USAID’S BUSINESS ENABLING PROJECT
Transcript of USAID’S BUSINESS ENABLING PROJECT
USAID’S BUSINESS ENABLING PROJECT QUARTERLY REPORT: FOURTH QUARTER 2016
January 10, 2017
This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of Cardno Emerging Markets USA, Ltd. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
USAID’S BUSINESS ENABLING PROJECT QUARTERLY REPORT: FOURTH QUARTER 2016
Submitted by:
Cardno Emerging Markets USA, Ltd. Submitted to:
USAID Serbia Contract No.:
169-C-00-11-00001-0
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................... 2
PROJECT OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 4
HIGHLIGHTS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD .......................................................................... 5
REVIEW OF PROJECT PROGRESS ................................................................................................ 8
ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................ 8
COMPONENT 1 .................................................................................................................................... 9
COMPONENT 2 .................................................................................................................................. 15
COMPONENT 3 .................................................................................................................................. 18
OUTREACH ....................................................................................................................................... 21
SUBCONTRACTS ........................................................................................................................... 23
BEP FINANCIAL REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 25
COMPONENT 1 .................................................................................................................................. 26
COMPONENT 2 .................................................................................................................................. 26
COMPONENT 3 .................................................................................................................................. 27
ATTACHMENT 1: BEP WORK ORGANIZATION ........................................................................... 28
ATTACHMENT 2: LIST OF MEDIA PUBLICATIONS ...................................................................... 29
ATTACHMENT 3: PROGRESS VERSUS WORKPLAN .................................................................. 35
ATTACHMENT 4: PROGRESS VERSUS PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN ......................... 52
ATTACHMENT 5: BEP SUBCONTRACTING UPDATE .................................................................. 63
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 2
LIST OF ACRONYMS
Amcham American Chamber of
Commerce in Serbia MoAEP Ministry of Agriculture and
Environmental Protection
ALCS Association of Leasing Companies in Serbia
MoE Ministry of Economy
ASB Association of Serbian Banks MoF Ministry of Finance
BD Budget Department MoLEVSI Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans' and Social Issues
BEP Business Enabling Project MoTTT
Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications
BIS Budget Information System MSME Micro, small and medium size enterprises
BRA
Business Registry Agency NALED National Alliance for Local Economic Development
CoB City of Belgrade NBFI Non-Banking Financial Institution
DEU Directorate for E-Government NBS National Bank of Serbia
EBRD
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
EvC Evaluation Committee OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
EU European Union PDA Public Debt Authority
FC Fiscal Council
FDI Foreign Direct Investments PEFA Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability
FIC Foreign Investors Council PEMPAL World Bank’s Public Expenditure Management Peer Assisted Learning
FREN Foundation for Advancement in Economics
PEOs Professional Enforcement Officers
FSR Fiscal Strategy Report PIM Public Investment Management
GDP Gross Domestic Product PMP Performance Monitoring Plan
GoS Government of Serbia PPD Public –private dialogue
HRMS Government of Serbia Human Resource Management Service
PPS Public Policy Secretariat
IMF International Monetary Fund RFP Request for proposal
IOSCO International Organization for Securities Commission
RGA Republic Geodetic Authority
JA Judicial Academy SAI State Audit Institution
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JRGA Judicial Reform and Government Accountability
SAM Serbian Association of Managers
KEPU KEPU ledger SBRA Serbian Business Registries Agency
LoES Law on Enforcement and Security
SCC Serbian Chamber of Commerce
LoIO Law on Inspection Oversight SCM Standard Cost Model
LPC Law on Planning and Construction
SCTM Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities
MFD Macro Fiscal Department SME Small and Medium Enterprises
MFI Micro Finance Institutions SORS Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia
MoFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs UNDP United Nations Development Program
MoH Ministry of Health WB World Bank
MoJ Ministry of Justice WEF World Economic Forum
MoPALSG Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self –Government
MCTI Ministry of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure
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GoS Partners
BEP works in partnership with the following GoS institutions under joint work plans and action plans:
Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection
Ministry of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure
Ministry of Finance Ministry of Economy Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans
and Social Policy Ministry of Justice Ministry of State Administration and Local
Self-Government Ministry of Trade, Tourism and
Telecommunication National Bank of Serbia (independent
body) Public Debt Administration Secretariat for Public Policies of the GoS Serbian Business Registers Agency Fiscal Council (independent body) Doing Business Working Group
Republic Geodetic Authority
PROJECT OVERVIEW
USAID’s Business Enabling Project, implemented by Cardno Emerging Markets USA, is a seven-
year initiative launched in January 2011. The Project is helping the Government of Serbia (GoS) improve the competitiveness of the Serbian economy and its private sector businesses. The Project
provides technical assistance, training, and other support to improve the business enabling
environment, maintain macroeconomic stability, and further develop financial markets. The Project is demand driven: all activities are based on the priorities of the private sector and GoS.
The Business Enabling Project (BEP) consists of three major
components:
Component 1, Business Regulation and Economic Governance, streamlines laws, regulations, and institutions; improves regulators’ capacity to implement
laws; and improves analysis and public-private dialogue.
Component 2, Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management, helps the Government
implement new budget and fiscal responsibility laws,
improve budgeting, increase public disclosure and transparency, strengthen public debt management, and
improve economic analysis and forecasting.
Component 3, Financial Market Development, improves regulatory frameworks for non-bank
institutions, develops capacity to strengthen and expand
capital markets, and improves conditions for debt market
development.
The project’s approach to achieving reforms is to help the GoS work closely with the private sector and outside experts
to make reforms that improve business competitiveness. The reforms reduce the time and money spent by Serbian
businesses to comply with laws and regulations and help the
GoS to be more efficient. The reforms also enable businesses to attract necessary investment at an
appropriate cost. As a result, Serbian businesses have a better chance to be competitive in the global economy, leading to export-led economic growth and increased employment.
BEP used a 19 person staff several Serbian and expatriate medium and short term advisors, a grants
fund, and subcontracts to provide technical assistance to the GoS and other counterparts.
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HIGHLIGHTS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD
This report covers the twenty-fourth quarter of BEP’s operation – October 1 to December 31, 2016.
The project continues intensive technical assistance in several areas of focus, including SME access to finance, inspections, construction permitting, and public financial management. BEP is working
closely with government and non-governmental partners to ensure that Serbian institutions can
continue all of these reforms after BEP ends. We want to highlight the following noteworthy achievements during the period:
Serbia Leaps Ahead in World Bank’s Doing Business Ranking Thanks to Construction
Permitting Reform Supported by BEP – Serbia is ranked 47th in the World Bank’s Doing Business
2017 list, published on October 25th, an improvement from the 59th place Serbia held in the 2016 rankings. This leap in the overall assessment of the ease of doing business comes primarily as a result
of the remarkable improvement in the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator during the past
three years: Serbia progressed from 186th place in the 2015 edition of Doing Business to 139th in the 2016 report, and then rocketed to 36th place in the Doing Business 2017 report. BEP, has been
spearheading construction permitting reform by providing technical assistance to the Ministry of
Construction Transport and Infrastructure (MCTI) for conceptualizing the reform, drafting the necessary laws and bylaws, and implementing the reform. BEP helped achieve the Doing Business
improvement by serving on the core of the Joint Task Force set up by the Government of Serbia to
coordinate the Government’s efforts to implement reforms of the business environment and
communicate achievements to the World Bank’s Doing Business Team. To mark this result and plan activities for further improvement in ease of doing business, BEP and NALED organized the
conference entitled “Doing Business 2017: Strengthening Competiveness of Serbia”, attended by
some 270 stakeholders.
BEP Releases Findings of Sixth Annual Business Survey – Significant Improvement in Inspections and Construction Permitting; Inadequate Financing of MSMEs – On November 17, BEP presented the findings of its sixth annual Business Survey. The results of the survey, carried out by the Ipsos Strategic Marketing for BEP on a sample of 1,032 businesses and sole proprietorships, have revealed that recent business environment reforms are making it easier for them to operate. “One of the greatest improvements shown by this year’s survey results is the positive change in the private sector’s perceptions of the Serbian government’s inspection system. This year, we also saw the impact of the Government’s efforts to reform Serbia’s construction permitting system. This reform was recognized as one of the most important business reforms implemented in Serbia in the last several years,” said U.S. Ambassador Kyle Scott. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic announced that further improvements to construction permitting would follow, especially underlining removal of the para-fiscal fees and charges for the construction industry. Businesses reported significant impact from several reforms, particularly inspections and construction permitting reforms, and the number of firms who expect to hire new staff is now greater than at any time since the Business Survey was first performed in 2011. Businesses still see plenty of room for improvement: the majority have said they continued to face challenges with issues such as para-fiscal charges, administrative procedures, and access to finance.
National Assembly Adopts Real Property Valuation Bill Prepared with BEP’s Comprehensive
Technical Assistance – The Real Property Valuation Law, adopted on December 28, introduces
institutions and procedures that will improve real estate valuations. Improved valuations will lower
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risk on secured loans, will help Serbia deal with the issue of non-performing loans (NPLs), and will
ensure soundness of the financial sector. The law will increase the quality of the real property valuer profession and allow the creation of institutional infrastructure for reliable real estate valuation. The
Law includes provisions on continuing professional development that will ensure that all real estate
valuers have appropriate expertise. It also introduces National Standards and a Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct for licensed valuers; prescribes conditions for licensing and mandatory professional training; and establishes an independent Professional Committee to prescribe training and
examination curricula.
BEP Helps Improve Enforcement of Judgments Efficiency – On December 2 and 3, BEP, Chamber of PEOs, Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and the MoJ organized a conference focused
on harmonizing practice in implementation of the Law on Enforcement and Security. The conference
gathered more than 250 professionals, including SCC judges, enforcement judges from main basic and commercial courts in Serbia, officers and members of the Chamber of PEOs, and the business
community. Discussions centered on resolving key issues in implementation of the Law identified to
date, including inconsistencies in court practice, duration and costs of enforcement, and difficulties in
uncovering debtors’ assets. A presentation by Dragana Stanojevic, BEP Chief of Party, focused discussion on the impact that enforcement and collection have on legal security of doing business in
Serbia. The organizers will follow this activity up by publishing conclusions of the conference and
distributing them to all PEOs and courts so as to facilitate uniform application of enforcement procedures. BEP’s assistance in the area has been contributing to reducing the time required to
enforce judgments and improving the consistency of enforcement. This has improved public
perception of the enforcement process. This activity is also crucial for Serbia’s EU integration process, as the 2016 Progress Report points out that “Serbia should in particular further step up
measures to reduce the backlog of cases and standardize court practice.”
The number of construction permits issued in
October 2016 stood at 1,464, making this by far the
most successful month on record – The number of
building permits in October 2016 was 30 percent greater compared to the same month one year ago.
There is now no doubt that 2016 as a whole will prove
to be the best year on record in terms of construction
permits issued: there was an increase of nearly 19 percent in the number of permits issued over the first
ten months of 2016 relative to the same period of 2015.
The expected value of construction works has risen by more than 8 percent over the first ten months of 2016
relative to the same period of 2015.
National Assembly Adopts 2017 Budget Bill and Bill to Upgrade Budget Procedures, both
developed with Support from BEP – The 2017 Budget Bill and the amendments to the Budget
System Law reflect some of BEP’s accomplishments in improving the Government of Serbia’s budget process over the past six years. The Budget Bill presents expenditures of all direct budget
beneficiaries in the program budget format, while its Justification Document includes detailed
program-based information (objectives and performance indicators) linked to program budgets of budget beneficiaries. In recent months, BEP provided extensive support to the MoF Budget
Department for preparing the 2017 Budget Bill. Improvements to the Budget Bill include removal of
redundant information from the Budget Bill and focusing objectives and performance indicators on effectiveness and efficiency of subsidies, projects, and public services. At the same session, the
National Assembly adopted amendments to the Budget System Law that aim to strengthen budget
transparency and oversight of effectiveness and efficiency of public spending. The amendments were
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 7
prepared by the MoF Budget Department with support from BEP. Enhancements include introduction
of mandatory publication of detailed program budget information (program and sub-program descriptions, goals, and performance indicators) and annual and semi-annual program performance
reporting by budget beneficiaries. The changes enable full utilization of a program and performance
measurement framework in planning, prioritization, and informed budgetary decision-making, and
facilitate greater accountability of government institutions in public spending.
BEP Presents Inspections Reform in Serbia to Global Stakeholder Audience – Serbian Inspections Reform Meets EU, OECD and WB Standards of Good Regulation. BEP organized a study tour for Serbian inspection reform leaders to London, United Kingdom, from October 10 to 14. Participants in the study tour took part in an international conference entitled “Shaping Business Environments for Global Growth and Prosperity”, organized by UK Regulatory Delivery. The conference was designed for countries aiming to develop their regulatory environments to promote trade and investment opportunities, provide certainty and confidence to business, and generate growth and prosperity, and gathered over 200 delegates from 55 countries. The Serbian delegation learned about the most advanced trends and practices in risk-based regulation, regulatory delivery, and inspection oversight in the areas of standards, waste management, intellectual property, product safety, and ease of movement of goods across borders. Serbia was one of the very few countries invited to present at the conference, which demonstrates international recognition of the scope and quality of Serbia’s reforms. International and Serbian experts with BEP and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Government presented features of the Law on Inspection Oversight to the conference. The Serbian participants in the study tour will apply their newly-acquired knowledge in developing inspections regulations, guidelines, and methodologies for inspection oversight, as well as in planning for continued inspections reform.
Serbia Improves Construction Permitting Regulations with Support from BEP – BEP continues to play a leading role in identifying challenges in implementation of construction permitting reform and proposing changes to the legal framework to address those constraints. BEP helped eliminate
contradictions between the Water Law and the new Law on Planning and Construction (LPC) that had
been hindering implementation of reformed construction permitting procedures in many cases that
involve access to, or use of, bodies of water. To ensure consistency and sustainability of the legal framework for water-related construction permit applications, BEP and NALED worked with the two
ministries for several months to draft amendments to the Water Law. BEP also helped the MCTI
develop amendments to two bylaws critically important for construction permitting procedures that govern the one-stop-shop procedure and engineering designs. The two bylaws, among other
improvements, clarify procedures for exchange of official documentation between investors and
permitting bodies, further reduce room for arbitrary decisions by permitting officials, and expand definition of situations when an investor is not required to pay fees in permitting procedures. BEP
worked intensively with the MCTI, NALED, and other stakeholders to make sure that the
amendments to these important bylaws were properly discussed with both public administration and
the private sector. Adoption of the amended Water Law and amendments follow BEP’s work to achieve harmonization in the areas of the energy, fire safety, and state survey and cadaster.
BEP and MoF institutionalized the Program Budgeting Course in the Government’s regular
training program. The course is now an integral part of the General Professional Training Program offered by the Government’s Human Resources Management Service (HRMS) to all public
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administration employees. The two-day Program Budgeting Course developed by BEP focuses on the
system of planning, decision-making and preparation of the budget document, and covers topics such as development of PB structures, costing in line with PB methodology, integration of planning and
budgeting processes, setting of objectives and performance indicators, as well as introduction of
performance monitoring and reporting procedures. Two courses were organized during October when
six MoF Budget Department analysts served as trainers. As a result, they have received Trainer Certificates enabling them to continue to deliver the course as it becomes a standard part of the
trainings provided by HRMS. Institutionalization of this course ensures a permanent mechanism for
capacity building across the government in program budgeting.
BEP Continues Trainings to transform Inspections – BEP in cooperation with the Ministry of
Public Administration and Local Self-Government designed and started implementing a set of
advanced soft skills trainings for inspectors. The trainings will help inspectors to further develop their communication, mediation and decision-making skills, learn more about conflict resolution and
prevention, and improve other soft skills relevant for inspection oversight. The idea behind this
training is to help in an ongoing transformation of inspectors’ work culture and work ethics, and
change their work behavior to focus on ensuring compliance. The participants in the two-day interactive trainings will apply the skills they learned to their daily work, and will provide assistance
to their colleagues to also develop and apply these skills. In the course of eight months, BEP aims to
train more than 200 inspectors. Three out of eight planned trainings have already been conducted.
REVIEW OF PROJECT PROGRESS
Administrative and General Activities
BEP’s Sixth Annual Business Survey shows significant improvements in business environment
but inadequate financing for MSMEs – On November 17, BEP presented the findings of its sixth
annual Business Survey, a sophisticated tool for learning about major needs for improvement to the business environment and measuring impact of implemented reforms. The results of the survey can be
found here. Important results include: 81 percent of businesses surveyed believe that inspectors are
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well trained and 75 percent believe they act upon clear and understandable legislation; these figures
are up from 37 percent and 28 percent in 2011, respectively. Also, the time needed to obtain construction permits has more than halved compared to the 2013 Business Survey. Businesses still see
plenty of room for improvement: the majorities have said they continued to face challenges with
issues such as para-fiscal charges, administrative procedures, and access to finance. Still, the findings
of the 2016 Survey have revealed that the number of firms who expect to hire new staff is now greater than at any time since the Business Survey was first performed in 2011.
BEP Presented Good Regulatory Practice at Western Balkans Regional Conference – USAID
Serbia, in cooperation with the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) and the Regional Cooperation Council, co-organized a regional conference entitled “Better Regulation and
Competitiveness in the Western Balkans.” The Conference took place in Belgrade on December 1 and
2 and brought together public institutions, business associations, academics, researchers, think-tanks, and international development organizations interested in better regulation for a business-friendly
environment. The Conference covered regulations in the context of EU accession, regulatory trends in
the Western Balkans, consultations in the legislative process, and influence of better regulation on
competitiveness. At the Conference, BEP Chief of Party Dragana Stanojević and Senior Expert Milan Stefanović presented inspection reform in Serbia as a case study of best practice in the regulatory
process. BEP’s presentation included a comprehensive review of the inspection reform process,
including drafting of the Law on Inspection Oversight and its implementation. At another panel, BEP Chief of Party presented the 2016 Business Surveywhich, along with business perception indexes,
international organizations’ reports, and official statistics shows that Serbian businesses have become
more competitive as a result of inspection and construction permitting reforms supported by BEP.
BEP Participated in OECD Coordinators Meeting on SMEs Business Act Assessment for
Western Balkans and Turkey – At the invitation of the Ministry of Economy (MoE), a BEP
representative participated in the OECD Coordinators Meeting, held in Paris, France on December 16.
The Meeting was a whole-day event covering various topics regarding the state of SME policies in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The event was a venue where experts and government officials from
countries in the region could exchange experiences, discuss current topics, and gain new and fresh
ideas for future reforms. BEP shared with participants its experience with factoring reforms in Serbia, emphasizing the fact that the lack of regulation motivated the factoring industry to seek better
governance in the field. A presentation by Mr. Uri Gabai, from the Israel Innovation Authority on
Venture Capital, helped BEP learn more about how to enhance the venture capital industry and how
Israel addressed these issues. The BEP representative was able to gain understanding of the broader picture of current trends in access to finance and establish connections with several high-level
officials who prove to be relevant for advancement of this topic seen as crucial by Serbian SMEs.
Component 1
Under Objective 1, Task 1, "Improve Inspections Operations and Organization" BEP has been active on several fronts to bring fundamental changes to the regulatory framework and practice of
inspection oversight in Serbia. This includes technical assistance to develop and implement the Law
on Inspections Oversight, harmonize sector laws and bylaws, develop e-inspections, train inspectors, and coordinate the work of inspectorates.
For the past two years, BEP has been cooperating with the Directorate for e-Government and the
MoPALSG to develop the e-Inspector software platform. BEP has assisted this initiative by preparing a business process analysis and designing terms of reference for e-Inspector software, and has helped
to resolve administrative issues related with public procurement for the system.
On November 10, the Directorate for E-Government (DEU) published a call for bids and issued
tender documentation for procurement of software development services for an integrated inspections information system (“e-Inspector”). This tender is result of an analysis of inspections’ business
processes completed jointly by the DEU and BEP. Software development is the key phase in the
creation of the e-Inspector system. The successful bidder should develop a joint platform for all inspections, introduce the system at four pilot national inspectorates, and conduct a train-the-trainers
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course at those inspectorates within 18 months. BEP will continue providing technical assistance to
the DEU and MoPALSG through the entire process of developing the e-Inspector system. e-Inspector is designed to significantly help implementation of risk-based inspections, decrease administrative
burden on businesses and inspectors, and increase the effectiveness of inspections. BEP assisted the e-
Government Directorate in responding to questions in regard to the tender procedure and evaluation
of received proposals. The successful bidder was selected in December 2016.
BEP has been aiding the MoPALSG with the formation of the Inspection Oversight Coordination
Commission Support Unit. The MoPALSG, EBRD, and BEP have drafted the terms of reference and
other required documentation for a future project, to be financed by the EBRD, to provide technical and administrative support to the Coordination Commission and its Support Unit. BEP worked with a
consulting firm engaged by the MoPALSG, on analysis and development of recommendations
regarding improvement of inspection organization, transparency, advisory and preventive role, risk analysis, inspection oversight planning and inspection effectiveness indicators. The Coordination
Commission is supposed to endorse these recommendations as inspection guidelines in Q2 2017.
On November 2, the Inspection Oversight Coordination Board held its eight session. The State
Secretary and officials of the MoPALSG, heads and managers of major national inspectorates, Directorate for E-Government, City of Belgrade Inspection Secretariat, SCTM, BEP, EBRD and
Partners for Democratic Change Serbia participated in the session. The Board, with support from
BEP, defined the mechanisms and timeframe for approval of inspections’ annual plans. As a result, Serbia will for the first time have a set of mutually harmonized annual plans of individual
inspectorates, fulfilling one of the main goals of the inspections’ reform – to enhance coordination
and cooperation of various inspectorates, thus saving the time and money of Serbian businesses.
Inspections officials used the meeting of the Board to share best practices. The head of the Agriculture
Inspection for Food Safety presented experiences with development of the annual plan to allow for the
greatest possible synergy with other inspectorates, while the head of the Market Inspection talked
about lessons learned during this body’s campaign of advisory visits and advisory support to businesses, and encouraged other inspections to follow the same practice emphasizing preventive
rather than punitive activities.
On December 21, the Inspection Oversight Coordination Board held its ninth session. Mr. Željko Ožegović, State Secretary at the MoPALSG, heads and senior officials of major national
inspectorates, and BEP participated in the session. Mr. Ožegović informed the meeting about progress
with implementation of the Law on Inspection Oversight. The Board adopted the first package of
annual inspection oversight plans covering as many as fifteen inspections; these plans will be made publicly available online. The working groups reported to the Board on their activities, and Board
members provided directions designed to enhance working groups’ effectiveness. The Board also
adopted the Methodology for the On-line Survey of Implementation of the Law on Inspection Oversight, developed by BEP. The aim of the survey is to obtain input from the public in order to
better evaluate inspections’ activities. This information will facilitate analysis of initiatives aimed at
strengthening the inspection oversight system. The Board is scheduled to meet again in January 2017
BEP has also provided technical assistance in formation of the Committee for Conducting the
Inspectors’ Examination, and in development of the program and other documents related to the
inspectors’ examination. The committee has been formed, the exam questions were drafted and
published, and the exams are scheduled to start on January 22, 2017.
BEP has also identified 146 pieces of sectoral legislation that should be aligned with the Law on
Inspection Oversight and has shared its findings with the MoPALSG. BEP continues to provide expert
support to various inspections and the MoPALSG in harmonizing sectoral regulations with the inspections reform framework. BEP has awarded a subcontract to assist with sector law
harmonization with Law on Inspection Oversight. Work under the subcontract will start in January
2017. The subcontractor will be supported by BEP’s experts and consultants in these regulatory activities. Having in mind complexity and longstanding of the legislative process, there is a risk that
the completion of harmonization of sectoral inspection laws with the umbrella Law on Inspections
Oversight – including enactment of all amendments in the Parliament – will go beyond the life-cycle
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of BEP.
BEP continued its intensive training program to help inspectors adopt the modern inspections procedures that BEP helped develop. BEP presented key features of the Law on Inspection Oversight
as part of a seminar for labor inspectors organized on October 11 in Tara, by the Labor Inspectorate.
BEP consultants, together with the Market and Labor Inspectorates, presented the main features of the
Law to more than 160 inspectors. Labor inspectors who completed BEP’s advanced Train the Trainers program presented several case studies and discussed challenges in practical implementation with
participants. Topics discussed included risk assessment, inspections’ oversight procedure, and
inspections’ approach to informal employment and unregistered entities. BEP’s Train the Trainers program made the exchange of knowledge and experiences at the seminar possible by providing the
know-how that inspectors needed to engage in training their colleagues.
On October 24 and 25, the head of the Agriculture Inspection, a graduate of BEP’s Advanced Train the Trainers program, and a BEP consultant jointly presented selected features of the LoIO and
guidelines for its implementation to 27 officers of various inspectorates. This was the third training
event organized by the Government of Serbia Human Resource Management Service (HRMS) based
on a program developed with BEP’s technical assistance. The HRMS now offers this training regularly every month, contributing to the sustainability of BEP’s inspection training activities. The
training focused on inspection oversight procedure, risk management, and control of unregistered
businesses.
With the same goal in mind, BEP, MoPALSG, City of Kragujevac, Šumadija Administrative District,
SCTM, and OSCE, together held a seminar on the LoIO in Kragujevac on October 26. BEP experts,
head of training at the Market Inspection, and head of Belgrade’s Zvezdara Municipality Legal and Inspection Division, also an alumnus of BEP’s Advanced Train the Trainers program, led this
interactive seminar for 100 inspectors from the Šumadija region.
As part of the fourth training event organized by HRMS on November 24 and 25, BEP consultants
and the head of the Environment Protection Inspection, who previously completed BEP’s Advanced Train the Trainers program, presented features of the Law on Inspection Oversight and guidelines for
its implementation. Through interactive sessions, trainers instructed 17 participants from different
inspectorates and public bodies. The HRMS developed this training program with BEP’s technical assistance. The training is conducted monthly on a regular basis, contributing to sustainability of
BEP’s Train the Trainers program. The training focused on inspection oversight procedure, risk
management, and control of unregistered businesses, with examples and case studies from inspection
practice.
On December 12, the Agriculture Inspection of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental
Protection held a seminar on the Law on Inspection Oversight for 74 of its inspectors. Presentations
and interactive sessions on risk analysis, coordination, dealing with unregistered entities, inspection oversight procedures, preventive and corrective actions, and penalty procedures were delivered by
experts from BEP, Market Inspection, Agriculture Inspection, Environmental Protection Inspection,
and Sanitary Inspection. The experts are alumni of both basic and advanced Train the Trainers programs conducted by BEP, Partners for Democratic Change Serbia, and the Ministry of Public
Administration and Local Government.
On November 17 and 18 BEP, MoPALSG, and BEP’s grantee Partners for Democratic Change Serbia
held the first advanced soft skills training for inspectors in Belgrade. The inspectors analyzed and discussed complex case studies and participated in interactive exercises and role-playing scenarios. In
particular, the training session helped inspectors further develop their communication, mediation, and
decision-making skills, and learn more about conflict resolution and prevention. The goal of this training event was to assist the ongoing transformation of inspectorates’ work culture and work ethics,
and to help make inspectors’ interactions with businesses more professional. Soft skills experts
delivered the training to 27 inspectors from several inspection bodies. BEP, Partners for Democratic Change Serbia and the MoPALSG held the second advanced soft skills training on December 6 and 7
in Nis. The soft skills experts delivered the training to 24 inspectors from various inspection bodies.
On December 15 and 16, BEP, in cooperation with Partners for Democratic Changes Serbia and the
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MoPALSG, held the third advanced soft skills training session to 22 inspectors from different
inspection bodies in Novi Sad. All the participants in these two-day interactive courses will apply the newly acquired skills in their daily work and will provide assistance to their colleagues in developing
and applying those same skills. Results of the 2016 Business Survey have confirmed the effectiveness
of this approach, since an impressive 86 percent of all businesses have reported that inspectors are
now polite in dealing with businesses, up from as little as 67 percent in 2014, and only 30% back in 2011. The next soft skills training is planned for January 2017 in Belgrade.
These training activities are of critical importance for proper implementation of inspections reform,
which should contribute to making inspection controls less burdensome for compliant businesses and more efficient in dealing with delinquent ones. BEP will continue to provide assistance to
inspectorates to allow them to meet regulatory requirements and improve standards of inspection
practice.
Under Objective 1, Task 2, "Remove or reduce quasi fiscal burdens to businesses," BEP
continues to help reduce para-fiscal charges, particularly those related to construction activities. But
BEP also is trying to move forward a broader reform of para-fiscal charges. The private sector in
Serbia sees non-tax financial impositions as a major source of unpredictability and a key constraint for the business environment. Since the major streamlining campaign supported by BEP ended in 2012,
there have been no major breakthroughs in curbing para-fiscal charges on a larger scale. One such
opportunity is now offered by the Government of Serbia’s plan to adopt the Law on Charges for Use of Public Resources as a means to promote predictability in the introduction and administration of
these impositions on business. At the request of the MoF, BEP has prepared and delivered to this line
ministry a set of recommendations for streamlining some of the most important non-tax impositions, primarily related to the use of public roads and water resources, as well as to environmental
protection. Alongside these recommendations, BEP has reiterated to the MoF the importance of
vetting provisions of the future law with stakeholders, primarily with the business community, and
offered support for organizing public-private dialogue on this important subject. On September 22, the Minister of Finance re-appointed a BEP representative to the Working Group tasked with drafting the
Law on Charges for the Use of Public Resources. The Working Group is due to complete the draft of
this piece of legislation at the latest by March 31, 2017.
The Utilities Bill, submitted by the MCTI to the Government of Serbia (GoS) Finance and Economy
Committee, envisaged the introduction of a new levy, the “utility fee”. The Bill was submitted for
consideration to the Government of Serbia Joint Working Group for Advancement of Serbia in the
Global Competitiveness Indices, of which BEP is a member. Having analyzed the Bill, BEP notified members of the GoS Joint Working Group about its finding that the utility fee was designed as a
straightforward para-fiscal charge, since the payers (all legal and physical persons owning or using
immovable property) would receive no new rights or services for their money. The utility fee would, as such, share the same taxable base as property tax. As many local governments assess property tax
for physical persons at rates below the legally defined maximum, the utility fee would likely be used
as a means to shift an additional share of the burden of public finance onto businesses. Based on the input provided by BEP, the Joint Working Group communicated its concerns to the GoS Committee
for Finance and Economy. As a result, the proposed new para-fiscal charge was deleted from the Bill
that the GoS approved and submitted to the National Assembly. On another front, BEP continues to
provide the MoF Working Group for the Law on Charges for the Use of Public Goods with recommendations for streamlining para-fiscal charges, primarily related with the charges related with
public roads, water and environment.
Objective 1, Task 3, “Assist Implementation of Law on Enforcement of Judgment”
TASK COMPLETED – further work on the issue is being implemented under Component 3,
Objective 4, Task 6.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 13
Under Objective 1, Task 4, “Streamline Construction
Permitting,” BEP’s work to help implement construction permitting reforms continues. BEP’s assistance to
conceptualize the reform, build support for it, draft
legislation, and implement the reform has already paid off,
as set forth in the text box. As a result of the legislative reforms spearheaded by BEP, the system of construction
permitting one-stop-shops began functioning in each
municipality on March 1, 2015. Starting January 1, 2016, construction permit applications have been accepted only
online through the e-permitting portal, whose design and
implementation was supported by BEP.
BEP helped achieve the Doing Business improvement by
leading the reform effort and then serving on the core of
the Joint Task Force set up by the Government of Serbia to coordinate the Government’s efforts to
implement reforms of the business environment and communicate achievements to the World Bank’s Doing Business Team.
To mark this result and plan activities for further improvement in ease of doing business, BEP and
NALED organized the conference entitled “Doing Business 2017: Strengthening Competiveness of
Serbia”, attended by some 270 stakeholders. Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Joint Task Force
for improvement of Serbia’s position in global competitiveness indices, Zorana Mihajlovic, opened the Conference by congratulating all those who contributed to Serbia improving its standing in the
Doing Business list by 12 positions in total, and particularly to the country’s leap in ease of
construction permitting of 103 positions. The conference included set of four roundtables, of which BEP representatives moderated two, attended by Government of Serbia officials and stakeholders and
tasked with elaborating action plans for implementation of the business environment reforms. The
action plans should ensure continued improvement of Serbia’s position in the Doing Business
rankings and, more importantly, make Serbia a more attractive destination for investment.
BEP continues to work intensively with the Ministry of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure (MoCTI) to implement the construction permitting reform, focusing on improving
efficiency of the One Stop Shop system by adjusting regulatory framework and enhancing capacities of the public administration and licensed engineers.
Contradictions between the Water Law and the new Law on Planning and Construction (LPC) have
been hindering implementation of reformed construction permitting procedures in many cases that involve access to, or use of, bodies of water. Instructions for Implementation of the One-Stop-Shop
Procedure, jointly issued by the ministries in charge of water management and construction under an
agreement brokered with BEP assistance, only partially remedied this problem. To ensure consistency
and sustainability of the legal framework for water-related construction permit applications, BEP and NALED worked with the two ministries for several months to draft amendments to the Water Law,
including an additional amendment that was submitted by the Economic Caucus. This additional
amendment prescribes in which cases an investor is required to obtain a water usage permit. Adoption of the amended Water Law ensures the harmonization of yet another important segment of the legal
framework for construction permitting, and comes after BEP helped achieve harmonization in the
areas of the energy, fire safety, and state survey and cadaster. It also gives additional impetus for alignment of the remaining body of law that is still at odds with the reformed construction permitting
procedure, including laws regulating public roads, environmental protection, administrative charges,
etc.
Besides the legislative work, BEP regulatory activities also encompassed the implementing regulations on the bylaw level. For two years now, BEP has been playing a leading role in identifying
challenges in implementation of construction permitting reform and proposing changes to the legal
framework to address those constraints. The latest achievement in this regard has been amendments to two bylaws critically important for construction permitting procedures that govern the one-stop-shop
procedure and engineering designs. Adoption of the two revised bylaws, among other improvements,
Impacts from BEP’s Assistance for Construction Permitting Reforms
Streamlined procedures, one stop shop, and e-permitting
Doing Business Ranking for Dealing with Construction Permits improved from 186th in 2015 to 36th in 2017 report.
There has been an increase of 18.7 percent in the number of construction permits issued in October 2016 relative to the same period of 2015.
The value of permitted construction works has risen by 8.3 percent in the same period.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 14
clarifies procedures for exchange of official documentation between investors and permitting bodies,
further reduces room for arbitrary decisions by permitting officials, and improves the position of investors with regard to payments of administrative fees. Additionally, the regulatory changes should
remove some hurdles that local governments used to face in implementing public infrastructure
projects. Amendments to these important bylaws were thoroughly discussed with both public
administration and the private sector.
Electronic issuance of construction permits has expedited administrative procedures and contributed
to a significant increase in the number of construction permits issued and of the construction
industry’s output. At the same time, many permitting authorities have been archiving applications and paperwork both electronically and on paper, so further adding to their workload, already increased by
the rising number of applications. BEP has been working with the MCTI, MoPALSG, and NALED to
develop official interpretations of requirements for proper archiving of construction permitting paperwork. Technical assistance provided by BEP has allowed the MoPALSG to issue an official
legal interpretation of the legal framework endorsing electronic-only processing and archiving of
construction permitting applications. The same legal interpretation also affirms the ability of
permitting staff to electronically sign appropriate documentation and share it with other permitting agencies – an authorization previously reserved only for top officials of permitting bodies that had
been creating bottleneck in processing applications. These two interpretations will relieve permitting
bodies of the unnecessary administrative burden of printing and archiving paper forms of electronically submitted documents and will free up time of senior officials of permitting bodies by
transferring routine responsibilities to lower level officials. As a result, permitting bodies should be
able to additionally reduce the time needed to process permitting applications, and to use senior officials’ time for better managing implementation of procedures and for dealing with most complex
cases.
Late June 2016 marked sixteen months since the launch of One-Stop-Shops and six months since the
roll-out of electronic construction permitting, both introduced with significant support from BEP. At that time, BEP concluded that the reform had been implemented for long enough to initiate a
comprehensive assessment of its impact. While initial information on the effects of the reform was
positive, BEP endeavored to systematically collect and process available data on outcomes of the reformed permitting system and identify areas that require further improvement. Sources of
information used for the analysis include official statistics, surveys of investors and permitting
officials, and stakeholder interviews. The result is an 80-plus page document, entitled Impact
Assessment of Construction Permitting Reform. It documents the overwhelmingly positive effects of the reform, including streamlined procedures, reduced time and costs needed to obtain construction
permits, and increased output of the construction industry. The Impact Assessment also highlights
areas where continued focus is still needed: making sure that fees and charges policies are consistent across different permitting bodies and aligned with the actual costs of providing the relevant
administrative services; and expanding functionality and improving stability of the construction
permitting software. BEP will use findings of the Impact Assessment to inform activities aiming to sustain efficiency improvements and to make the current best performers’ results a standard across all
construction permitting bodies.
The number of building permits in October 2016 was 30 percent greater compared to the same month
one year ago. There is now no doubt that 2016 as a whole will prove to be the best year on record in terms of construction permits issued: there has been an increase of nearly 19 percent in the number of
permits issued over the first ten months of 2016 relative to the same period of 2015. The expected
value of construction works has risen by more than 8 percent over the first ten months of 2016 relative to the same period of 2015. October this year has broken record number of construction permits from
September, which in turn, has broken record from July of this year. However, it would not be realistic
to expect similar records in the near future, as the month of October is traditionally a highpoint of the year, followed by a recession in number of construction permits issued, usually spanning from
November to March or April.
Objective 1, Task 4, "Reduce the Employing Workers Burden," has been successfully completed.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 15
Under Objective 2, Task 1, "Improve Public Private Dialogue," six public-private dialogue (PPD)
events were held during the quarter. The events were:
■ "Doing Business 2017: Strengthening Competiveness of Serbia, Belgrade October 10.
■ 2016 South East Europe NPL Forum in Belgrade, October 14.
■ "Dialogue between the judiciary and businesses - a step closer to efficient enforcement",
Krusevac, October 20.
■ "Dialogue between the judiciary and businesses - a step closer to efficient enforcement", Pancevo,
October 25.
■ Business Survey event, Belgrade November 17.
■ Enforcement conference, Novi Sad, December 2 and 3;
Under Objective 2, Task 2, "Implement Regulatory Reforms," BEP has been providing technical assistance to the relevant stakeholders to improve Serbia's position on WB Doing Business Report. Our main contribution was made through participation in the Government of Serbia Joint Working
Group for Advancement of Serbia in the Global Competitiveness Indices lead by Deputy Prime-
minister Zorana Mihajlovic. BEP is only donor implementing organization appointed as a member
of this Working Group. BEP used its position in this Joint Work Group to promote the need for further reforms in the construction permitting. BEP also worked with the GoS counterparts and
NALED to communicate with the World Bank’s Doing Business Team the progress that Serbia was
making on the construction permitting and other business related reforms.
As a recognition of its contribution through the Joint Working Group, BEP was asked to serve in the
still informal Core Working Group tasked with reviewing proposed draft laws and, importantly,
bylaws, to assess their impact on Serbia’s Doing Business rankings and on its business environment in general. This gave a chance to BEP to communicate to the relevant bodies of the Government the
benefits of the Real Property Valuation Bill, prepared with the BEP technical assistance. It also
allowed BEP alarm the Government about the proposed introduction of a significant para-fiscal
charge, which was eventually prevented due to this BEP’s last minute involvement.
Component 2
Objective 1, Task 1, "Capacity building assistance to the Fiscal Council and Improvements to
fiscal responsibility," has been successfully completed. No further support is planned.
Objective 1, Task 2, "Improvements to MoF Fiscal Analysis and Strategy." No further support is planned under this Task.
Under Objective 1, Task 3 "Assistance to the GoS and Parliament to Improving Budget
Coordination and Performance Management," Activity postponed for 2017 since the additions and modifications of the Budget System Law, aiming to establish the legal ground for introduction of
requirements for monitoring and reporting on performance of budget beneficiaries, were adopted only
in December of 2016. Due to this delay, MoF will publish the Methodology for Monitoring and
Reporting on Performance of Budgetary Programs at the beginning of 2017. In 2017 BEP plans to provide technical briefings for the Parliamentary committees and State Audit Institution on
requirements and methodology for monitoring and reporting of program budget execution. Assistance
will focus on program budget reporting requirements, assessing outcomes against performance indicators, and integration of strategic planning and program budgeting.
Under Objective 1, Task 4, "Assist the MoF Budget Department to Develop Capacity for
Improved Transparency and Program Budgeting," BEP continued to provide crucial technical assistance and training to ensure sustainable implementation of this important public financial
management reform.
BEP’s assistance to date led to an improved annual budget presentation and better budget procedures.
The 2017 Budget Bill reflects some of BEP’s accomplishments in improving the Government of
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 16
Serbia’s budget process over the past six years. The 2017 Bill presents expenditures of all direct
budget beneficiaries in the program budget format, while its Justification Document includes detailed program-based information (objectives and performance indicators) linked to program budgets of
budget beneficiaries. In recent months, BEP provided extensive support to the MoF Budget
Department for preparing the 2017 Budget Bill. With BEP’s support, the Program Budget
Methodology was upgraded to reflect lessons learned during the first two years of PB implementation in Serbia. The aim of these improvements is to remove redundant information from the Budget Bill
and make sure that objectives and performance indicators are focused on effectiveness and efficiency
of subsidies, projects, and public services. The methodological guidelines that BEP has helped develop have directly contributed to greater transparency of the 2017 Budget Bill and its Justification
Document, while also laying the groundwork for introduction of annual and semi-annual reporting on
budget beneficiaries’ performance in 2017.
At the same session, the National Assembly adopted amendments to the Budget System Law that aim
to strengthen budget transparency and oversight of effectiveness and efficiency of public spending.
The enhancements include introduction of mandatory publication of detailed program budget
information (program and sub-program descriptions, goals, and performance indicators) and annual and semi-annual program performance reporting by budget beneficiaries. The regulatory
improvements were prepared by the Ministry of Finance Budget Department with support from BEP
and present a significant milestone in program budgeting reform. The changes enable full utilization of a program and performance measurement framework in planning, prioritization, and informed
budgetary decision-making, and facilitate greater accountability of government institutions in public
spending. As Finance Minister Vujovic pointed out in Parliament, the new Budget System Law takes Serbia a step closer to performance-based budgeting, currently the most advanced form of public
sector budgeting.
BEP continued training programs for budget beneficiaries. On October 4 and 5, MoF Budget
Department analysts held the first round of program budgeting courses organized by the Government’s HRMS. A group of 20 officials from various line ministries (Justice; Interior; Culture
and Information; Finance; and Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications) and other authorities (Public
Policy Secretariat, Geodetic Authority, Administration for Joint Services, and Office of the National Security Council and Information Security) attended the training. The two-day course focused on the
system of planning, decision-making and preparation of the budget document. Topics covered
included development of program budgeting structures, costing in line with program budgeting
methodology, integration of planning and budgeting processes, setting of objectives and performance indicators, as well as introduction of performance monitoring and reporting procedures. Over the
previous five months, BEP has been providing assistance to the MoF in developing course materials
and educating Budget Department analysts to become trainers in program budgeting. Participants expressed satisfaction with the professionalism and dedication that MoF BD analysts showed during
the course and awarded the highest possible scores to the trainers.
Given the interest in and success of the PB course delivered by MoF staff in the week of October 3, a second course was organized on October 10 and 11. On this occasion, an additional three MoF Budget
Department analysts served as program budgeting trainers, delivering lectures and facilitating
interactive workshops with a group of 20 officials from multiple ministries and other central
government agencies. In view of the outstanding performance of MoF staff as trainers, the Government’s HRMS has officially certified them as Program Budget Trainers. The training included
topics such as the development of program budgeting structures, costing in line with program
budgeting methodology, integration of planning and budgeting processes, setting of objectives and performance indicators, as well as introduction of performance monitoring and reporting procedures.
BEP has been providing assistance to the MoF in developing course materials and educating Budget
Department analysts to become program budgeting trainers. As a result, six analysts have already received Trainer certifications, enabling them continue to deliver the course in 2017, when it will
become a standard part of the General Professional Training Program offered by HRMS to all public
administration employees. Institutionalization of this course ensures a permanent mechanism for
capacity building across the government in the program budgeting – a tool for increased efficiency
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 17
and effectiveness of public spending and improved public service delivery to citizens and businesses.
BEP awarded a subcontract to Gi Group for a Team Building and Staff Development Program for the MoF Budget Department. During the quarter, Gi Group delivered a two-day team building workshop
retreat for MoF Budget Department management and staff. The workshop was designed to address
key gaps in communication and collaboration practices as identified in a diagnostic assessment of the
Budget Department’s needs, which was also performed by BEP. The workshop focused on building teamwork and promoting a culture of trust between members of the MoF Budget Department, and
covered the following issues: cooperation and flexibility; responsibility and initiative; building team
spirit; and hallmarks of efficient teams. The delivery of this training to more than 30 participants, including Assistant Minister Mirjana Cojbasic and MoF BD Head Milesa Marjanovic, will result in
enhanced capacity of the MoF to lead reforms in public financial management and to effectively
perform regular activities under its mandate.
On November 15, the MoF issued its 2017 Budget Call Circular for all direct budget beneficiaries.
This set of instructions comprises the improved Methodology for Program Budgeting that the MoF
Budget Department and BEP have jointly developed over the course of the past several months. The
Methodology, first published in February 2014, was upgraded to reflect lessons learned during the first two years of program budgeting implementation in Serbia. These improvements will enable
budget beneficiaries to prepare their proposals of financial plans in program budgeting format linked
to objectives and performance indicators that are more focused on the effectiveness and efficiency of subsidies, projects and public services. The new Methodology increases transparency of the budget by
removing redundant information and introduces improved objectives and performance indicators, thus
laying the groundwork for introduction of annual and semi-annual reporting on their achievement. BEP has to date provided support to all line ministries through a series of workshops and
consultations to apply the new Methodology. The 2017 Budget Call Circular also includes more
detailed guidelines for submission of requests for capital projects intended to ensure accountability in
making decisions on capital expenditures. These newly introduced improvements will result in greater transparency and accountability of the budget process.
The MoF’s new Budget Management Information System (BIS), developed by BEP, was fully
utilized by all central level budget users to submit their financial plans for 2017. The MoF used the BIS to prepare the Budget Bill compliant to program and performance budget requirements. By
replacing an interim simple database that BEP provided in 2013, the new system enabled MoF Budget
Department to undertake effective budget planning and management, impact analysis of budgetary
spending. BEP provided this information system to MoF under an in-kind grant, and assisted in its development over the first half of 2016.
Under Objective 1, Task 5, "Assistance to Integrate Program Budgeting and Performance
Management into National Strategic Planning," BEP worked with PPS to finalize the Bylaw on Methodology for Development of Medium term plans. In addition, assistance was provided in further
improvement of the draft Law on Planning System, to better reflect linkage with the Bylaw. PPS
intends to conduct public hearings on this legislative package at the beginning of 2017. Other work under this activity has been postponed for 2017, since the regulation (Law on Planning System, and
Bylaw on Development of Medium-term Plans) has not yet been adopted.
Under Objective 1, Task 6, "Assistance to Improve Public Investment Management (PIM)," BEP
completed preparation of the PIM Bylaw, but it is unclear whether there is political will to enact the Bylaw. The overall objective of the PIM Information System is to increase the efficiency,
transparency, and accountability of public investment management in Serbia. The information system
should help strengthen the effectiveness and transparency of international assistance and is to be the primary PIM administration and management mechanism in Serbia. Although PIM reform was
recognized as priority structural reform for 2016, a lack of political support has halted this process.
Faced with this difficulty, the MoF adopted an alternative approach. While it will continue pushing to have the Bylaw enacted, the MoF has secured amendments to the Budget System Law, which enables
it to adopt a bylaw requiring only the minister of finance’s approval to regulate how capital projects
are integrated into medium-term plans of public investment priorities.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 18
On November 9, WB officers, officials of the Ministry of Finance’s Capital Projects Unit, and
members of BEP’s PIM reform team met to discuss the WB’s design of a possible comprehensive PIM Information System. The system is envisaged to support full implementation of the Bylaw on the
Content, Preparation, Assessment, Monitoring and Execution of Capital Projects. The discussion
focused on initial conceptual specifications for the proposed system in terms of its functionality,
architecture and institutional requirements.
Objective 2 Task 1 "Improving conditions for public investment in and trading of government
debt," was successfully completed.
Under Objective 2 Task 2 "Assistance to Improve Debt Management Systems, Analysis, and
Capacity," BEP provided technical assistance to the PDA in defining the technical and functional
requirements for the re-launched Terms of Reference for the development of the Debt Management
Software. UNDP re-launched competition for development of Debt Management Software for PDA. Evaluation of the received offers and contract signing with the selected vendor is expected by the end
of January of 2017. Once the contract with the selected vendor is signed, BEP will provide technical
assistance to the PDA in managing the implementation of the new IT system. Development of the
Debt Management Software for the PDA is expected to last 12 months.
Under Objective 3 Task 1"Tactical Assistance to advance the GoS macroeconomic strategy," No
further support is planned.
Component 3
Under Objective 1, Task 1, "Assistance to Build Supervision Capacity of Securities
Commission," the Task was successfully completed.
Under Objective 1, Task 2, “Improve Disclosure of Information in Compliance with the Legal
Requirements and Best International Practice,” the Task was successfully completed.
Under Objective 2, Task 1, "Assistance in Development of Legal Framework for Commodity
Exchange, the Task was successfully completed.
Under Objective 3, Task 1, "Improving Conditions for Public Investment in and Trading of
Government Debt," the Task was cancelled due to lack of capacity of the Public Debt Administration to absorb the assistance and undertake the planned activities.
Under Objective 4, Task 1, "Assistance in Development and Implementation of Access to
Finance Related Laws," drafting of the Law on NBFIs with the NBS proceeded at a much slower pace than needed. This latest setback in development of this legislation appears to be due to
organizational restructuring at the NBS, and the l NBS failing to genuinely feel urgency to proceed
with this regulation. The pace at which the central bank has approached this issue clearly indicates that they do not consider this topic a priority. Although the legislation could be enacted fairly quickly
and straightforwardly, this effort will in all likelihood remain incomplete unless it gets accelerated and
placed on the Government of Serbia’s agenda as one of the top priorities. BEP plans to increase its
outreach efforts on the necessity to undertake this reform, so that Serbian businesses can receive the finance they need to invest and grow.
Currently, BEP is in the middle of engaging a consultant to provide technical assistance asked for by
the NBS – to explore options to allow the banks that will not be willing or able to comply with Basel 3 requirements to transform into non-deposit-taking, non-bank financial institutions and so remain
active in the financial market.
As stated by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Government, to the government is interested in promoting and regulating venture capital financing, as a way to support start-ups in
Serbia. This intention can be seen as an opportunity to integrate this in an overall access to finance
reform. BEP can use its resources to provide technical assistance in developing necessary regulations.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 19
The National Bank of Serbia has decided to amend the existing Law on Financial Leasing and
informed BEP and ALCS (Association of Leasing Companies Serbia) that they have, in doing so, reflected recommendations for regulatory amendments provided jointly by BEP and the leasing
industry, as well as relevant EU regulation on operations of financial institutions. The draft of the
amendments to the Law on Financial Leasing will be available on the NBS website in the first quarter
of 2017, for final round of comments and possible amendments proposals.
Under Objective 4, Task 2, "Assist the MoE in Implementation of recommendations from
"White Paper" on Access to Finance", BEP has not been able to proceed as planned since the SME
Council is still inactive. Nonetheless, BEP is working with other partners on implementation of recommendations from the White Paper: BEP is providing support to the Ministry of Justice,
Chamber of PEOs, and Judicial Academy on improving enforcement; the grant scheme for small
businesses that BEP developed for the MoE has been fully implemented; drafting of the Law on NBFIs with the NBS is ongoing, but at a much slower pace than needed. There is interest from the
Minister of State Administration and Local Government to foster the work of this council, and BEP is
exploring the possibility to assist Minister Brnabic in this effort.
Under Objective 4, Task 3, "Improve the efficiency, monitoring and transparency of state aid," the grant scheme that BEP developed on the request of the MoE has been fully implemented. Over
400 MSMEs received grants for equipment purchasing. In total, there were three cycles of grant
schemes, with around 700 users and 1,2 billion RSD of volume of grants. The evaluation of the two cycles of grant support programs has been performed, and BEP has created a monitoring scheme for
measuring the impact of this and future support programs.
Consultant Ladislav Dvorak was engaged for the development of a new guarantee scheme for MSMEs. He drafted a report on quantifying the benefits of the guarantee scheme to be implemented.
However, BEP has never got a meeting with the new Minister of Economy, in order to define the next
steps in cooperation. This resulted in the postponement of this activity until 2017.
Currently, BEP is trying to find a new partner interested in design and implementation of a guarantee scheme for start-up companies. Alternatively, BEP will draft a document outlining the
necessity/benefits of introducing a national guarantee scheme for Serbia and the key features of this
instrument, in order to place this issue on list of priorities of the Serbian Government.
Under Objective 4, Task 4, "Strengthen professional services that support access to finance," the
Real Property Valuation Law was adopted. On December 28 the National Assembly adopted Real
Property Valuation Bill prepared with BEP’s ample technical assistance. The Real Property Valuation
Law introduces institutions and procedures that will improve the quality of the real property valuer profession and allow the creation of infrastructure for reliable real estate valuation. The Draft Law
includes provisions on continuing professional development that will ensure that all real estate valuers
have appropriate expertise. It also introduces National Standards and a Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for licensed valuers; prescribes conditions for licensing and mandatory
professional training; and establishes an independent Professional Committee to prescribe training and
examination curricula. Reliable real estate valuation is of critical importance for dealing with the issue of non-performing loan (NPLs) and, consequently, ensuring the overall soundness of the financial
sector, mitigating risk, and improving lending conditions.
Under Objective 4, Task 5, "Strengthen the capacity of business and professional associations to
improve access to finance," Activities in Cacak related to the SMEs Financing Facilitation Initiative are completed. This initiative has encompassed various events and activities focused on raising the
entrepreneurs and businesspeople level of knowledge concerning finances and on bringing closer the
real sector and the financial sector. Together with the Cacak City Tax Administration, BEP has reviewed the steps needed to submit a complete tax application, and has made the tax filing system
more understandable for the tax payers. BEP has supported the organization of a Finance Fair, and a
series of trainings for businesses. BEP also developed proposal of the model of a financing scheme for the support to local businesses and shared it with the City of Cacak authorities.
BEP developed Toolkit for SME Financing Assistance to be distributed to local authorities and
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 20
business associations throughout Serbia. Serbian Chamber of Commerce agreed to take over this
activity and use and distribute the materials in the Q1 of 2017. The final draft of the toolkit has been sent to the SCC and the newly established SME Center of the Chamber will use the toolkit for
conducting activities through the network of regional chambers of commerce.
Under Objective 4, Task 6, "Strengthen In and Out of Court Credit Enforcement," BEP
continued USAID’s leadership in this important reform. BEP’s activities included efforts to improve the professional enforcement officers (PEOs) system.
On October 14, 2016, BEP participated in the 2016 South East Europe NPL Forum in Belgrade. The
forum gathered national level regulators, led by Mr. Zlatko Milikic, Assistant Minister of Finance, delegates from key international financial institutions (such as the IMF and EBRD), international
organizations, private banks, potential investors, advisory services, workout professionals, and legal
experts with commercial banks. Participants addressed national strategies of Southeast European countries to facilitate the resolution of the NPL problem, different legal solutions in each of these
countries and ways of categorizing bad debt, as well as how to attract large investors interested in the
regional NPL market. A BEP representative moderated the third panel, entitled “Tackling Bankruptcy,
Restructuring and Enforcement” and presented the topic of “Enforcement as a preemptive measure – how can bankruptcy be prevented?”, which allowed BEP to provide information on its policy
activities in the area of enforcement. The high level of NPLs has in recent years become a systemic
risk in Serbia and the SEE region, particularly in the wake of the global economic crisis, causing a dramatic increase in the amount of bad debt. According to analyses made by international financial
institutions, an NPL ratio higher than 10% reduces credit growth by 4% (excluding secondary
effects). Many countries in the region, including Serbia, have reached NPL levels that are affecting the banking sector’s ability to lend, necessitating the cleaning of the banking sector’s balance sheet to
enable new lending at lower interest rates. BEP is working to help resolve NPLs sustainably and so
ensure the banking sector is fully capable of resuming lending to economically viable companies.
During the second half of October 2016, BEP and the Krusevac and Pancevo Regional Chambers of Commerce organized events to facilitate dialogue between judges, PEOs, banks, and businesses on
enforcement of judgments and recovery of commercial receivables. More than 100 attendees,
including the president of the Chamber of PEOs, court presidents, enforcement judges and judicial assistants from regional commercial and basic courts discussed key aspects of implementation of the
new Law on Enforcement and Security, which entered into full effect on July 1, 2016. These events
addressed the key issues identified to date, such as the lack of uniformity of case law, duration and
costs of enforcement proceedings, difficulties in uncovering debtors’ property, and lack of coordination between stakeholders such as the cadaster and various registries. A statement made by a
president of a commercial court best illustrates participants’ impressions from the events: “This is the
first time that the judiciary has met businesses to discuss efficient enforcement, so I am very thankful to the organizers for this opportunity.” Efficient contract enforcement is essential to economic
development and sustained growth. Economies with efficient judiciaries, in which courts can
effectively enforce contractual obligations, have more developed credit markets and higher levels of development overall. BEP continues to facilitate stakeholder dialogue with the aim of: (i) promoting
more efficient enforcement of commercial claims and greater use of PEOs to collect such claims; and
(ii) helping the Ministry of Justice and all other stakeholders monitor implementation of the new
enforcement framework, identify constraints in due time, and propose feasible solutions.
On November 23, BEP organized a roundtable with the banking industry at the ASB, following up on
the survey of in-court and out-of-court enforcement, conducted among major Serbian banks. BEP
shared the findings of the survey, and conducted an in-depth discussion with the bankers on outstanding issues in in-and out-of-court enforcement of contracts. The discussion confirmed that the
majority of banks still believe that, despite major legislative activities, the enforcement system has
been changing only slowly over time, while poor implementation is also a limiting factor. For example, banks rate ineffective work of courts or inconsistent court practices as the core obstacle to
efficient in-court enforcement system defined by the Law on Enforcement and Security. Similarly,
ineffective appellate procedure before the relevant Ministry and ineffective work of the Cadaster are
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 21
seen as the greatest barriers to efficient out-of-court enforcement as defined by the Mortgage Law. In
addition, banks claim that ineffective performance of other authorities, especially the police, has had an adverse impact on the enforcement process. On the positive side, banks have been complimenting
the performance of professional enforcement officers. Attendees rated BEP’s activities in the area as
valuable, and proposed to jointly focus on the following three areas: (i) conducting regulatory
changes for improving the cadaster framework and practices; (ii) organizing conferences and training for key enforcement stakeholders – judges and professional enforcement officers, to resolve open
issues and harmonize practice under the existing enforcement framework; (iii) assisting the MoF in
monitoring implementation of the amended Mortgage Law and providing recommendations for the necessary fine tuning. BEP’s efforts in establishing and promoting efficient enforcement of debts
reduce lending risk and contribute to a better business environment with lower risk for investors and
better borrowing terms for businesses.
On December 8 and 9, BEP conducted the first in a series of specialized training programs designed
to enhance capacities of PEOs and so increase the effectiveness of the enforcement process. The two-
day training session covering the financial management was tailored to the needs of PEOs and their
offices. The training will enhance PEOs’ financial skills and increase knowledge of the tools and techniques necessary for successful financial management of PEO offices and better cooperation with
businesses, business associations, and banks. The program is organized by BEP and implemented in
cooperation with the Chamber of Enforcement Officers, Judicial Academy, and Partners Serbia. The training will be held over a period of seven months and will take place in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis,
and Kragujevac, so that 250 PEOs are trained in both financial management and mediation. This
assistance should advance the implementation of the Law on Enforcement and Security and improve overall performance of the enforcement process, thus lowering the cost of enforcement and decreasing
lending risk, which can in turn reduce the cost of financing for businesses in general.
Objective 4, Task 7, "Improve financial market legislation and environment," has been
successfully completed.
Objective 4, Task 8, "Support Financial System Stability Reform," has been successfully
completed.
Outreach
During the final quarter of 2016, BEP generated 179 media reports, the best quarter in 2016,
surpassing 146 media reports in Q1, 96 in Q2 and 46 in Q3. All reports are with a positive or neutral tone, and none with a negative one. BEP’s outreach activities reached an equivalent of 27 million
people with 356,798.56 EUR1 of total commercial
value of the reports.
On October 26th BEP, British Embassy in Serbia,
and NALED organized a conference on Doing
Business 2017 report entitled “Strengthening
Serbia's Competitiveness.” The event was opened by Zorana Mihajlovic, Minister of Construction,
Transportation and Infrastructure, and Tony
Verheijen, the World Bank Country Manager for Serbia. The conference included a ministerial
panel discussion on the key reforms the
Government should implement in the upcoming
year, to enable further progress of Serbia in the next World Bank’s report. The panel involved Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and the Chairperson of Joint Group for improving Serbia’s position in the
Doing Business list Zorana Mihajlović, Minister of Public Administration and Local Government Ana
Brnabić, Minister of Justice Nela Kuburović, Director of Serbian Business Registers Agency Zvonko
1 The commercial value was calculated by the press clipping agency Kliping d.o.o.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 22
Obradović and Tomas Lubek, Regional Manager for West Balkans of International Finance
Corporation. The purpose of the Conference was also to discuss the Draft Action plan for improving Serbia's rank in the Doing Business 2018, which encompasses implementation of the series of
electronic systems that will help improve Serbia’s business environment in number of areas. The
event received significant media attention resulting in more than 40 media reports mentioning
specifically USAID’s contribution to improvements of the environment for doing business in Serbia.
On November 17, BEP released the findings of the sixth annual Serbian Business Survey at an event
opened by the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic, and the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Cadez. The survey, which reflects 1,000 Serbian businesses’ opinions
on the state of Serbia’s business environment, showed recent reforms are making it easier for them to
operate. More than 150 government officials and staff, business representatives, experts, and journalists attended the event. The event received immense media attention resulting in more than 70
media reports.
On December 2 and 3, BEP, Chamber of Professional Enforcement Officers (PEOs), Supreme Court
of Cassation (SCC), and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) organized a conference devoted to harmonizing practice in implementation of the Law on Enforcement and Security. The conference gathered more
than 250 professionals, including SCC judges, enforcement judges from main basic and commercial
courts in Serbia, officers and members of the Chamber of PEOs, and the business community. Discussions centered on resolving key issues in implementation of the Law identified to date,
including inconsistencies in court practice, duration and costs of enforcement, difficulties in
uncovering debtors’ assets, etc. Ms. Dragana Stanojevic, BEP Chief of Party, presented a summary of the BEP’s research findings, focusing on the impact that enforcement and collection have on legal
security of doing business in Serbia. The organizers will follow this activity up by publishing
conclusions of the conference and distributing them to all PEOs and courts so as to facilitate uniform
application of enforcement procedures. BEP’s assistance in the area has been contributing to reducing the time required to enforce judgments and improving the consistency of enforcement, and, as such,
improving public perception of the enforcement process. This activity is also crucial for Serbia’s EU
integration process, as the 2016 Progress Report claims that “Serbia should in particular further step up measures to reduce the backlog of cases and standardize court practice”. The event resulted in 10
positive media reports.
The BEP website, www.bep.rs, continued to have a large number of visitors. The BEP website
contains information about the project, grant solicitations, media appearances, and partners. The BEP
BEP’s interactive website, www.policycafe.rs, provides a means for dissemination of research
and analysis on issues related to BEP’s three
components allowing users to provide input and feedback.
Based on our web analytics, visits to the website
have reached a number of total visitors with
over 800 unique visitors in November (see chart) compared to an average 450 on monthly
basis in 2016.
So far the policy café has more than thousand different articles, publications, policy notes,
useful links and information with content
updated on regular basis, being a solid ground for further expansion of its popularity.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 23
website (bep.rs) has continued to show a steady number of visits with an average of over 800 unique
visitors per month.
To improve transparency and make the Policy Café more user friendly, BEP introduced an In the
Loop section where the visitors can easily access all major analyses, researches and studies conducted
by BEP.
BEP’s Facebook Fan Page KONKRETNO was established in September 2012, as a part of the campaign Konkretno, encompassing three key areas of our intervention (Construction permitting –
Konstruktivno, Labor Law – Radno and Access to Finance - Preduzimljivo). It has almost 2,900
followers and 45% of them are women, while 55% of men. Almost 2,500 are coming from Serbia and more than 500 from neighboring countries (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, etc.). The
Fan page is being updated on daily basis with an average of reach per post of almost 300 people.
Based on FB analytics, people most often click to the posts with short video, or colorful news feeds. FB has the biggest potential in terms of upgrading BEP’s presence on the Social networks.
USAID BEP’s Twitter account was launched in February 2012. The main idea around using Twitter
for Project’s activities was to use it primarily for live tweeting from our own events. This activity was
launched on the Presentation of the Business Survey in 2013. This year, tweets on the Business Survey Event reached more than a half a million people and instigated series of interactions with the
audience. Twitter is the best platform for the online discussion, especially when the event or
discussion topic is previously announced. BEP’s Twitter account has 1,216 followers and is following 1483 people. Tweets are updated on daily basis and we mostly tweet about project activities, but also
important news for the business community.
From the beginning of the Project, BEP has been active on the social media. Back in 2011, BEP was the first project in Serbia to start its own YouTube channel. According to the Q4 data, YouTube
channel has 29 subscribers, 32.000 views and 300 video clips, of which as many as 30 have been
prepared and made publically available in this reporting period.
BEP has supported the development and maintenance of several important websites, both for the Government and the business community: www.crpd.gov.rs (Central Registry of Planning
Documents), www.gradjevinskedozvole.rs (Online support for the Implementation of the Law on
Planning and Construction), www.ppp.gov.rs (Public Private Partnership Agency), and www.poslovanje.rs (Business Portal developed in the cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry).
SUBCONTRACTS
Completed and ongoing subcontracts
The subcontract with Ipsos Strategic Marketing for Business Survey in Serbia 2016 is in the final stage of implementation. Ipsos has submitted deliverables under the third and fourth (last) milestone
and was subsequently paid the third installment out of four. The last 2 sets of deliverables included
the following: full Survey findings report and internal presentation to BEP: tabular, graphic, text – historically compared to 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 results, and with correlations and
comparisons and follow up analysis. IPSOS also participated in preparation of PowerPoint
presentation of findings for the Business survey event that was held on November 17, 2016.
The subcontract Providing Professional Business Management Consultancy to the MCTI, BRA
and City Of Belgrade (CoB) has been successfully completed.
Based on the Request for Proposals RFP-2016-05 launched on October 6, BEP signed a Subcontract
#4691-001-LocalFFP-06 with NALED for the Capacity Building for Efficient Construction
Permitting. The first deliverables are expected in Q1 2017.
The subcontract Inspectors soft skills: RFP-2016-04 is ongoing. Deliverable # 4 is due on December
30. Subcontract ends on May 31, 2017.
The best offer for the Harmonization on Special Inspection Legislation subcontract has been
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 24
selected and contract negotiations are well advanced. Subcontract realization is expected to start in
mid-January.
Based on the Request for Proposals RFP-2016-03 launched on August 11, BEP signed a Subcontract
#4691-001-LocalFFP-04 with GiGroup HR Solutions d.o.o. for the provision of assistance in
designing and delivering the teambuilding and soft-skills development program tailored to the
needs of the Ministry of Finance Budget Department. The total amount of this subcontract is 8,900USD, with the period of performance from October 7th, 2016 to January 31st, 2017. Based on
the activities undertaken during October and November within this Subcontract, GiGroup completed
several deliverables under the first milestone. All of the received deliverables were approved by BEP, and the first installment of $5,200 was subsequently paid. Based on the follow-on activities to the
previously organized two-day team building retreat and personal feedback interviews, GiGroup will
complete two more deliverables under the second milestone by the end of January 2017.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, BEP awarded the subcontract (Request for Proposals (RFP)-2016-02
For the Provision of Trainings for Professional Enforcement Officers on Financial Management,
Mediation and Effective and Efficient Enforcement Process) to Partners for Democratic Change
Serbia's, whose offer was the best one according final ranking and final scoring results. BEP concluded subcontract with the successful bidder. During the reporting period, the project worked on
developing the final Work plan, training materials and organizing the logistics of the first training for
public enforcement officers. Following the preparation period, the first training on financial management was organized in Belgrade, on December 8 and 9, at the premises of Judicial Academy.
In the evaluation questionnaires filled in by participants at the end of the training, they expressed their
overall satisfaction with the training. The following three trainings in financial management are planned to be delivered by March 2017.
Total amount of awards to date
BEP LOCAL SUBCONTRACTOR RESOURCE POOL
FUND (USD) 250,000
Contracted (RFP) 173,813.00
Committed 35,000.00
Total (contracted + committed) 208,813.00
TOTAL REMAINING LOCAL SUBCONTRACTOR
RESOURCE POOL FUNDS UNTIL END OF PROJECT 41,187.00
After successfully completing its grants program by engaging all financial resources assigned for this
purpose, BEP has plans to utilize all remaining subcontract funds before the completion of the Project.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 25
BEP FINANCIAL REVIEW
Billing To Date (thru Oct-16)
Total
Budget
Remaining
Budget
Percentage
Complete
Salaries and Wages $ 4,330,392.93 $ 4,886,406.58 $ 556,013.65 89%
Fringe Benefits $ 332,977.01 $ 362,663.78 $ 29,686.77 92%
Overhead $ 2,577,051.53 $ 2,906,584.11 $ 329,532.58 89%
Travel, Transportation, and Per Diem
$ 370,921.17 $ 636,139.52 $ 265,218.35 58%
Allowances $ 543,840.86 $ 568,835.90 $ 24,995.04 96%
Other Direct Costs $ 2,578,894.25 $ 3,177,919.70 $ 599,025.45 81%
Equipment and Supplies $ 75,316.56 $ 82,370.83 $ 7,054.27 91%
Participant Training $ 184,066.81 $ 179,045.74 $ (5,021.07) 103%
Subcontracts $ 1,469,925.32 $ 1,982,758.25 $ 512,832.93 74%
Grants Under Contract $ 1,667,296.37 $ 1,674,584.00 $ 7,287.63 100%
G&A on Grants Under Contract
$ 199,308.07 $ 199,758.04 $ 449.97 100%
G&A $ 1,485,124.02 $ 1,763,403.93 $ 278,279.91 84%
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST $ 15,815,114.90 $18,420,470.38 $2,605,355.48 86%
Fixed Fee $ 967,041.09 $ 1,058,933.50 $ 91,892.41 91%
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST PLUS FIXED FEE
$ 16,782,155.99 $19,479,403.88 $2,697,247.89 86%
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 26
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
BEP plans the following activities in the next quarter:
Component 1
Support to implementation of Law on Inspection Oversight (inspection oversight check-lists, legal interpretations and explanations, inspection oversight plans and reports, advisory inputs);
Support to the Inspection Oversight Coordination Commission of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government (MoPALSG);
Assistance to improve inspections’ organization, operations, transparency, prevention, risk-based oversight, planning, performance measurement;
Assistance to forming and educating Coordination Commission Support Unit (project funded by EBRD with BEP technical assistance);
Conducting Advanced Inspectors Soft Skills trainings (ongoing subcontract);
Advisory inputs within e-Inspector software procurement/development;
Sector inspection legislation harmonization process (subcontract);
Public-private consultations and commencement of the work on development of the drafts of three fire-safety bylaws relevant for construction permits;
Development of the instructions (training material) for the staff of construction permitting authorities and licensed engineers;
Preparation of models/templates of documents frequently submitted by applicants and/or issued
by permitting officials in the construction permitting process;
Supporting the Ministry of Construction to track compliance of the construction permitting related administrative acts with the legally defined deadlines and other requirements;
Study tour on facilitating eGovernment by enabling electronic payments of public dues;
Provide the Ministry of Finance with the technical assistance for completion of the Draft Law on Para-fiscal Charges, particularly as it pertains to the construction-sector related charges;
Support the Ministry of Finance to engage with the business community and other stakeholders to vet the Draft Law on Para-fiscal charges, in particular those related to water, energy and roads
that are crucial for the construction reform implementation;
Component 2
Support to the Ministry of Finance and Government Human Resource Management Service to develop training program on monitoring and reporting on performance of budgetary programs;
Support to the Government Human Resource Management Service to evaluate and certificate new trainers of program budget course;
Support to the Ministry of Finance and Government Human Resource Management Service to upgrade the program budgeting training program based on lessons learned;
Two-day team building and staff development training for the MoF Budget Department;
Support to the Ministry of Finance to develop Monitoring and Reporting Module of the Budgeting Information System (BIS);
Analysis of the 2017 program budget structures of selected line ministries (Ministry of Interior,
and Ministry of Construction) and independent budget beneficiaries to develop recommendations for their improvement before submission of the Priority Areas of Finance in mid-March 2017;
Workshops with the selected independent budget beneficiaries to present recommendations for improvement of their program budget structures;
Workshops with the selected line ministries to implement the Methodology for monitoring and reporting on performance of budgetary programs;
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 27
Retreat with the Ministry of Finance Capital Unit on development of a bylaw and rulebook for public investment management procedures in Serbia;
Support to the Public Policy Secretariat and Ministry of Finance to finalize the Law on planning system and Methodology for development of medium-term plans of budget beneficiaries in line
with program budget requirements;
Assistance to the Public Policy Secretariat to prepare for and conduct public hearing on the Law on planning system and Methodology for development of medium-term plans of budget
beneficiaries;
Advisory inputs within PDA software procurement;
Assist PDA and UNDP in managing the implementation of the new Information system with the selected vendor.
Component 3
■ Hold a Conference on Access to Finance importance, deficient current legislation and systems,
and recommendation for a meaningful change, involving the GoS, NBS, Business Associations, EU, WB and EBRD, indutrsy and business representatives
■ Continue to cooperate with NBS, MoPALSG and MoF on developing regulatory framework for NBFIs and/or venture capital;
■ Assist the NBS in exploring options to allow banks to transform into non-deposit-taking, non-
bank financial institutions and so remain active in the financial market;
■ Review of the final draft of new Law on financial leasing and providing final comments and
amendments proposals on the Draft Law on financial leasing, if any;
■ Draft a document outlining the necessity/benefits of introducing a national guarantee scheme for
Serbia and the key features of this instrument / Implement the grant scheme if the GoS provide
support to this activity;
■ Monitoring of the latest grant scheme’s results;
■ Assist MoF to finalize and implement new quality assurance and professional standards for
collateral valuation, including capacity building for the Professional Commission, a key professional body tasked with preparing syllabi for training courses and examinations for licensed
valuers;
■ Promoting better enforcement of commercial claims and more use of PEOs for such claims
trough a series of round-tables for judiciary, businesses, banks, lawyers and PEOs at regional
Chambers of Commerce;
■ Conducting analysis of the PEOs Tariff of Fees to support the Serbian Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
and the Chamber of Professional Enforcement Officers to timely and consistently implement the new Law on Enforcement and Security;
■ Conducting a specialized training program (banking and financial concepts and their legal aspects) to enhance capacities of the judiciary to secure the recovery of commercial claims, in
cooperation with the Association of Serbian Banks and Judicial Academy;
■ Delivering trainings for PEOs on financial management, mediation and effective and efficient
enforcement process to build their capacities in areas necessary for an effective and efficient
enforcement process (through RFP);
■ Promoting a “tool kit” with methodologies and materials to help municipalities improve access to
finance for local businesses.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 28
ATTACHMENT 1: BEP WORK ORGANIZATION
Component 1:Business Regulation & Economic Governance
Senior Expert: Milan Stefanovic
Analyst: Tamara Borovcanin
Junior Analyst: Jovana Stefanovic Junior Analyst: Alan Kovacevic
M&E
Duska Medic
KM and Communications Manager
Strahinja Mitrovski
Chief of Party
Dragana Stanojevic
Home Office
Project Director
Project Manager
Project Coordinator
International and Serbian Short Term Technical Assistance
(Business Regulations Advisors, Business and Financial Advisors, Macro Economists, Capital Market Advisors, Business Education Advisors and Gender Advisors)
USAID
Key personnel
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Mgt.
Senior Analyst: Natasa Tapuskovic
Public Finance Analyst: Tara Vasiljevic Junior Analyst: Alan Kovacevic
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Expert Sandra Rodic
Expert: Aleksandar Zaric Analyst: Vladimir Jovanovic Junior Analyst: Alan Kovacevic
Operations / Finance Department
Sasa Jelic
Uros Vasiljevic
Duska Medic
Nina Tasic
Public Sector Capacity
Sasa Jelic
Deputy Chief of Party
Dusan Vasiljevic
Director of Public Financial Management Team
Majda Sedej
Operations and Finance Director
Tanja Stojkovic
Subcontracts
Tanja Stojkovic
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 29
ATTACHMENT 2: LIST OF MEDIA PUBLICATIONS
No Date Media Headline
1 01.10.2016 Novaekonomija.rs Our cooperation with the Government is excellent
2 03.10.2016 Nova ekonomija Our cooperation with the Government is excellent
3 03.10.2016 RTS 2 Laura Pavlovic
4 04.10.2016 Ekonometar Serbia is 90th in the GCI
5 04.10.2016 Ilustrovana politika Advance
6 04.10.2016 Ekapija.com More financing for the Serbian companies
7 04.10.2016 Bif.rs More financing for the Serbian companies
8 13.10.2016 BizLife More financing for the Serbian companies
9 16.10.2016 Happy TV Veljko Lalic
10 17.10.2016 Rpkns.com Removing para-fiscals opens 100.000 new jobs
11 20.10.2016 RTV Kruševac Dialogue - businesses and the judiciary
12 21.10.2016 Belgrade Insight Serbia’s ‘huge’ tax burden is a myth
13 24.10.2016 013info.rs Dialogue - businesses and the judiciary
14 26.10.2016 Krstarica.com Reforms brings Serbia to the best
15 26.10.2016 Tvpirot.rs Competitivness of Serbia
16 26.10.2016 Plusonline.rs Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
17 26.10.2016 Nspm.rs Mihajlovic - our goal is to be in the top 20
18 26.10.2016 Scradar.com World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
19 26.10.2016 Naslovi.net Mihajlović: Huge economic news
20 26.10.2016 Pirotskevesti.rs Business Environment way better
21 26.10.2016 Reporter.rs Trbović: DB advancement very important for Serbia
22 26.10.2016 Reporter.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
23 26.10.2016 Krstarica.com Trbović: DB advancement very important for Serbia
24 26.10.2016 Krstarica.com Trbović: DB advancement very important for Serbia
25 26.10.2016 Dnevnik.rs Trbović: DB advancement very important for Serbia
26 26.10.2016 Reporter.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
27 26.10.2016 Srbija.gov.rs Better business ambience
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 30
28 26.10.2016 Krstarica.com World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
29 26.10.2016 Expres.rs Amongst the best 50 thanks to e-permitting
30 26.10.2016 Pirotskevesti.rs Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
31 26.10.2016 RTS 1 Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
32 26.10.2016 TV N1 Zorana Mihajlović
33 26.10.2016 Rs.n1info.com Mihajlović: as we move forward, the number of investors is rising
34 26.10.2016 Tanjug.rs Trbović: DB advancement very important for Serbia
35 26.10.2016 B92.net Serbian business feel advancement
36 26.10.2016 Rts.rs Trbović: DB advancement very important for Serbia
37 26.10.2016 Rtv.rs Mihajlović: Huge economic news
38 26.10.2016 Danas.rs Mihajlović: as we move forward, the number of investors is rising
39 26.10.2016 Vesti.rs Mihajlović: Huge economic news
40 26.10.2016 Tanjug.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
41 26.10.2016 Studiob.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
42 26.10.2016 Tanjug.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
43 26.10.2016 Tanjug.rs Mihajlović: Huge economic news
44 26.10.2016 Rts.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
45 26.10.2016 Blic.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
46 26.10.2016 Novimagazin.rs World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
47 26.10.2016 RTS 1 World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
48 26.10.2016 Vesti.rs DB press conference
49 26.10.2016 Bktvnews.com World Bank - Serbia will be amongst 20
50 26.10.2016 Tanjug.rs Amongst the best 50 thanks to e-permitting
51 26.10.2016 Tanjugbiz.rs Kif: DB list very important barrometer
52 26.10.2016 TV Prva Serbia will be amongst 20
53 26.10.2016 Rts.rs Reforms brings Serbia to the best
54 26.10.2016 TV B92 Reforms brings Serbia to the best
55 26.10.2016 RTS 1 Serbia will be amongst 20
56 26.10.2016 RTS 1 Serbia will be amongst 20
57 26.10.2016 TV Most - Novi
Sad Serbia will be amongst 20
58 26.10.2016 TV Studio B Serbia will be amongst 20
59 27.10.2016 Blic 103 positions up thanks to the e-permitting
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 31
60 27.10.2016 Danas Serbia will be amongst 20
61 27.10.2016 Dnevnik Serbia will be amongst 20
62 27.10.2016 Večernje novosti Serbia will be amongst 20
63 27.10.2016 Tvlaser.info Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
64 27.10.2016 Kurir Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
65 27.10.2016 Pirot.rs Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
66 27.10.2016 TV Most - Novi
Sad Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
67 27.10.2016 B92.net Doing Business ranking "to bring investors and jobs"
68 27.10.2016 TV Laser - Svrljig Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
69 27.10.2016 TV Most - Novi
Sad Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
70 01.11.2016 Cord - Specijalno
izdanje HOW WE CHANGED SERBIA
71 01.11.2016 Cord Reforms Propel Serbia to The Top of The World
72 01.11.2016 Cord - Specijalno
izdanje NALED VALUES ARE AS IMPORTANT AS THE RESULTS
73 01.11.2016 TV KCN Construction permitting reform rank Serbia among leading
countries in the world
74 02.11.2016 Srpskadijaspora.in
fo Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
75 02.11.2016 Scradar.com Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
76 02.11.2016 Nspm.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
77 02.11.2016 Tanjug.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
78 02.11.2016 Bktvnews.com Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
79 02.11.2016 Rtv.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
80 02.11.2016 Blic.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
81 02.11.2016 Espreso.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
82 02.11.2016 Rts.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
83 02.11.2016 Srbin.info Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
84 02.11.2016 TV KCN Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
85 02.11.2016 RTS 1 Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 32
86 03.11.2016 Dnevnik Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
87 03.11.2016 Informer.rs Mihajlović: USA is a friend and a partner of Serbia
88 10.11.2016 Novi Magazin Ratings battle
89 16.11.2016 Bizlife.rs Ratings battle
90 17.11.2016 Beta-video.tv USAID presented its Business Survey
91 17.11.2016 Tanjug.rs Skat: what can be done when we all unite
92 17.11.2016 Tanjug.rs CADEZ MIHAJLOVIC and SKAT
93 17.11.2016 Pks.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
94 17.11.2016 Novimagazin.rs Skot: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
95 17.11.2016 Balkanmagazin.ne
t Corruption affects businesses
96 17.11.2016 Srpskadijaspora.in
fo Corruption is falling
97 17.11.2016 Naslovi.net Srbija: Corruption is an issue, permits are not
98 17.11.2016 Reporter.rs Scott: Well done!
99 17.11.2016 Expres.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
100 17.11.2016 Diplomacy&Comm
erce BUILDING PERMIT REFORM ELEVATES SERBIA TO THE TOP
OF THE WORLD
101 17.11.2016 Poslovnojutro.com positive trends in inspections and construction
102 17.11.2016 Glasamerike.net positive trends in inspections and construction
103 17.11.2016 Reporter.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
104 17.11.2016 Nspm.rs Scott: USA will keep assisting Serbia
105 17.11.2016 Naslovi.net Scott: USA will keep assisting Serbia
106 17.11.2016 Naslovi.net Scott: USA will keep assisting Serbia
107 17.11.2016 Krstarica.com positive trends in inspections and construction
108 17.11.2016 Tanjugbiz.rs USAID presented its Business Survey
109 17.11.2016 Radio Beograd 1 USAID presented its Business Survey
110 17.11.2016 Tanjug.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
111 17.11.2016 Rs.n1info.com Corruption affects businesses
112 17.11.2016 Tanjug.rs Scott: USA will keep assisting Serbia
113 17.11.2016 Danas.rs Corruption affects businesses
114 17.11.2016 Novimagazin.rs Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
115 17.11.2016 Blic.rs Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
116 17.11.2016 Alo.rs Corruption is falling
117 17.11.2016 Tanjug.rs Corruption is falling
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 33
118 17.11.2016 Rtv.rs Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
119 17.11.2016 Rtv.rs Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
120 17.11.2016 Ekonomski.net Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
121 17.11.2016 Studiob.rs Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
122 17.11.2016 Blic.rs Scott: Businesses feel changes in the inspections
123 17.11.2016 Radio Novi Sad 1 USAID presented its Business Survey
124 17.11.2016 Novaekonomija.rs Scott: USA will keep assisting Serbia throuhg the USAID
125 17.11.2016 TV Pink USAID presented its Business Survey
126 17.11.2016 Fakti.org USAID presented its Business Survey
127 17.11.2016 RTS 1 Scott: Well done!
128 17.11.2016 TV Pink 3 Scott: Well done!
129 17.11.2016 B92.net Scott: Well done!
130 17.11.2016 TV N1 Scott: Well done!
131 17.11.2016 Politika.rs Scott: Well done!
132 17.11.2016 Rts.rs Scott: Well done!
133 17.11.2016 RTS 1 Scott: Well done!
134 17.11.2016 Srbin.info Scott: Well done!
135 17.11.2016 Vesti.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
136 17.11.2016 Kurir.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
137 17.11.2016 Glas Amerike positive trends in inspections and construction
138 18.11.2016 Gradjevinarstvo.rs positive trends in inspections and construction
139 18.11.2016 Rpkns.com positive trends in inspections and construction
140 18.11.2016 Sam.org.rs USAID presented its Business Survey
141 18.11.2016 Kurir USAID presented its Business Survey
142 18.11.2016 Economy.rs Veze sa političkim partijama - drugi po važnosti faktor prilikom
dobijanja javnih nabavki
143 18.11.2016 Naslovi.net Veze sa političkim partijama drugi po važnosti faktor prilikom
dobijanja javnih nabavki
144 18.11.2016 Politika Reforms are positively affecting the business environment
145 18.11.2016 Dnevnik Businesses feel changes in the inspections
146 18.11.2016 TV Pink USAID presented its Business Survey
147 18.11.2016 Kamatica.com positive trends in inspections and construction
148 18.11.2016 Ekapija.com positive trends in inspections and construction
149 19.11.2016 Vesti - Frankfurt positive trends in inspections and construction
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 34
150 19.11.2016 Krstarica.com positive trends in inspections and construction
151 20.11.2016 Radio Beograd 1 positive trends in inspections and construction
152 21.11.2016 Dnevnik In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
153 21.11.2016 Večernje novosti In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
154 21.11.2016 Rpkns.com In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
155 21.11.2016 Kapital.rs In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
156 21.11.2016 Novosti.rs In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
157 23.11.2016 Poslovnojutro.com In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
158 30.11.2016 Novimagazin.rs In 15 months 20% more enterprenuers
159 01.12.2016 Novi Magazin Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
160 02.12.2016 Naslovi.net Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
161 02.12.2016 Naslovi.net Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
162 02.12.2016 Dnevnik.rs Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
163 02.12.2016 Krstarica.com Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
164 02.12.2016 Naslovi.net Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
165 02.12.2016 Rtv.rs Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
166 02.12.2016 Tanjug.rs Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
167 02.12.2016 Srpskadijaspora.in
fo Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
168 02.12.2016 Vesti.rs Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
169 03.12.2016 Dnevnik Cooperation between the judiciary and PEOs to the legal certainty
170 05.12.2016 Krstarica.com The number of the enterprenuers is going up
171 05.12.2016 Poslovnojutro.com The number of the enterprenuers is going up
172 05.12.2016 RTS 1 The number of the enterprenuers is going up
173 05.12.2016 Rts.rs The number of the enterprenuers is going up
174 05.12.2016 Radiobeograd.rs The number of the enterprenuers is going up
175 05.12.2016 Ekapija.com The number of the enterprenuers is going up
176 06.12.2016 Ekonometar The number of the enterprenuers is going up
177 06.12.2016 Novaenergija.net The number of the enterprenuers is going up
178 07.12.2016 Poslovnojutro.com The number of the enterprenuers is going up
179 09.12.2016 RTS 1 Doing business in Serbia
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 35
ATTACHMENT 3: PROGRESS VERSUS WORKPLAN
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4
Objective 1: Improve and streamline business regulation
1. Improve Inspections Operations and Organization
Provide assistance for completing, monitoring and implementing the new inspection oversight framework
Jan – Dec 2016 The legislation and regulations related to inspection oversight
Inspection oversight analysis and data
Implementation plan for harmonization of sector inspection legislation; Sector inspection legislation harmonization process
Documents for implementation of new inspection oversight framework, including instructions, interpretations, risk criteria, check-lists, opinions and methodologies
Committees for conducting inspectors’ examination; Documents related to inspectors’ examination
Advocacy, and cooperation with donors and other stakeholders to obtain needed resources
Rulebook on Inspector Examination adopted.
BEP provided comments and inputs for harmonization of several laws governing sector inspection oversight, out of which two are adopted and others are in the legislative process.
BEP helped in collection and analysis of data on the impact of the Law on Inspection Oversight implementation.
Sector inspection legislation harmonization analysis started. Inventory of sector inspection legislation sent to inspection bodies via Coordination Commission. Launch of the support for inspection legislation harmonization by the means of the subcontract to take place within days.
In Q4, BEP provided more than 100 legal interpretations, expert opinions and inputs on implementation of the new inspection oversight framework.
Advice and inputs regarding development of the inspection oversight check-lists provided. Check-lists of all of 36 national inspectorates are submitted to the Coordination Commission. All check-lists are approved and published, except one (Veterinary inspection, which is waiting for approval and publishing). In Q4, BEP provided inputs for development of over 500 check-lists of different inspections.
BEP developed and delivered to MoPALSG the Methodology for on-line survey of businesses and citizens’ perception of inspections.
BEP provided support in development of analysis and recommendations re: improvement of inspection organization, transparency, advisory and preventive role, risk analysis, inspection
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 36
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4 oversight planning and inspection effectiveness indicators. The Coordination Commission is supposed to endorse these recommendations as inspection guidelines in Q2 2017.
Inspections submitted proposals of annual inspection oversight plans to the Coordination Commission. Plans will be adopted in Q1 2017.
Inspector Examination Committee formed, with BEP’s assistance. Exam questions developed and published; exams about to start when there are sufficient number of applications.
In cooperation between EBRD, MoPALSG and BEP, draft ToR and other documents for assistance in forming the Coordination Commission Support Unit developed. EBRD Procurement is published. Coordination Commission Support Unit expected to be formed in February 2017.
Continue informing and educating stakeholders on new inspection oversight framework
Jan – Dec 2016 Presentations and roundtables on the new inspection oversight framework
Outreach and communication activities
Presentations of LoIO: Labor Inspectorate Seminar: 169 participants; International Conference on Regulatory Reform (London, UK) – LoIO presentation: 200 participants; Agriculture Inspection Event Presentation: 84 participants; Better Regulation and Competitiveness in Eastern Balkans Conference: 72 participants; LoIO Seminar Kragujevac: 95 participants.
Communication campaign is on-going. Articles and news on Law on Inspection oversight and on inspections reform published in a number of national and local newspapers, TV stations, other media outlets and social networks.
Re-designing and improvement of the Coordination Commission website in progress, with BEP’s assistance.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 37
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4
Continue training inspectors on new inspection oversight framework
Jan – Dec 2016 Inspection oversight reform training programs
Trainings of inspectors
Advanced Inspector Soft Skills Trainings: November 17 and 18 – Belgrade: 27 inspectors trained; December 6 and 7 – Nis: 24 inspectors trained; December 15 and 16 – Novi Sad: 17 inspectors trained. SUK LoIO Training: October 24 and 25: 27 participants; November 24 and 25: 18 participants. Videos, presentations, manuals and other materials for inspectors’ training posted on the Coordination Commission website.
Build capacities of the Coordination Commission and its supporting office (unit) in the MoPALSG, and help improving inspections coordination and cooperation between inspections and other public bodies
Jan – Dec 2016 Coordination Commission supporting office (unit) in the MoPALSG formed and functional
Improved coordination between the inspections
Improved cooperation between inspections and other public bodies
Board for Inspection Oversight Coordination held nine sessions.
Sector Working Groups and Task Teams within the Coordination Commission functional (seven WGs and two Task Teams).
Formation of the Coordination Commission Support Unit Staff - Project funded by EBRD: ToR and procurement documents developed; EBRD Procurement is published. Coordination Commission Support Unit expected to be formed in February 2017.
Assist the introduction and proper functioning of the inspection information system (e-Inspector)
Jan – Dec 2016 Business processes specification
Inspection information system (e-Inspector) specification requirements
Tender documentation for procurement of software
On-going expert advices
Focus groups for pilot e-inspections
Public procurement for e-Inspector software developed with BEP technical assistance, and published.
BEP assisted DEU in responding to questions in regard to the tender procedure and subsequently in evaluation of received proposals.
Tender process completed, successful bidder selected.
Assistance to selected inspection bodies to meet regulatory requirements and to implement the Law on Inspection Oversight
Jan – Dec 2016 Assistance to improve coordination, management and supervision, results and quality control, analytics, risk-based inspection oversight, procedures, professional competences of inspectors, uniformity of inspection practice and legal predictability
The relevant legislation and regulations
BEP provided legal interpretations of the regulatory framework for inspections and implementation advice to various inspections on national and local level. BEP also provided technical assistance in development of analysis and recommendations re: improvement of inspection organization, transparency, advisory and preventive role, risk analysis, inspection oversight planning and inspection effectiveness indicators, on the basis of organization and operations of six major inspectorates.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 38
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4
Inspection oversight analysis and data
Documents for implementation of new inspection oversight framework, including instructions, interpretations, risk criteria, check-lists, opinions and methodologies
2. Remove or Reduce Quasi-Fiscal Burdens to Business
Provide technical and other assistance for continuation and implementation of regulatory reform of para-fiscal charges and fees in three areas related to construction permits reform
February – July 2016
Law on Charges for Utilization of Public Goods in accordance to BEP recommendations in 3 selected areas
By the act of the Minister of Finance issued on September 22, BEP representative has been re-appointed a member of the Working Group tasked with preparing the Draft of the Law on Charges for the Use of Public Resources by March 31, 2017. BEP has prepared and delivered to the MoF a set of recommendations and several subsequent technical considerations for streamlining some of most important non-tax impositions, primarily related with the use of public roads and waters and with the environment protection.
Alongside these recommendations, BEP has reiterated to the MoF importance of vetting the provisions of the future law with the stakeholders, and primarily with the business community, and offered support to organize a public-private dialogue on this important subject.
Based on the BEP’s analysis, Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Public Utilities was changed to eliminate introduction of the communal utility fees, as originally envisaged in the Draft law, as this fee would be para-fiscal, with negative effect on Serbia’s business environment and rank in WB DB Report.
3. Assist Implementation of Law on Enforcement of Judgment
TASK COMPLETED – further work on the issue is being implemented under Component 3, Objective 4, Task 6
4. Streamline Construction Permitting
Assist development and amendment of bylaws needed for implementation of the Law on Planning and Construction (LPC)
Jan-Dec 2016 Consultations with stakeholders
Bylaws drafted
Bylaws adopted
Two important bylaws: e-OSS Procedure Rulebook and Rulebook on Technical Documentation, needed for proper implementation of the One Stop Shop concept and e-Permitting system adopted with significant technical input from BEP and after wide stakeholders’ consultations, to large degree facilitated by BEP.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 39
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4 and of sector laws
Assist harmonization of sector laws with laws and procedures as needed to support reform of construction permitting
Jan-Dec 2016 Consultations with stakeholders
Recommendations and suggestions
Amendments to the sector laws drafted and adopted
Law on waters, in line with all BEP’s recommendations, has been adopted by the National Assembly.
WG for drafting Law on Cadaster Procedure formed, with BEP representative as its member. The law is recognized by MCTI as one of the most important sectoral laws whose solutions might jeopardize the construction permitting reform.
BEP worked with MCTI, MPALSG and NALED to develop official interpretation of the requirements for proper archiving of the construction permitting paperwork. With the technical assistance provided by BEP, the MPALSG has issued the official legal interpretation of the legal framework endorsing electronic-only processing and archiving of construction permits applications. The same legal interpretation also upholds allowing the permitting staff to electronically sign appropriate documentation and share it with other permitting agency – an authorization previously reserved only for top officials of the permitting bodies, thus creating bottlenecks in processing applications.
Educate stakeholders to facilitate implementation of specific segments of the permitting reform, including introduction of the e-permitting system
Jan – Dec 2016 Training
Manual and other materials
BEP participates at regular meetings with MCTI and public utilities to facilitate implementation of e-One-Stop-Shop procedure.
BEP awarded a 20.000$ subcontract to NALED for Capacity Building For Efficient Construction Permitting, including preparation of model documentation, development of training materials and training delivery. First deliverables expected in Q1 2017.
Support preparation of annexes to planning documents in two or three local governments
Jan-Nov 2016 Annexes to planning documents in two or three municipalities
Results published and distributed
Given lack of reliable commitment by the public enterprises that should have a leading role in realization of this activity, BEP is likely to shift resources to other activities, deemed as presently more needed by stakeholders.
Develop interface between Jan-Jul 2016 Interface allowing tracking of permitting BEP prepared Draft RFP for the Integration of the Web-Based
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 40
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4 Inventory of Planning Documents and e-permitting system
Inventory of Spatial and Urban Planning Documents and Software System for Support of One Stop Shop Procedure for Issuing Construction Permits. Consultations with stakeholders on the scope and timing of this support is in progress. However, due to the plans of the BRA to secure financing for broader upgrade of the construction permitting software, this activity is likely to be abandoned.
Support strategic management of the construction permits reform
Jan – Dec 2016 Amendments to laws and bylaws
Improved processes and procedures
BEP’s STTA delivered Impact Assessment of Construction Permitting Reform. It documents the overwhelmingly positive effects of the reform, including streamlined procedures, reduced time and costs needed to obtain construction permits, and increased output of the construction industry. The Impact Assessment also highlights areas where continued focus is still needed: making sure that fees and charges policies are consistent across different permitting bodies and aligned with the actual costs of providing the relevant administrative services; and expanding functionality and improving stability of the construction permitting software. The Impact Assessment results will be presented to MCTI and Public Enterprises in January 2017.
With 1,464 construction permits issued, October 2016 was the best month in almost 10 years, the furthest back that BEP records go.
5. Reduce the Employing Workers Burden
TASK COMPLETED
Objective 2: Business effectively partners with Government in developing and implementing regulatory reforms
1. Improve Public-Private Dialogue
Conduct Annual Business Survey
Jun– Nov 2016 Annual Business Survey report On November 17, 2016 BEP released the key findings of its sixth annual Serbian Business Survey. The survey, which reflects 1,032 Serbian businesses’ opinions on the state of Serbia’s business environment, showed that recent reforms are making it easier for them to operate. Businesses still see plenty of room for improvement. A majority of businesses said they continued to face challenges with issues such as para-fiscal charges, administrative procedures, and access to finance.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 41
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance
Task Activities Activity Period Deliverables Status Q4
2. Implement Regulatory Reforms
Publicize Standard Cost Model Study
Jan -Feb 2016 Standard Cost Model Study 2015
Media reports
Standard Cost Model is performed bi-annually and the next one is planned for 2017. BEP ensured the sustainability of measuring administrative burdens in Serbia by getting the GoS Public Policy Secretariat to take over the task of conducting the SCM and promote the priorities based on its results. In 2016, BEP delivered the training to the PPS staff and developed a Manual on the SCM process and rules. BEP promoted the 2015 SCM results at most of its events,, pointing out improvement of 15% compared to the 2013 SCM, and the remaining burocratic burdens to be removed.
Meanwhile, in line with the SCM originated recommendations, the GoS has abolished employment booklet and introduced more e-government solutions, including e-permitting, We expect that improvements to this indicator will continue in 2017. BEP will provide technical assistance to the PPS in this last year, in the field of specific measurement of construction and inspections related administrative requirements.
Participation in GoS Doing Business/Global Competitiveness Working Group
Jan – Dec 2016 Working Group recommendations Thanks to BEP engagement in the Working Group, Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Public Utilities was changed to eliminate introduction of the communal utility fees, as originally envisaged in the Draft law, as this fee would be para-fiscal, with negative effect on Serbia’s business environment and rank in WB DB Report.
Objective 3: Improve the regulatory review process and RIA process
OBJECTIVE COMPLETED
Objective 4: Create Enabling Environment for PPPs
OBJECTIVE COMPLETED
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Objective 1: Improve GoS budgeting, fiscal policy analysis, and financial management efficiency
1. Capacity No further support.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 42
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
building assistance to the Fiscal Council and Improvements to fiscal responsibility
2. Improvements to MoF Fiscal Analysis and Strategy
No further support.
3. Assistance to the GoS and Parliament to improving budget coordination and performance management
Capacity building and technical briefing for the Parliamentary committees on monitoring and evaluation of program budget execution
Sep-Nov 2016 Training materials Activity postponed for 2017 since the amendment to the Budget System Lawwere adopted only in December of 2016
Training to the SAI on PB and program structures, goals and indicators of various budget users
Apr-Jun 2016 Training materials Activity postponed for 2017 since the amendments to the Budget System Law, aiming to establish the legal ground for introduction of requirements for monitoring and reporting on performance of budget beneficiaries, were adopted only in December of 2016. Due to this, MoF will publish the Methodology for Monitoring and Reporting on Performance of Budgetary Programs at the beginning of 2017.
4. Assist the MoF Budget Department to develop capacity for improved transparency and program budgeting
Assistance to MoF to further develop regulation and procedures for program budgeting, monitoring and reporting
Feb-Sep 2016 Technical Briefs
Draft regulation
BEP provided assistance to the MoF Budget Department in upgrading the Program Budget (PB) Methodology, first published in February 2014, to reflect lessons learned during the first two years of PB implementation in Serbia. The PB Methodology was published in November 2016.
BEP provided assistance to the MoF Budget Department to prepare amendments to the Budget System Law aiming to strengthen budget transparency and oversight of effectiveness and efficiency of public spending. The new Budget System Law brings Serbia a step closer to the most advanced form of public sector budgeting - Performance-Based budgeting. In December 2016, National Assembly adopted the
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 43
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Amendments to the Budget System Law.
Technical support to selected budget users to upgrade program budgets structures, goals and performance indicators (primarily Ministries of Interior, Construction, Health)
Jan-Sep 2016 Recommendations; Training materials; Program budgets
BEP provided support to selected line ministries to further improve their program budget (PB) structures. These improved PB structures were afterwards submitted to MoF as part of their financial plans proposals for 2017. BEP and MoF organized workshops with the Ministry of Health, Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Interior, and Mining and Energy, and attended by 64 officials. During the workshops, MoF analysts and BEP experts provided assistance in enhancing the quality of objectives and performance indicators linked to PB in order to make it more transparent and informative for the Government, National Assembly, and citizens. During the workshops, line ministries were provided with the guidance on introduction of performance monitoring and reporting procedures, due to commence in 2017.
Assistance to the MoF in implementation of new budget preparation information system
Jan-Dec 2016 IT System – software
Vendor progress reports
New Budget Information System (BIS), previously delivered to the Government of Serbia, was fully utilized by MoF Budget Department during the 2017 Budget Bill preparation process. BEP provided this information system to MoF under an in-kind grant, and assisted in its development over the first half of 2016. All central level direct budget users utilized BIS system to prepare their financial plans proposals for 2017-2019 throughout BIS system and submit them to MoF for consideration. This way BIS system completely replaced the interim database system which BEP provided in 2013.
Further assistance to the MoF management in strategic communications, managing the reform process, and building capacity across government
Jan-Dec 2016 Conference on program budgeting progress
Training of trainers
BEP and MoF institutionalized the Program Budgeting (PB) Course making it an integral part of the General Professional Training Program offered by the Government’s Human Resources Management Service (HRMS) to all public administration employees. The two-day PB course focuses on the system of planning, decision-making and preparation of the budget document. BEP and MoF organized two courses, on October 4-5 and October 10-11, attended by 40 officials from various line
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 44
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
ministries and other central government agencies, with six MoF Budget Department analysts serving as trainers. As a result, they have received PB Trainer certificates enabling them continue to deliver the course in 2017, as it becomes a standard part of the trainings provided by HRMS. Institutionalization of this course ensures a permanent mechanism for capacity building across the government in the program budgeting.
As a part of the Team Building and Staff Development Program, BEP’s subcontractor Gi-Group delivered a two-day team building workshop retreat for MoF Budget Department. The workshop was designed to address key gaps in communication and collaboration practices as identified in a diagnostic assessment of the Budget Department staff’s needs. The delivery of this training to more than 30 participants from the MoF BD, including Assistant Minister Mirjana Cojbasic and MoF BD Head Milesa Marjanovic, will result in enhanced capacity of the MoF BD to lead reforms in public financial management and to effectively perform regular activities under its mandate.
Support introduction and implementation of Results-Based Management at MoE and other GoS institutions
Feb-Dec 2016 Readiness Assessment Reports
Program Budgets
Report on reporting system
Due to change of Minister of Economy and other managing officials of this ministry, BEP has not received approval to undertake this activity (previously agreed with former Minister of Economy).
5. Assistance to integrate program budgeting and performance management into national strategic planning
Assistance to the Public Policy Secretariat and Center of Government Working Group in developing and enacting legislation that will regulate integrated strategic planning and program budgeting
Jan-Mar 2016 Law on Planning System and Bylaw on Methodology for Development of MTPs
BEP worked with PPS to finalize the Bylaw on Methodology for Development of MTPs. In addition, BEP provided assistance in further improvement of the draft Law on Planning System, to better reflect linkage with the Bylaw. PPS intends to conduct public hearing on this legislature package at the beginning of 2017.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 45
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Assistance in developing guidelines for budget users to implement the integrated strategic planning and program budgeting regulatory and institutional framework
Mar-Jun 2016 Guidelines for development of MTPs
Training materials
Costing Methodology
Activity postponed for 2017 since the regulatory package (Law on Planning System, and Bylaw on Development of Medium-term Plans) have not been adopted yet.
Technical support to pilot budget users to develop medium term plans
Apr – Dec 2016
Guidelines for project design and budgeting
Training for budget users
Activity postponed for 2017 since the regulatory package has not yet been adopted.
Building capacities of PPS, MoF, and other stakeholders to implement integrated strategic planning and budgeting
Jan-Dec 2016 Retreat
Workshops
Training materials
Activity postponed for 2017 since the regulatory package has not yet been adopted.
6. Assistance to improve Public Investment Management (PIM)
Provide technical and other assistance for development of the legal and institutional framework of PIMS
Feb-Oct 2016 Bylaw adopted
General methodology
During this quarter, the adoption of the Government’s Bylaw on Selection, Preparation, Evaluation, Monitoring and Reporting of Capital Projects is postponed, and a whole process is on hold, due to an unexpected disagreement between the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure (MCTI) and the MoF.
2017 Budget Bill has been prepared taking into account newly revised guidelines for submission of requests for capital projects financing, created in a more detailed way in order to improve accountability in making decisions on capital expenditures.
Support implementation of the new PIM legal, regulatory, and institutional framework
Feb-Sep 2016 Implementation plan for PIM reform
Training materials
Methodology for project appraisal in transport sector
BEP met with the officials from the World Bank and the MoF Capital Projects Unit in order to discuss the WB’s design of a possible comprehensive PIM Information System. The system is envisaged to support full implementation of the Bylaw on the Content, Preparation, Assessment, Monitoring and Execution of Capital Projects. The discussion focused on initial conceptual specifications for the proposed system in terms of its functionality, architecture and institutional
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 46
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
requirements. The overall objective of the PIM Information System is to increase the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of public investment management in Serbia.
However, all other activities regarding implementation of PIM are postponed, since the main legislation is still on-hold, as described above.
Objective 2: Improve public debt management and conditions for government financing
1. Improving conditions for public investment in and trading of government debt
TASK COMPLETED.
2. Assistance to improve debt management systems, reporting, analysis, and capacity
Assistance to improve debt management systems, analysis, and capacity
Jan – Apr 2016 Technical and functional specifications for the procurement and customization of new IT debt management system
BEP provided technical assistance to the PDA in defining the technical and functional requirements for the re-launched Terms of Reference for the development of the Debt Management Software. UNDP re-launched competition for development of Debt Management Software for PDA. Evaluation of the received offers and contract signing with the selected vendor is expected by the end of January of 2017.
Objective 3: Improve macroeconomic policy, strategy, and analysis
1. Tactical Assistance to advance the GoS macroeconomic strategy
No further support.
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 47
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Objective 1: Strengthening capital markets
OBJECTIVE COMPLETED
Objective 2: Strengthen enabling environment for commodity exchange
OBJECTIVE COMPLETED
Objective 3: Improve GoS access to finance through development of a long-term, liquid public debt market
OBJECTIVE COMPLETED
Objective 4: Improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs
1. Assistance in development and implementation of access to finance laws
Technical assistance and participation in NBS/GoS Working Group to develop a regulatory framework for NBFIs
Jan – Dec 2016
Draft Law on NBFIs
Draft bylaws on NBFIs
Advisory notes
Consultations
Roundtable(s)
Training materials
Media coverage
The last meeting of the NBS Working Group was held in July 2016. Due to organizational restructuring at the NBS, the Working Group activities were temporarily suspended. A new chairperson was appointed in November to lead the Working Group, and our cooperation with them has now resumed, although unfortunately at a much slower pace than needed.
Currently, BEP is in a middle of the subcontracting process in order to finalize the last request from the NBS – to assist the NBS to explore options to allow banks access to procedures that could enable some of them to transform into non-deposit-taking, non-bank financial institutions and so remain active in the financial market.
Unfortunatelly, the pace at which the central bank has approached this issue clearly indicates that they do not consider this topic a priority and that, although the legislation could be enacted fairly quickly and straightforwardly, this effort remains incomplete. The process needs to be accelerated and placed on the Government of Serbia’s agenda as a priority, so that Serbian businesses can receive the finance they need to invest and grow.
As stated by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Government, there is the interest of the government to promote and regulate venture capital financing, as a way to support start-ups in Serbia. This interest is a potential opportunity to integrate this in overall access to finance reform. BEP might provide technical assistance in developing necessary regulations.
Capacity building and Jan – Dec Training This activity is delayed due to the fact that the NBFI Law is not adopted.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 48
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
training to the members of NBS/GoS working group and to other stakeholders on the main features and concepts of a law on NBFIs including the best international practices
2016 Workshops
Support and facilitate reform of leasing regulation to make it more compliant with international standards, including assistance to NBS working group in drafting amendments
Jan – August 2016
Consultations
Draft amendments
Public outreach
The National Bank of Serbia has decided to amend the existing Law on financial leasing and informed BEP and Association of Leasing Companies - ALCS that they have reflected all BEP’s recommendations for regulatory amendments, as well as relevant EU regulation that regulates operations of financial institutions. The draft of the amended Law on financial leasing will be available on the NBS website, for final round of comments and possible amendments proposals.
2. Assist the MoE in implementation of recommendations from White Paper on Access to Finance
Assistance to the MoE in implementing SME Strategy and Action Plan
Feb – Dec 2016
Advisory notes
Lobbing and advocacy
Expert support
SME Council is still inactive. BEP is working with other partners on implementation of recommendations from the White Paper on the Access to Finance. BEP is providing support to the Ministry of Justice, Chamber of PEOs, and Judicial Academy on improving enforcement; Grant scheme for small businesses that BEP developed for the MoE has been fully implemented; Drafting of the Law on NBFIs with the NBS is ongoing, but due to organizational restructuring at the NBS, the Working Group activities proceed at a much slower pace than needed.
3. Improve the efficiency, monitoring, and transparency of state aid
Assistance to the MoE in restructuring state aid financing support to leverage private sector financing in key sectors and achieve greater efficiency
Jan – April 2016
Advisory Note
Programs design
Targeted on-going advisory
Grant scheme that BEP developed has been fully implemented. Over 400 MSMEs received grants for equipment purchasing. In total, there were three cycles of grant schemes, with around 700 users and 1.2 billion RSD volume of grants. The analysis of two cycles of grant support programs has been performed, and BEP has created a monitoring scheme for measuring the impact of the support programs.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 49
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Consultant Ladislav Dvorak was engaged to develop a guarantee scheme for MSMEs. He drafted a report on quantifying the benefits of the guarantee scheme to be implemented. BEP has never got a meeting with the new Minister of Economy, in order to define the next steps in cooperation.
Currently, BEP is trying to find a new partner interested in designing and implementation of the guarantee scheme for start-up companies. If not, BEP will draft a document outlining the necessity/benefits of introducing a national guarantee scheme for Serbia and the key features of this instrument, in order to place this issue on list of priorities of the Serbian Government.
Provide potential design model for local government finance programs (state aid at local level)
Jan-Dec 2016 Case study
Reports
Outreach materials
BEP developed Toolkit for SME Financing Assistance to be distributed to local authorities and business associations throughout Serbia. Serbian Chamber of Commerce agreed to take over and use and distribute the materials in Q1 2017. The final draft of the toolkit has been sent to the SCC and the newly established SME Center of the Chamber will use the toolkit for conducting activities through the regional chambers network.
BEP drafted proposal of the model of local financing scheme and sent it to the City of Cacak authorities. No reply was received, so we terminated this activity.
4. Strengthen professional services that support access to finance
Assist MoF in setting standards for collateral valuation and increase quality of real estate valuations
Jan – Dec 2016
Draft bylaws
Draft training materials and curriculum
Public outreach
The Draft Property Valuation Law, prepared with the BEP technical assistance, has been adopted by the National Parliament in December 2016.
Meanwhile, in order to speed up the whole process of implementation the Law, BEP, together with MoF, developed a detailed Gantt chart of future Law implementation activities.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 50
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Assist the increase of quality and proper use of accounting and financial management for SMEs
Jan- April 2016 Training and consultations
Workshops
Activity successfully completed through the follow-on grant to Valor.
5. Strengthen the capacity of business and professional associations to improve access to finance
Strengthen the capacity of banking and business sector to improve local access to finance (SMEs Financing Facilitation Initiative)
Jan – Dec 2016
Training and consultations
Roundtables
Workshops
Activities in Cacak related to the SMEs Financing Facilitation Initiative are completed.
6. Strengthen credit enforcement (both in and out of court)
Promote the efficient enforcement of commercial claims
Jan – Dec 2016
Training and consultation
Roundtables
Workshops
Public outreach
Media coverage
Advisory notes
On October 14, 2016, BEP participated in the 2016 South East Europe NPL Forum in Belgrade. BEP representative moderated the third panel “Tackling Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Enforcement” and presented the topic “Enforcement as a preemptive measure – how can bankruptcy be prevented?”, which allowed BEP to provide information on Project’s policy activities in the area of enforcement.
During the second half of October 2016, BEP and the regional chambers of commerce in Krusevac and Pancevo organized events to facilitate dialogue between judges, PEOs, banks, and businesses on enforcement of judgments and recovery of commercial receivables. More than 100 attendees, including the president of the Chamber of PEOs, presidents, enforcement judges and associates of the regional commercial and basic courts, discussed key aspects of implementation of the new Law on Enforcement and Security, which entered into full effect on July 1, 2016.
Assist implementation of the Law on Enforcement through strengthening the profession of PEOs
Jan – Dec 2016
Training and consultation
Roundtables
Workshops
Public outreach
On December 8 and 9, BEP, through the subcontract, conducted the first in a series of specialized training programs to enhance capacities of PEOs to increase their effectiveness and efficiency in the enforcement process. First two-day training session covered the financial management area, customized to the needs of PEOs and their offices.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 51
Component 3: Financial Market Development
Task Activities Activity Period
Deliverables Status Q4
Other training events will be held over the period of seven months, and will take place in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, and Kragujevac. Total of 250 participants will be trained in financial management and mediation.
On December 2 and 3, BEP, Chamber of PEOs, Supreme Court of Cassation and MoJ organized a working conference for harmonizing practice in implementation of the Law on Enforcement and Security (the Law). The conference gathered more than 250 attendees, including SCC judges, enforcement judges from main basic and commercial courts in Serbia, Chamber of PEOs and PEOs, and business community representatives. As a follow-on activity, organizers will publish clarified positions and distribute them to all PEOs and courts, in order to harmonize the practice and efficient implementation of the Law.
Assist the MoF in monitoring the implementation of the court and out of court enforcement.
Jan – Dec 2016
Advisory notes BEP organized a roundtable with the banking industry at the Association of Serbian Banks (ASB), following up on the survey of in-court and out-of-court enforcement conducted among major Serbian banks. BEP shared findings of the survey, and conducted an in-depth discussion with the bankers on outstanding issues in in-and out-of-court enforcement of contracts. Discussion confirmed that the majority of banks still believe that, despite the major legislative activities, the enforcement system changes slowly over time. Attendees rated BEPs activities in the area as highly valuable, and proposed to jointly focus in three following directions: (i) conducting regulatory changes for improving the cadaster framework and practices; (ii) organizing conferences and trainings for key enforcement stakeholders – judges and professional enforcement officers, to resolve open issues and harmonize practice under the existing enforcement framework; (iii) assisting the MoF to monitor implementation of the Amended Mortgage Law and provide recommendations for necessary fine tunings.
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 52
ATTACHMENT 4: PROGRESS VERSUS PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN
2 Serbia’s score decreased to 2.2 in the 2015-2016 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index. This score is based on a survey that asks selected experts and
businesses: “In your country, how burdensome is it for companies to comply with public administration’s requirements (e.g., permits, regulations, reporting)? [1 = extremely
burdensome; 7 = not burdensome at all].”
Project Results / Objectives
Indicators Measurement Unit
Data Collection Method
Schedule of Collection
Baseline Targets Years 1-7
Status Q4
Mission Assistance Objective: Conditions for Broad-Based Inclusive Economic Growth Improved
IR 2.1: Key Components of Business Enabling Environment Improved
Decrease in the "Burden of Government Regulations" addressing Government Inefficiency
Numeric Value WEF GCI Reports Annual Yr1: 2.34
Yr 1: 2.34 Yr 2: 2.34 Yr 3: 2.44 Yr 4: 2.57 Yr 5 : 2.71 Yr 6: 2.362 Yr 7: 2.40
Yr 6 (Q3): 2.4 by the WEF GCI published in September 2016
Sub-IR 2.1.1.1:More Effective Business Regulation
Decrease in costs for businesses to comply with regulatory framework
Numeric Value Standard Cost Modeling (SCM)
Annual Yr1 Total Administrative Cost: RSD 124.6billion (4.2% of GDP)
Yr 3: Total Administrative cost as % of GDP decreased to 3.8% Yr 5: Total Administrative cost as % of GDP decreased to 3.5% Yr 7: Total Administrative cost as % of GDP decreased to 3.25% (20.0% reduction)
Yr 5: achieved 3.46% ( 15.0% reduction) Yr6: N/A
Sub IR 2.1.1.: Legal Framework Better Harmonized with EU standards
2.1.1.1 # of commercial laws compliant w/EU Acquis completed w/USG assistance
Numeric Value BEP project and Serbian European Integration Office (SEIO)
Annual Yr2: 9 Yr 3: 15 Yr 4: 15 Yr 5: 10 Yr 6: 5 Yr 7: 2
Q1: 0 Q2: 1 Q3: 0 Q4: 7
Sub-IR 1.4.1: Improved Fiscal Policy
Improvements in the Open Budget Index ("OBI") Score as reported by the International Budget Partnership
Numeric Value OBI Survey Bi-Annual 2010: 54 Yr 1: N/A Yr 2: N/A Yr 3: OBI score 54 Yr 4: N/A Yr 5: OBI score 57 Yr 6: N/A
Yr 5 (2015): 47 Yr6: (2015): 47
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 53
Yr 7: OBI score 57
Sub-IR 1.4.2: Financial Markets Developed
Improved access to finance
Qualitative Business Survey Annual Yr1: 25% of businesses agree that access to finance has improved
Yr 3: 30% Yr 6: 55% Yr 7: 58%
Yr5: 54.2% Yr6: 58%
Credit to corporate sector as a percentage of GDP
Numeric Value National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System
Annual 2014: 24.1% Yr 5: 26% Yr 6: 28% Yr 7: 30%
Yr5: 24.6%
Project level indicators
Number of person hours of training of journalists from publications that cover business
Numeric Value Project Report Annual N/A Yr 1: 400 Yr.2: 800 Yr 3: 800 Yr 4: 800 Yr 5: 400 Yr 6: 170 Yr 7: 100
Q1: 60 Q2: 90 Q3: 40 Q4: 95 Yr 6: 285
Number of individual stakeholders trained on new commercial laws & regulations
Numeric Value Project Reports Annual Yr1: 0 Yr.2: 50 institutions Yr 3: 100 institutions Yr 4: 200 institutions Yr 5: 400 institutions Yr 6: 500 people Yr 7: 220 people
Q1: 267 Q2: 1212 Q3: 539 Q4: 738 Yr6: 2756
Number of times BEP cited in media
Numeric Value Project Reports Annual 2010: 0 Yr 1: 362 Yr.2: 627 Yr 3: 748 Yr 4: 350 Yr 5: 300 Yr 6: 200 Yr 7: 100
Q1: 146 Q2: 96 Q3: 46 Q4: 179 Yr6: 467
Component 1: Business Regulation and Economic Governance Improved
1. Improve and streamline business
Number of commercial laws and regulations simplified and
Numeric Value Project Reports Annual Yr1: 3 Yr 1: 3 Yr 2: 10 Yr 3: 10
Q1: 0 Q2: 1 Q3: 0
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 54
3 This refers to the annual BEP Survey of Serbian Businesses. 4 According to the old methodology, the indictor was calculated as percentage of income per capita. Starting from 2015 (Doing Business Report 2016), the indicator is
calculated as percentage of warehouse value. Recalculation based on the new Methodology introduced in 2015 (Doing Business Report 2016). Targets set accordingly.
regulation lowering the costs to businesses and government from business regulations
implemented in accordance with international standards as a result of USG assistance
Yr 4: 10 Yr 5: 10 Yr 6: 2 Yr 7: 1
Q4: 6
Average time spent by management on working with inspections
Numeric Value Business Survey3
Annual Yr1: 59 hours Yr 2: 58 Yr 3: 55 Yr 4: 50 Yr 5: 45 Yr 6: 20 Yr 7: 20
Yr5: 15 hours Yr6: 13 hours
Percentage of national inspection bodies that have check-lists for inspection oversight approved and published
Numeric Value Coordination Commission (http://www.inspektor.gov.rs/#/kontrolne-liste) National inspection bodies BEP reports
Annual Yr 5: 12% (4 inspection bodies)
Yr 6: 60% Yr 7: 80%
Q1: 48.48% Q2: 80% Q3: 92% Q4:100% Yr6: 100%
Number of para-fiscal charges relating to water, roads, or environment eliminated or reduced
Numeric Value Business Survey (expected Law on Fees for Use of Public Goods and Law on administrative fees)
Annual Yr 5: 0 Yr 6: 3 Q1: 0 Q2:0 Q3:0 Q4:0 Yr6: 0
Businesses' perception of obligatory quasi fiscal charges improves – decrease in negative ratings
Numeric Value Business Survey Annual Yr1: 96.3% Yr 2: 95% Yr 3: 73% Yr 4: 73% Yr 5: 70%
Yr5: 71.1% Yr6: 66.8%
Number of stakeholders consulted on development of construction permits legislation
Numeric Value Project level Annual Yr2:0 Yr 3: 403 Yr 4: 100
Q1: 0 Q2: 0 Q3: 6 stakeholders /7 people Q4:25 Yr6: 32 people
Cost (% of warehouse value) within
Percentage WB Doing Business Report
Annual Yr1: 31.9%4 Yr 4: 25.7% Yr 5: 3.6%
Yr5: 3.6% of warehouse value (Methodology changed – cost is
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 55
construction permitting Yr 6: 3.6% Yr 7: 3.2%
recorded as a % of the warehouse value) Yr6: 3.2 %
Number of Professional Enforcement Officers trained, passed the exam, and ready to get appointed
Numeric Value MoJ Data Annual N/A Yr 2: 300 Year 4: Activity completed successfully.
Number of days to enforce a judgment
Numeric Value World Bank Doing Business Report
Annual Yr1: 635
Yr 3: 530 Yr 4: 475 Yr 5: 417 Yr 7: 5205
Yr 5: 635 days Yr6: 635 days
Number of days dealing with constructions permits
Numeric Value World Bank Doing Business Report
Annual Yr1: 279 Yr 5: 220 Yr 6: 200 Yr 7: 180
Yr 5: 272 days Yr6: 156
Business perception of the burden of laws and regulations improves
Qualitative Business Survey
Annual Yr1: 17% agree that there was improvement
Yr. 2: 18% Yr. 3: 20% Yr. 4: 24% Yr. 5: 28% Yr 6: 40% Yr 7: 50%
Yr5: 54.4% Yr6: 53.9%
Significant progress of realization of new labor legislation recommended by the 2011 White Book by the Foreign Investors Council in Serbia
Qualitative Foreign Investors Council in Serbia
Annual N/A Yr 2: 1 Yr 3: 2 Yr.4: 6 Yr 5: 6
Yr5: Task completed
Decrease in percentage of businesses responding that labor law has negative impact on business
Qualitative Business Survey
Annual 2011: 75% Yr. 3: 65% Yr. 5: 55%
Task completed
2.Business effectively partners with Government in developing and
Increase in business sector participation on laws improving regulatory environment
Qualitative Business Survey Annual Yr 1: 19% of businesses agree that there was improvement
Yr 2 : 21% Yr 3: 25% Yr 4: 28% Yr 5: 32%
Activity completed
Number of public private Numeric Value Project Reports Annual N/A Yr 1: 3 Q1:3
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 56
implementing regulatory reforms
dialogue mechanisms/ events on business regulation issues created by the project
Yr 2: 5 Yr 3: 5 Yr 4: 5 Yr 5: 2 Yr 6: 5 Yr 7: 2
Q2:6 Q3:2 Q4: 6 Yr6: 17
3. Improve and support the regulatory review process and RIA process
Number of substantial RIAs conducted by GoS
Numeric Value Project Reports/ Office of Regulatory Reform Reports
Quarterly 2010: 8 Yr 1: 10 Yr 2: 15 Yr 3: 20
Activity completed
Business perception of transparency and predictability increases
Qualitative Business Survey Annual Yr1: 23% agree that transparency and predictability increased
Yr 2: 25% Yr 3: 28% Yr 4: 32% Yr 5: 35%
Activity completed
4. Improve corporate governance standards, policies and regulations
Improvement in Doing Business Strength of Investor protection Index
Qualitative World Bank Doing Business
Annual Yr1: 5.3 2012: 5.3 2013: 6
Task completed
Number of Commercial Court judges trained in implementation of the Company Law
Numeric Value Project Reports Quarterly N/A Yr 1: 20 Task completed
5. Create enabling environment for PPPs
Number of training hours of representatives of public sector entities and private companies trained in PPP
Numeric Value Project Reports Annual N/A Yr 2.: 200 Yr 3.: 200
Task completed
Completion of regulatory framework (bylaws and methodologies) for PPP
Qualitative Project records Annual Nonexistence of complete normative framework (bylaws and methodologies) for PPP
Yr 2.: 0 Yr.3: Complete normative framework (bylaws and methodologies) for PPP (specifically 1-Methodological materials in the field of public-private partnerships and concessions; 2-Bylaw on public contracts registry; 3-Bylaw on Supervision over Implementation of Public Contracts
Task completed
Component 2: Macroeconomic Policy and Public Financial Management Enhanced
1. Improve GoS budgeting, fiscal policy analysis, and financial management
Improvement in the quality of Medium Term Budgeting and Prioritization
Qualitative Project Reports Annual No effective budgeting framework is in place
Yr 1: Fiscal Strategy Report (FSR) contains estimates of potential GDP Yr 2: FSR contains estimates of structural deficit
Q4: FSR includes strategic priorities that are reflected in program budgets of ministries and independent budget users
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 57
efficiency Yr 3: FS contains framework for fiscal consolidation measures and impact assessment Yr 4: FS includes macroeconomic and fiscal projections based on utilization of DSGE model Yr 5: FS includes strategic priorities that are reflected in program budgets of ministries and independent budget users Yr 6: FSR contains expenditure ceilings for State Level Direct Budget Users Yr 7: FSR includes strategic priorities that are reflected in program budgets and MTPs of Line Ministries
Share of GoS Line Ministries which submit their Medium-Term Plans compliant with the new Methodology for development of Medium-Term Plans in the total number of the Line Ministries
Numeric Value MoF and PPS documents
Annual Yr 5: 0% Yr 6: 10% Yr 7: 50%
Q1: 0% Q2: 0% Q3: 0% Q4: 0% Yr6: 0%
Share of new capital projects in the Law on the Budget which are compliant with the Methodology for Preparation, Evaluation and Monitoring of capital projects in the total number of new capital
Numeric Value Law on the Budget Annual Yr 5: 0% Yr 7: 40% Q1: 0% Q2: 0% Q3:0% Q4: 0% Yr6: 0%
PEFA Assessment Multi- Year Score on perspective in fiscal plannin , expenditure policy and budgeting
Qualitative PEFA Assessment (due Nov 2013)
Annual/ Results published every 3 years
2010: Scored C Yr 5: Score B
The 2015 PEFA report draft: C+
PEFA Assessment Score on predictability
Qualitative PEFA Assessment (due Nov 2013)
Annual/ Results published every 3
2010: Scored C+ Yr 5: Score B
The 2015 PEFA report draft: D+
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 58
in the availability of funds for government expenditures
years
Number of articles published in the area of fiscal policy containing research and analysis provided through BEP assistance that support changes in fiscal policy
Numeric Value Project Report Monthly N/A Yr 1: 2 Yr 2: 3 Yr 3: 3
Yr4: No more activities planned for this indicator
Number of person hours of training of GoS staff on macroeconomic policy and public financial management topics
Numeric Value Project Reports Annual N/A Yr 1: 500 Yr 2: 1000 Yr 3: 1000 Yr 4: 750 Yr 5: 300 Yr 6: 830 Yr 7: 260
Q1: 240 Q2: 362 Q3: 110 Q4: 204 Yr6 :916
Quality of public dialogue and debate on macroeconomic and fiscal issues is improved in the last 12 months
Numeric Value Business Survey Annual Yr1: 4% agree that there was improvement
Yr2: 9% Yr3: 11% Yr4: 13% Yr5: 15% Yr 6: 17% Yr 7: 18%
Yr5: 17% Yr6: 18.7%
Number of outreach activities aimed at improving participation of legislature, citizens and businesses in budgetary and fiscal decision-making
Numeric Value Project Report
Annual N/A Yr 1: 2 Yr 2: 3 Yr 3: 4 Yr 4: 4 Yr 5: 3 Yr 6: 2 Yr 7: 1
Q1: 0 Q2: 0 Q3: 0 Q4:0 Yr6: 0
PEFA Assessment Score on Legislative scrutiny of the annual budget Law
Qualitative PEFA Annual/ Results published every 3 years
2010: C+ Yr6: Score B
The 2015 PEFA report draft: C+
Number of persons from the Parliamentary committees trained on program and performance budget
Numeric Value Project Reports
Annual Yr2: 0 Yr 3: 15 Yr 4: 60 Yr 5: 20 Yr 6: 40 Yr 7: 15
Q1: 0 Q2: 0 Q3: 0 Q4: 0 Yr6: 0
Share of State Level Numeric Value Project Reports and Annual Yr2: 0 Yr 4: 100% Yr5: 99.45%
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 59
Direct Budget Users which implemented program budget with BEP support out of total number of State Level budget users
MoF (Budget documents)
Yr 5: 100%
Percentage of State Level Direct Budget Users that have submitted reports on achievement on objectives and indicators set in their Program Budgets
Numeric Value MoF documents Annual Yr 5: 0% Yr 7: 100% Q1: 0% Q2: 0% Q3: 0% Q4: 0% Yr6: 0%
Share of Provincial Level Direct Budget Users which implemented program budget with BEP support out of total number of Provincial Level budget users
Numeric Value Project Reports MoF (Budget documents)
Annual Yr3: 0 Yr 4: 100% Yr 5: 100%
Yr 5: 100%
2. Improve public debt management and conditions for Government financing
Operational status of debt management system and number of reports developed to manage debt risks and strategy
Numeric Value PDA (Public Debt Administration) ad hoc report
Annual N/A Yr 1: 0 reports (system not functional); Yr 2: 2 reports( system operational); Yr 5: 3 reports.
Q1: 0 Q2: 0 Q3: 0 Q4: 0 Yr6: 0
Proportion of key PDA staff trained in debt management, economic and risk analysis
Numeric Value Project records Annual N/A Yr 1: 10% Yr 3: 50% Yr 5: 75%
Activity completed
3. Improve macroeconomic policy and strategy
Number of published studies and articles containing research and analysis provided through BEP assistance that support changes in macroeconomic policy
Numeric Value Project Report Annual N/A Yr 1: 2 Yr 2: 5 Yr 3: 8 Yr 4: 8 Yr 5: 6
Activity completed
Awareness of Government’s Economic Growth Strategy
Qualitative Business Survey Annual Yr1: 20% of businesses agreed that they have some awareness and
Yr 2: 20% Yr 3: 25% Yr 4: 30% Yr 5: 35%
Yr5: 60.7% Yr6: 61%
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 60
understanding of the strategy
Yr 6: 62% Yr 7: 64%
Component 3: Increased Financial Market Development
1.Strengthening capital markets
Compliance with IOSCO standards in areas of securities intermediaries and equity issuance improves
Qualitative/ Numeric Value
Project and IOSCO Reports
Annual Yr1: 50%
Yr 5: Compliance improves to 60% or better
Activity completed
Number of intermediaries trained and advised about upcoming securities laws
Quantitative Securities Commission and Project Report
Annual Yr 1: 0 Yr 4: 20 Activity completed
2.Strengthen enabling environment for commodity exchange
Status of the legal and market framework for a commodities exchange
Qualitative Project Report/MoF Report
Annual Regulatory framework currently not in place
Yr 2: Commodities exchange law and regulatory framework established Yr 3 : Establishment of the commodities exchange
Activity completed
3. Improve GoS access to finance through development of a long term, liquid public debt market
Value of dinar denominated debt
Numeric Value Statistics Office Annual 2010: Value of dinar debt is 14% of total borrowing
Yr 5: Proportion of borrowing increases to 20%
Activity completed
Government initiates a public issue of debt to more diversified investor base
Qualitative PDA (Public Debt Administration) ad hoc report
Annual New baseline 2013: 53.6%
Yr 5: 40% Activity completed
4. Improving access to finance for small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs
Status of the legal and market framework for NBFIs
Qualitative Project Report/MoF Report
Annual Yr2: Regulatory framework currently not in place
Yr 4: NBFIs Law and regulatory framework established Yr 5 : At least one new NBFI firm registered in Serbia Yr 6: NBFIs Law and regulatory framework established Yr 7: At least one new NBFI firm registered in Serbia
Q4: Due to organizational restructuring at the NBS, the Working Group activities were temporarily suspended. A new chairperson was appointed in November to lead the Working Group, and our cooperation with them has now resumed, although unfortunately at a much slower pace than needed
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 61
Status of legal framework for factoring established
Qualitative Project report Annual Yr1: No legal framework on factoring
Yr3:Legal framework established Activity completed
Status of legal framework for leasing established
Qualitative Project report Annual Yr1: Existing legal framework on leasing
Yr5: More than half of BEPs recommendations adopted and implemented Yr6: 75% of BEPs recommendations adopted and implemented
Q4:40 percent of recommendations were adopted and implemented (i.e. requirement for leasing companies to hold reserve funds based on the size of their portfolio is removed; changes of the Law on Insurance have enabled leasing companies to act as insurance agents; VAT treatment of the real-estate leasing transaction has been resolved, Amendments to the Law on Court Jurisdiction, leasing included in a State support program) State support program)
Value of credit financed from NBFI’s to businesses increases
Numeric NBS Publications, Stock Market, and Securities Commission Reports
Annual Yr 2: Baseline 1.388 EUR
Yr 1: 0 Yr 2: 0 Yr 3: 5% Yr 4: 10% increase from Yr3 Yr 5: 10% increase from Yr4 Yr 6: 5% increase from Yr5 Yr 7: 5% increase from Yr6
Yr5: 853.744.855 EUR
Number of public private dialogue events on access to finance
Qualitative Project Reports Annual 2010: 0 Yr 1:2 Yr 2:9 Yr 3:13 Yr 4: 10 Yr 5: 5 Yr 6: 5 Yr 7: 2
Q2: 1 Q2: 1 Q3: 2 Q4: 4 Yr6: 8
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 62
Number of recommendations in the area of strengthening regulation, management, and effectiveness of state aid containing analysis and researches provided through BEP assistance that support the Government streamline state aid.
Quantitative Project Annual Yr 2: 0 Yr 3: 2 (Grant Scheme and AOFI document) Yr 4: 2 Yr 5: 1 Yr 6: 3 Yr 7: 1
Y5: 3 (Grant Scheme and Report on Government Financing Support for SMEs, International Practices, and Issues to Consider in Serbia)
Increased awareness of the role of the financial sector in economic development
Qualitative Business Survey Annual Around 25% of businesses expressed a sort of an agreement that there is awareness
Yr 5: 50% increase in awareness Activity completed
Increase in average value of loan size and borrowing by SME’s
Qualitative/ numeric
Business Survey Annual Yr 1: 89,475 EUR Yr 2.: 0% points increase from baseline Yr 3.: 10% point increase Yr 4.: 15% point increase Yr 5.: 20% point increase
Yr5:47% decrease (€47,577)
Getting Credit Index Qualitative World Bank Doing Business Report
Annual Yr 5: ( DB 2016 Rank): 59
Yr 6 (DB 2017 Rank): 40 Yr 7 (DB 2018 Rank): 30
Yr5 :59 Yr6: 44
Regulatory change – amendments to the Law on Mortgage and/or Law on Pledges adopted
Qualitative Project Reports Annual Yr3: No Yr 5: Adopted Mortgage Law Amendments supported by BEP adopted in July 2015. Activity completed
In-Court and Out of Court Credit Enforcement Perception
Qualitative Survey among major creditors – banks
Annual N /A Yr 6: 25% of surveyed banks agree that enforcement has improved compared to previous year Yr 7: 30% of surveyed banks agree that enforcement has improved compared to previous year
Q1: 0% Q2: Q3: 11,8% Q4: next scoring will be conducted in June 2017
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 63
ATTACHMENT 5: BEP SUBCONTRACTING UPDATE
Solicitation Date of Issue Title Offeror
Amount
USD Status
RFP-2016-01 June 17, 2016 Implementation of a Business Survey in Serbia CeSID 14,625 Not selected
RFP-2016-01 June 17, 2016 Implementation of a Business Survey in Serbia GfK 19,500 Not selected
RFP-2016-01 June 17, 2016 Implementation of a Business Survey in Serbia IPSOS 20,037 Selected
RFP-2016-02 July 8, 2016 Trainings for Professional Enforcement Officers on Financial
Management, Mediation and Effective and Efficient Enforcement Process
Valor Akademija doo
Beograd
30,000
Not selected
Database on real-estate established and being used by valuators
Qualitative Project Reports Annual Yr3:No database Yr 5: Database established Yr 6: Database used by valuers
Yr6, Q3: Database established and used by the NBS (will become fully functional once the new Real Estate Valuation Law is adopted)
Number of property valuers licensed by Ministry of Finance
Quantitative Ministry of Finance, Registry of Licenced Valuers
Annual Yr5: 0 Yr 6: 50 Y 7: 100
The Law not adopted yet
Number of businesses trained and reached on accounting role on A2F
Quantitative Project reports Annual Yr3:0 Yr 4:120 Yr 5:150
Activity completed
Number of persons from SMEs trained and advised about Access to Finance
Qualitative Project report Annual Yr1:0 Yr 3:200 Yr 4:250 Yr 5:100 Yr 6:120
Q1: 141 Q2: 0 Q3: 0 Q4:0 Yr6: 141
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 64
RFP-2016-02 July 8, 2016
Trainings for Professional Enforcement Officers on Financial
Management, Mediation and Effective and Efficient Enforcement
Process
Finnok edukacija i
konsalting doo
Pančevo 29,749
Not selected
RFP-2016-02 July 8, 2016 Trainings for Professional Enforcement Officers on Financial Management, Mediation and Effective and Efficient Enforcement
Process
Partners for Democratic Change
Serbia 29,922
Selected
RFP-2016-02 July 8, 2016 Trainings for Professional Enforcement Officers on Financial Management, Mediation and Effective and Efficient Enforcement
Process
European Consulting
Group 28,800
Not selected
RFP-2016-04 August 19,
2016
Training Of Inspectors On Communication, Conflict Resolution
And Prevention, And Other Soft Skills Relevant For Conducting Inspection Oversight
Partners for
Democratic Change Serbia 34,836
Selected
RFP-2016-03 August 11, 2016
Team Building and Staff Development Program for the Ministry
of Finance Budget Department
Atria Group
9,060 Not Selected
RFP-2016-03 August 11, 2016
Team Building and Staff Development Program for the Ministry of Finance Budget Department
Gi Group HR Solutions 8,900
Selected
RFP-2016-03 August 11,
2016
Team Building and Staff Development Program for the Ministry
of Finance Budget Department
Assessment Systems
Adria 9,000 Not Selected
RFP-2016-05 October 6, 2016
Capacity Building For Efficient Construction Permitting NALED
20,000 Selected
RFP-2016-05 October 6,
2016
Capacity Building For Efficient Construction Permitting NUZOP
14,156 Not selected
RFP-2016-06 November 03, 2016
Services On Harmonization Of Special Inspection Legislation With Law On Inspection Oversight
BCRR 37,200
Selection committee met
USAID’s Business Enabling Project Quarterly Report: Fourth quarter 2016 — Page 65
FINANCIAL STATUS OF SUBCONTRACTS
Name of
subcontractor Title No. subcontract
Amount
USD
Status
NALED
Providing Professional Business Management Consultancy to the Ministry of
Construction, Transport and Infrastructure (MCTI), Business Registry Agency (BRA) and City Of Belgrade (CoB) 4691-001-Local FFP-01
59,660
9/9 paid
IPSOS Implementation of a Business Survey in Serbia 4691-001-LocalFFP-02 20,037 3/ 4 paid
Partners for
Democratic Change Serbia
Training Of Inspectors On Communication, Conflict Resolution And
Prevention, And Other Soft Skills Relevant For Conducting Inspection Oversight 4691-001-LocalFFP-03
35,000 4/7 paid
Gi Group HR
Solutions
Team Building and Staff Development Program for the Ministry of Finance
Budget Department 4691-001-LocalFFP-04 8,900 1/2 paid
Partners for Democratic
Change
Trainings for Professional Enforcement Officers on Financial Management,
Mediation and Effective and Efficient Enforcement Process 4691-001-LocalFFP-05
30,216 1/5 paid
NALED Capacity Building for Efficient Construction Permitting 4691-001- Local FFP-06 20,000 0/5 paid
Subcontract
TOTAL
173,813