Pula presents plan to become 100% transparent and prevent corruption

The Croatian city wants to strengthen public confidence and prevent the misuse of public funds by becoming 100% transparent

On 10 December, the City of Pula held a press conference to present its ambitious goal of becoming the first Croatian municipality to be 100% transparent. It follows then, that it aims to eliminate corruption and incite meaningful, long-lasting change.

During the press conference, the Mayor of Pula Filip Zoričić shared that his primary goal is not to be a long-serving mayor but to lay new foundations. Discussing his administration’s decision to become 100% transparent, Zoričić shared:

“Everything that is financed with public money must be known until the last penny […] Some will say that it may be political suicide, but it is the only possible way to restore confidence in politics, because politics is the only thing that can fundamentally change things by reforming everything that has not been good in the past 30 years. Generations of people are coming who want to work in a transparent way.”

Unveiling new digital services

To carry out its ambitious goals, the municipality has collaborated with the Croatian company LIBUSOFT CICOM to develop the digital application iTransparency. Using this service, the City of Pula will publish accurate and credible information regarding its budget. In this way, it will strengthen public confidence.

Expanding on this, Director of LIBUSOFT CICOM Gordana Vlahović shared that iTransparency is an effective accountability mechanism that will improve the quality of fiscal policy and prevent the misuse of public funds.

Beyond this, the Croatian municipality will further unveil a Geographic Information System (GIS) portal to enable a transparent way of managing space and city real estate in January 2022. Commenting on the GISportal, the City of Pula shared that the application will serve as a centralised database containing a graphical browser and tools for analysing and searching data.

According to the municipality, the introduction of these two digital services will benefit everyone, from the city’s employees to its citizens.