self-governing rights in a given territory. This means
that in every decentralization there are elements of self-government, just as in every self-government there can be
marks of decentralization.
The success of decentralization is measured by how close the government is with the citizens, i.e. to what extent it
understands and meets their demands. Hence, the goal of decentralization is to strengthen democracy and enable
citizens and their elected representatives to play an active role in creating and implementing policies at the local
level, ie in deciding on issues of local interest.
Decentralization is an important, significant and the only presumption for its fulfillment is its procedure in
accordance with the political criteria of the country for accession in the European Union. The only and final way is
that RNM must focus on the democratization of society, the creation of democratic accountability, transparency and
above all the accountability of the Government. After the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the activities
and problems related to the decentralization process have intensified. For its implementation, significant documents
were adopted in the period from 1999 to 2005, as well as bylaws provided by the Operational Program for
Decentralization 2003-2004, until July 1, 2005, in order to achieve successful implementation of the decentralization
process. In the period from 2004, the municipalities were given an additional "chance" as an opportunity and
responsibility to develop social skills and functions at the local levelAt the same time, they were enabled to create
programs to meet the needs / problems to protect social risk groups. The next question arises: does it work and how
functional is it in real life? It is considered that the success and functionality of decentralization in different areas
depends on whether the services are developed in accordance with the needs of the citizens, for example social
protection at the local level, a need of the citizens, because it offers support and assistance to citizens. At the same
time, every municipality should know what its risk groups are, starting from the elderly, people with disability,
children without parents, etc. On the other hand, in terms of the decentralization process, focuses on the active
participation of citizens in undertaking activities in the field of social protection, as well as investing human capital
and utilizing social forces.