Another four years of local development in Syria

Building blocks for local administrative development and exchanging development experiences are the goals of the current MAM programme in Syria. More powerful local development will be launched next year with the second phase of the programme entitled “Decentralization and Local development”.

Samar Ezmechli - Damascus, Al-Hayat

Tourists and fans of archeological sites in the ancient city of Damascus do not need any more to have in hand a map from a tourist office to tour the narrow alleys of the city. Today, one can manage to sightsee the Old City thanks to the new visitor’s routes and digital screens that provide information, pictures and maps of the most important sites of the city in Arabic, French and English languages.

This innovative initiative is part of the achievements of the Municipal Administration Modernization programme (MAM), which is concluding next year after almost five years of work in six Syrian cities: Damascus, Aleppo (north of the country), Homs (center of the country), Lattakia and Tartous (on the coastline), and Deir ez-Zour (north-east of the country). The programme also comprises regional projects in the Eastern region and the ancient site of Palmyra, implemented thanks to an initiative from the European Delegation in Damascus, and in collaboration with the Syrian government, with a total budget of 20 million Euros.

With the success of the Municipal Administration Modernization programme (MAM), the European Commission and the Syrian government decided to sign a new 4-year project, as a continuation of the previous MAM. The same budget will be allocated as well.



This programme aims at improving the quality of life of a greater number of people in the country, explains Urban Development Team Leader at the Municipal Administration Modernization programme, Peter Ross. He adds that all projects funded aim at improving the quality of life and future of citizens. These projects will not target the rich, or the current generation only. They aim at making a real positive difference in the lives of future generations as well.

Ross was proud of the success of the project, whether regarding the support provided to municipalities or the improved service offered to citizens. He also stressed that the solutions offered by the programme were inspired by the Syrians themselves, and this is a vital issue, according to Ross, as he considers that the best way to reach the set goals is by working closely with the concerned Syrian officials. This is the most delicate part of the job, explains Ross, adding: we are not a European group who writes reports and goes back home. We operate as experts who work hand by hand with Syrian colleagues. Our objective is to build a heritage of mutual collaboration, and to create a seed for future action, able to pursue the work with the same methodology.

The programme, considered as one of the largest programmes in Administrative and technical development on the municipal level, works on modernizing the administration of municipalities. The managing of urban growth also gets manifested through an improvement of institutional capacities of ministries as well.

Examples of achievements
Ross gives some examples of the project actions: enhancing the legal infrastructure of the municipal administration, drafting a new local administrative law, and drafting a regional planning law for the first time in Syria. He explains: we know that such projects are not directly connected with the daily life of citizens; however, this is an important work that had to be done. He adds: beyond the legal work, we have supported Non Governmental Organizations, Small and Micro Enterprises, rural working women. We have for instance supported NGOs to build basketball playgrounds in several areas in Homs. He goes on to say eleven action plans were implemented, working on resolving several housing problems, rehabilitating and formalizing informal settlements, and addressing traffic issues. The two old cities of Damascus and Palmyra were also modernised.



The project also tackles more vital issues related to the daily life of citizens, such as the municipal centre in Homs that has been opened with a “One-stop-shop” to provide services to citizens. Some info-kiosks providing geographic information about the cities have been opened in all municipalities.

The project also worked on establishing partnership between the private and public sectors. It helped municipalities find the appropriate ways of benefiting from the private sector to better serve the citizens. In the framework of the project, private investors were invited to support the development of some vital projects in the country. Ross hopes that the project succeeded, not only in theoretically suggesting institutional development, but also in finding practical means to improve management which will continue to deliver better services in the future.

A draft for regional planning was launched for the first time in Syria following a request from the Syrian government to gather three eastern municipalities close to the Euphrates River in one pioneer regional plan. A guide for other Syrian regions was achieved as well to serve as a basis for regional plans.

Work in the Old City has been divided in four sections: first, support to the municipality of Damascus to prepare a developmental strategy for the city. Help was provided to create a reliable data base for the city. An atlas of the city has also been prepared covering all aspects of life, architecture and development. The atlas also provides information on all real estates in the city, as well as an overview on the status of lands. Second, a tourist strategy has been developed to encourage tourists to stay longer in the country, by proposing 6 different trails. This strategy consisted of listing major touristic sites in the country, namely the beautiful buildings, the historical sites, the religious shrines and others…

Ross confesses that the hardest task was to respond to the needs, sometimes diverging, of both tourists and inhabitants. The project tackled a third level of work, where an active NGO in the city has been supported to revive and rehabilitate Al–Kishleh garden in Bab Touma in Damascus. A shelter in the area has been transformed into a painting activity space for kids. Last but not least, the project supported the infrastructure of the municipality through the creation of the “one-stop-shop”. A scientific documentary book introducing the Umayyad Mosque has been prepared in Arabic and English in collaboration with Syrian and European archeologists and researchers. Preparation works have been made for the rehabilitation of the Salah Eddine garden, which will be transformed to be the main entrance to the Mosque with light effect performed by an international expert.



When asked about the percentage of actions performed within the programme, compared to the original plan, Ross responded 90% from one side and 120% from the other side. The first percentage is due to the gap between what has been advised to be done and what has been found on the ground. As for the 120%, it reflects the additional actions that have been performed and that were not listed on the agenda; such as the lighting project of the Umayyad Mosque, the regional planning and the strategic plan of Palmyra province.

The upcoming four years
The new programme, which will be launched in the beginning of next year (2010), will cover a broader spectrum of actions in comparison to the previous phase. The new phase of the programme consists of three main cores: the first one focuses on the development of legislation, strategies and supporting policies in order to proceed with delegation and transferring of responsibilities to the local administrative units. The second one focuses on the rehabilitation of human resources and institutions of local administrations through the establishment of an information unit at the Center for Local Sustainable Development, and through building the capacities at all levels of local administration, especially in the field of regional and urban planning. The third core focuses on the quality of services delivered to citizens.

And Ross to conclude: due to the European Union’s interest in what has been accomplished in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Administration in Syria, an initiative has been commenced with the European Investment Bank, establishing a fund to support municipalities in Syria with a loan from the Bank of 50 million Euros. The focus will basically be on funding projects which have been planned through the action plan of MAM, with subsidized loans, in addition to giving a chance in the future for local administrations to propose projects in line with the conditions adopted for the fund.

Refer to the project fact sheet: Municipal Administration Modernisation (MAM) (Syria)