“Budget Transparency” – the latest project in Shkodra Municipality

In the framework of dldp support to the Municipality of Shkodra, it was organised by Shkodra Municipality an open meeting on March 27th, to present and inform the citizens with the newest and the only one of its project kind in Albania, for the year 2017.
At the opening of this informative meeting the dldp expert, Mr Elvin Hoxha, stressed that transparency during the budget preparations and reporting process of its implementation is one of the main pillars for the establishment of an open and developed society.
The project of “Budget transparency” enables citizens’ active participation not only in budget policy preparation, but also in its implementation.
Considering the technical nature of the budget, it is essential that information that is part of the budget to be prepared and distributed in a simplified manner so that the public can understand and be able to make comments or ask for additional information.
Furthermore, in her speech, the Mayor of Shkodra Municipality, Mrs Voltana Ademi, underlined that through this project, it is enabled for the first time in the country an online transparency of the budget for its citizens. Through this instrument citizens can be informed in real time with every detail and work that occurs at the local level, as well as becoming part of the online suggestions.
The online platform was explained with concrete demonstrations by Ms Helga Sallaku, Responsible of technology and information systems, at the Municipality of Shkodra, who explained to the public the set up and the functioning of this online platform as part of the citizens’ communication. This instrument is divided into three main modules: the Income and Expenses module, in My Taxes module and mapping module, based on Google Maps platform, for the Municipality of Shkodra as per administrative units.
Budget transparency is designed and structured as an instrument for monitoring the municipal public expenses by citizens and civil society organizations. Thereby increases the public’s access to information and sensitizes them to increase participation in the process of drafting strategic financial documents of the municipality.
This instrument shows too how people are contributing to the income of the municipality, providing information on each of taxes and tariffs, but at the same time how each of administrative units contributes to such income.
At the same time it aims to raise citizens’ awareness to pay taxes, increasing the sense of ownership and more accountability for municipal property and investments.
Dldp work through this process aims to support the municipality in a more effective planning, wider participation and proper budget distribution.