Zenica (BiH), 9 June 2004

Publicly-owned companies that are responsible for delivering services such as water, transport, waste management and health care need careful management and control in order to ensure that citizens receive the best services possible. The regional administrations that own these companies must make informed decisions about financial resources, the strategic development and management of the companies. Regional politicians have to make choices about privatisation, the formation of public-private partnerships and other key issues that will affect the quality of the service that the citizens receive.

These are the main conclusions of the seminar on the organisation and management of publicly-owned enterprises in the Western Balkans, organised by the Assembly of European Regions (AER), in partnership with the Canton of Zenica-Doboj (BiH) and the Canton of Zurich (CH), which took place in Zenica (BiH) from 7-9 June. The training was delivered by experts from the Public Utility Holding company of the city of Frankfurt, Stadtwerke Frankfurt Holding. The organisation of the seminar was made possible through the generous financial contribution of the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ).

The seminar, attended by 30 regional politicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, gave participants the opportunity to exchange experiences with one another on the issue of the management of public utility companies and to identify examples of best practice within the region. They learnt about different models for organising and managing public utility companies and gained a number of tools to help them to exercise appropriate financial control over the public companies owned by their regional authority.

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