Dobrich is among the ten cities, occupying good positions in the ranking of the Local Integrity System Index – 3, 31, on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the highest possible positive score. The main contribution to this result comes from the high level of transparency and effectiveness in the activities of the local administration (4, 64), as well as the good indicators of activity of the mayor’s office (4, 30) and, to a certain degree, that of the Municipal Council (3, 53). The work of civil society organizations (3, 31) and the court (3, 32) also serves as a substantial contribution to the overall score of the municipality. An important role in the functional assessment of the local integrity system is played by the regional Prosecutor’s office, which in the past three years has had no investigation of corruption cases returned. A key deficit in their contributions towards the local integrity system is attributed to the media (2, 49), police (2, 50), business (2, 67) and political parties (2, 92). To further develop the potential for good governance, it is necessary to improve the potential of the District Community Council for counteraction of corruption, as well as the need for establishing a local ombudsman institution to be considered.

Gabrovo is among the leading municipalities in ranking of the Local Integrity System Index with a score of 3, 45, on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the highest possible positive score. The high score is the result of the sustainable capacity, good practices and effective interaction between the bodies of local authority and self-governance –the mayor’s office (4,63), local administration (4,69) and Municipal council (4,19). The effective work of the District Community council for counteraction of corruption and the regional Prosecutor’s office are an additional pillar in the functioning of the local integrity system. A significant contribution to the overall score of Gabrovo’s index is attributed to the courts in the city (3, 32). Political parties (3, 17) register an average score of their contribution to the local integrity system. Below the average potential for contribution to transparency and integrity of the local system score the police (2, 94), the business organizations (2, 42), regional media (2, 64) and civil society organizations (2, 78).

The discussion today was upon an invitation from the Council and aims to present the positive and the weak aspects of the activities of the anti-corruption regional level bodies in Bulgaria, as assessed by Transparency-Bulgaria. The objective is to strengthen the activities of these councils through exchange of good practices and lessons learnt.

Kardzhali occupies one of the lowest positions in the Local Integrity System Index with a score of 2, 84, on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being an optimal positive score. The main reason for this result comes from the low score attributed to the work of the mayor (2, 37) and the local administration (3, 18). The assessment of the activity of the mayor receives the lowest score for this institution throughout the country, the leading reason being the lack of transparency and accountability. The assessment of the local administration is also low – taking the penultimate place in the comparative ranking of this sector, and this is due to the lack of an electronic system for tracking of the development of file cases. This prevents citizens and the business from receiving adequate information regarding the activities of the administration on processing requests for administrative service. A positive contribution to the overall score is attributed to the activity of the court (3, 29), the police (2, 83) and, to a certain extent, the non-governmental organizations (3, 01). To register a significant improvement in Kardzhali’s ranking, comprehensive efforts are necessary towards enhancing publicity regarding strategic priorities in the development of the municipality, as well as the implementation of important governance decisions. It is also needed for the potential of the District Community Council to be developed in order to countervail corruption.

The discussion today was focused at informing the representatives of the municipal bodies about the strong and the weak aspects of the performance of Vidin Municipality and outlining possible measures for improvement.