Peja, 24 September 2022
We cannot have an advanced and prosperous Republic without having advanced and prosperous municipalities, said the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in a meeting with the mayors of the municipalities of Kosovo.
The meeting organized for the purpose of inter-institutional coordination between the Government and local government, was attended by the Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, the Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, the Deputy Minister of Economy, Getoar Mjeku, and by the mayors and deputy mayors of the municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo.
As the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, I am open and willing to be close to you, together with my colleagues who are present today, and the entire government cabinet, to jointly commit to the democratic, social and economic progress of our Republic, stated Prime Minister Kurti.
The Prime Minister informed the mayors that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo is in the phase of preparing the budget for the fiscal year 2023 and that this budget reflects a significant increase in the budget dedicated to the municipal level.
For the first time, we have a 15% increase in the budget for municipalities, compared to 2022. A total of 654 million euros will be allocated to municipalities. This increase in the budget should also reflect in the increase in the quality of municipal services for the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, their well-being, and socio-economic development. Our approach as a government is to be close to the citizens by being close to the municipalities, and for this reason we need advancement and intensification of our mutual inter-institutional cooperation, said Prime Minister Kurti.
During this governing period, we have undertaken many reforming steps, starting with the legal framework that regulates local government, doubling the support of municipalities through line ministries, and most importantly, providing direct communication between the central and local levels, he emphasized.
In today’s meeting, the discussion will be focused on the budget performance of the municipalities, municipal projects and capital investments, energy and water, legal reforms at the local level, local economic development, the green agenda, the national strategy for the management and control of dogs with and without owners as well as the digitalization of municipal services.
This is the second time that the Prime Minister meets the mayors of the municipalities in this format, after the meeting held on June 25.
Full speech of Prime Minister Kurti:
Dear mayors and deputy mayors of the municipalities of Kosovo,
Dear Chairman of the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo,
Dear Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Dear all,
Allow me to thank you for participating in this roundtable, where we will have the opportunity to discuss local government and its relations with the central government.
This is the second time we are meeting in this format, three months after the meeting held on June 25, but the nature of our work makes us aware that meetings between us should be more frequent, although they can never be enough.
Let me inform you that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo is in the phase of preparing the budget for the fiscal year 2023. This budget reflects a significant increase in the budget dedicated to the municipal level.
For the first time, we have a 15% increase in the budget for municipalities, compared to 2022. A total of 654 million euros will be allocated to municipalities. This increase in the budget should also reflect the increase of the quality of municipal services for the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, their well-being, and socio-economic development. Our approach as a government is to be close to the citizens by being close to the municipalities, and for this reason we need advancement and intensification of our mutual inter-institutional cooperation.
Therefore, in today’s meeting, the discussion will be focused on the budgetary performance of municipalities, municipal projects, and capital investments.
During this governing period, we have undertaken many reforming steps, starting with the legal framework that regulates local government, doubling the support of municipalities through line ministries, and most importantly, providing direct communication between the central and local levels.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo has undertaken concrete steps, starting with:
⦁ the drafting of the National Development Plan, whose derivative will be the drafting of the National Plan for Local Economic Development;
• the drafting of the Plan for Reducing the Administrative Burden, where municipalities will be able to simplify administrative procedures and municipal services;
⦁ we are in the final phase of drafting the Strategy for Digitization, for the digitalization of municipal administrative services and procedures that will thus increase the efficiency of services and the well-being, accountability and transparency of institutions.
In April, we started the Charter for a Green and Sustainable Municipality initiative. Many of the municipalities have signed it, in order to gain financial and professional support in the design of integrated development policies that should not only be urban and social, but also ecological. So today we will talk about the green agenda and water.
We will also discuss about the cooperation and responsibility of central and local institutions for the implementation of measures to save electricity, and about overcoming the situation of electricity supply on the eve of winter.
Also, the Government has already established the working group for the drafting of the national strategy in order to manage and control the dog population. We know that a large number of municipalities face this problem. Although the local level is mostly responsible to implement the various measures for the management of this situation, today we will talk about the support of the central level through the design of policies and their implementation, or even the need for financial support. The large presence of stray dogs in Kosovo’s municipalities, cities and towns, but also villages has already become a problem for the safety of citizens and public health, in addition to being a problem for the dogs and their well-being.
We will also be able to increase our cooperation when it comes to the triangle: central government, local government and international institutions and organizations. So how can we increase this cooperation? What can we do together, in order to achieve concrete results for social well-being and a developed local economy? What are the steps to be coordinated and the actions that we can undertake?
Through the programs of the Ministry of Local Government Administration, our municipalities are increasing cross-border cooperation, with financial support from IPA funds. Likewise, our municipalities are cooperating and twinning with the municipalities of friendly countries of the Republic of Kosovo. Through the MLGA initiative, we will offer support to municipalities to become members of the Partnership for Open Government.
We should also discuss together how we can make the best use of all these opportunities, to advance local democracy, socio-economic development, good governance, and coordination.
For this reason, today, every day, and in every such meeting, I am looking forward to include on the agenda issues that directly affect the lives of citizens. As the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, I am open and ready to be close to you, together with my colleagues who are present today, and the entire government cabinet, to engage together on the democratic, social and economic progress of our Republic.
We cannot have an advanced and prosperous Republic without having advanced and prosperous municipalities.
I thank you for your attention and look forward to today’s discussions.
Last modified: September 27, 2022