GOLD Report I - UCLG

113execution of their duties municipal employeesmay by subjected to disciplinarypunishments. The new federal frameworklaw number 25 of March 2, 2007, establishesa new unified legal basis for themunicipal public service. It is linked tothe state public service, but clearly differentiatedfrom the elected officials; it isaimed at professionalizing and stabilizingthe corps of municipal public servants.The new law took effect on June 1, 2007,and has to be developed by laws of thesubjects of the Federation.Presently in Azerbaijan there are about25,000 municipal employees: on average,one for every 300 citizens. In Belarus,state employees function on the locallevel. Their numbers comprise approximately22,000 persons: on average, onefor every 450 citizens.Integrity of elected officials and employees;prevention of corruption. Municipalauthorities face the same danger ofcorruption as authorities do at otherlevels of public power. Mass media informthe public about criminal prosecution ofmunicipal employees for bribes, theftsand other misuses of public functions.Sociological inquiries conducted in one ofthe regions (oblasts) of Ukraine showthat annually 60% of respondents witnessat least one incident of corruption(15.69 % reported ‘numerous,’ 28.55%‘several’ incidents of corruption).A number of countries have adopted legalremedies to aid the struggle with corruption.For instance, the government ofArmenia enacted the decree “On Anti-Corruption Strategy and Program ofImplementation.” It provides measuresstrengthening public control over bodiesof local self-government, creating transparentprocedures for forming local budgetsand spending local funds. Itemphasizes the necessity of holding localself-government officials personally liablefor misdeeds.Several states of Eurasia have ratified theUN “Convention against Corruption” and theEuropean “Criminal Law Convention on Corruption.”Management reforms. A number ofcountries, including Russia and Ukraine,have launched administrative reforms toimprove the functioning of all chains ofpublic management. The emphasis forlocal self-government is recruiting professionaladministrators with sufficient knowledgeand experience to resolve most localissues. In recent years, the percentage ofsuch employees in the system of local selfgovernmenthas visibly increased. Thesechanges were directly caused by replenishmentand intensive education of municipalemployees. The states of the regionalso adopted measures for the introductionof modern management technologies. Emphasisis placed on the importance of strictregistration procedures and rapid responsesto the requests of citizens.The improvement of the quality of localservices is also connected with furtherprivatization of municipal property, inparticular in the sphere of residentialcommunity economy.IV.Local democracyA certain indicator of progress for localdemocracy is the increasing competitivenessof local elections at the levels wherethey are organized, even though thisoccurs only at the lowest level of governancein some countries. Electoral participationremains low in some countries,but is comparable to European countriesin others. It is useful at this point to précisthe legal status of local governmentbodies because this factor can have animpact on the relationships between electedbodies and the local administration.The following table summarizes the basicinstitutional features of local democracyin the countries of the region.Mass mediainform the publicabout criminalprosecutionof municipalemployeesfor bribes, theftsand other misusesof public functions