British-American Delegation Visits Kurdzhali
Marina Dimova, FLGR
No. 12/2000
A joint British-American delegation of politicians and municipal employees visited the Municipality on Kurdzhali on November 14-18, 2000. At the end of the visit, the representatives of the three municipalities signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding.
The delegation was led by councilor Dennis Heptonstall, leader of the East Staffordshire Borough Council, UK. The visit was a part of the long-term cooperation with the Municipality of Kurdzhali on issues such as municipal service management, information technology, budget control and development of multi-party democracy.
The delegation had discussions with the mayor and the municipal secretary, as well as with leaders and members of all political parties, municipal councilors and employees.
The goals of the visit were:
to do a final evaluation of the three-year project on the development of multi-party democracy in Kurdzhali;
to coordinate the goals of the future cooperation between East Staffordshire and Kurdzhali, on the basis of the Partners 2000 municipal document;
to introduce the City of Elkheart to the Municipality of Kurdzhali and to study the opportunities for trilateral cooperation.
A large percentage of the costs associated with the delegation s visit were covered by the European Commission under the PHARE/Democracy Program. Financial support was also provided by the British Know-How Fund and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Local coordination of the visit was provided by the Foundation for Local Government Reform.
Upon their arrival in Kurdzhali, the delegation members were greeted by mayor Roumen Dimitrov, municipal councilors and employees. Then followed a presentation of the general goals and a discussion of the agenda.
The guests had useful meetings and discussions with Municipal Council chairman Seifi Nedzhib, municipal secretary Ivan Moutsevski, directors and experts. The discussions focused on important problems in the municipality and on sharing the methods, responsibilities and opportunities to plan municipal services. Based on the discussions, the delegation members had the opportunity to identify the priority areas of future trilateral cooperation.
The delegation visited two secondary schools, the Museum of History, the Old People s Home and the United Area Hospital in Kurdzhali. The guests were ale to meet the school principals and the manager of the old people s home, to learn about their problems and successes and to discuss the opportunities for successful partnership in different social areas. The delegation also visited the Perperek Mayoralty and had a discussion with the mayor and the mayor s representatives.
At the end of the work visit, the representatives of the three municipalities signed a memorandum of cooperation.