Press release
Active Citizenship, Challenge for Government and Municipalities
Pristina, July 11, 2013
The non-governmental organization “Eye of Vision” from Peja on Thursday in Pristina held a conference on the topic “Active Citizenship” where representatives from the municipalities of the Dukagjini plain, the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, civil society and representatives of the villages and neighborhoods of the municipalities took part. of the region of Peja and Prizren.
Activating citizens, participating in decision-making processes and addressing issues at local and central level institutions remains a challenge for local and central level institutions, the participants in this conference said.
Sazan Ibrahimi, chairman of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, said that “There are laws, various administrative instructions and municipal regulations that strengthen the role of citizens and make them powerful against the institutions, but it is the responsibility of the municipalities that these legal acts apply. This is especially regarding the municipal regulations for the cooperation of municipalities with villages, settlements and urban neighborhoods, determining the form and method of payment for the heads of local councils, if they wish to be functional”.
Meanwhile, the municipal officials present at this meeting have expressed their concern that they will not be able to implement the regulations for cooperation of the municipality with villages, settlements and urban neighborhoods, since these people should be given some kind of payment or incentive for the commitment theirs to be active, while the municipal budget does not allow them to do this.
Ali Lajçi, the vice president of the municipality of Peja, said that “Municipalities do not have a budget to pay for the commitment of the mayors of villages or neighborhoods of local councils, but the Ministry of Finance together with the Ministry of MLGA had to issue an instruction such and before obliging the municipalities to draft regulations, think about the payment method, because without paying or stimulating them, they will not be functional”.
On the other hand, Zekije Sutaj, from the Legal Office of the Municipality of Istog, said: “We have approved the regulation, but we do not have any budget line to pay the representatives who are elected in villages and urban neighborhoods. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government should draw up a budget line to enable the municipalities an incentive for the representatives or elected representatives of the local councils”.
The heads of some villages of the municipalities of the Dukagjin plain have said that they demand compensation for the work they do. “We are tired of how many years we do voluntary work and spend from our own pockets just to improve life in the settlements where we live, but from now on without any payment we will not be able to contribute. Although we have the desire and will, the difficult economic situation does not allow us to do this”, said Sejdi Baleci, chairman of the local council in the village of Grabanicë, municipality of Klina.
On the other hand, other participants in the debate from civil society and urban villages and neighborhoods have said that a way of financing should be found to pay these local leaders or representatives, so that we have active leaders who address their problems to the institutions sooner.
In this conference, the year-long work of the “Syri i Vizioni” organization, which is doing in the empowerment of active citizenship, was published, this project is supported by the Olof Palme International Center and SIDA.
With respect,
NGO “Eye of Vision”
Tel. +377(0)44 695 650
Email: naser.lajqi@syriivizionit.org
www.syriiivizioint.org
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