EC project to boost local services underway

Syrians will receive better and more affordable services thanks to a multi-million Euro project designed to help improve management in local municipalities. "This project will first and foremost benefit Syrian citizens and it will also provide assistance to the central ministry and to municipalities to make them more responsive to the citizens' needs," Frank Hesske, head of delegation of the European Commission (EC) to Syria, told IRIN in Damascus. The 18 million Euro EC funded project, called 'Municipal Administration and Modernisation' (MAM) was launched by the EC and the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment (MLAE) on 30 May. The venture will support Syrian cities, helping them to improve their environmental practices, deliver better services, improve the efficiency of their financial management, assist with job creation and help better plan urban growth. At the central government level, the project will help to improve the management practices of the concerned ministries and assist in the devolution process by recommending modifications to laws relating to local administration. Six cities have been selected for the project; Aleppo 355 km north of the capital, Deir Ezzor 421 km northeast of Damascus, Homs 162 km north of Damascus, Lattakia 348 km north of Damascus and Tartous 258 km north of Damascus. "The project will help target municipalities improve their financial and administrative management, to enable them to better meet their current and future obligations towards their citizens. And by improving the efficiency and quality of urban planning it will be easier for people to obtain land and build their houses," Hesske explained. Fifty-two percent of the population of Syria lives in cities and the annual growth rate is very high at 2.5 percent. The under 15 age group makes up around 40 percent of the total population, creating large numbers of entrants to the job market. However they have limited employment opportunities in rural areas and move to the cities, resulting in a rapid growth of the urban population, according to the EU. As a consequence, the larger towns and cities are expanding very quickly, posing a huge challenge to the local administrations, which cannot meet the resulting needs with their financial resources and management capacity. The result is that delivery of key basic services is sometimes inadequate. "The quick growth of the cities' inhabitants in Syria has resulted in the expansion of cities at the expense of rural areas. Consequently, the municipalities are shouldered with huge additional responsibilities. And this project will bring about radical effective changes to improve this situation," minister of local administration and environment, Hilal al-Attrash told IRIN. "The inhabitants of Syria's old cities will benefit from this project through a well prepared development strategy for the old cities of Damascus, Aleppo and Tartous, which will contribute to the economic growth of these cities without damaging their cultural heritage," Hesske added. MAM will help Syrian cities compete to attract investors, improving their prosperity and creating much needed jobs which can only be achieved through an economic growth strategy, Hesske added. With a total budget of 20.5 million Euros, of which 18 million is from the EU and 2.5 million Euros from the Syrian government, the project will take four years to complete.