Swiss Programme on Strengthening Local Government Inaugurates New Town Square in Reps

The Swiss-funded Decentralisation and Local Development Programme (DLDP) has organised the inauguration of a new town square and park in the centre of Reps town. The investment is part of the DLDP’s intervention in strengthening local government units in several areas of North Albania.   
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012, Tirana – A renovated town square was made possible in Reps after a successful cooperation between Orosh commune authorities and the Swiss-funded Decentralisation and Local Development Programme, DLDP. The inauguration took place today with the participation of Swiss Ambassador, H.E. Yvana Enzler, Swiss Cooperation’s Country Director, Holger Tausch, Mayor of Orosh [?] Aleksander Lala, DLDP programme staff, commune council members and local government representatives. 
“I am glad to be part of this inauguration and to see a highly visible contribution from our programme in this community”, said Swiss Ambassador, H.E. Yvana Enzler. “This new investment in the Reps central square is an example of the work done by our programme”, added the Ambassador. She mentioned that this investment is especially important since the Orosh commune cooperated by funding 32% of the investment. “We are glad to see that the local government units are mobilizing and contributing more to the improvement of conditions in their areas”, said Ambassador Enzler.
In his speech, Mayor of Orosh Commune, Aleksander Lala praised the cooperation with the Swiss programme and expressed his confidence that such cooperation will continue in the future.
“Our decentralisation and local development programme is designed to strengthen local government structures, to introduce new models of functioning, to improve procedures and to enable infrastructure investments”, said Swiss Cooperation’s Country Director, Holger Tausch. “It is an essential part of this programme to ensure joint cooperation as well as co-funding from local government units, and today we see a clear example of this here in Reps”, added Mr. Tausch.
The new town square Reps includes paved walkways, green patches and benches. Through its grant fund programme DLDP provided 5,237,356 ALL while the Orosh Commune contributed with 2,416,971 ALL. Around 1,162 inhabitants of Reps benefit from this investment while the cooperation model can be replicated in the future for other similar projects.
The Swiss Cooperation Office is one the main international actors supporting actively the decentralization and local government functioning in Albania. During the previous phases of the decentralization program, the Swiss Cooperation has enabled communes and municipalities in Shkodër to improve public services, increase communication with citizens and better plan and manage local resources.
The Swiss Cooperation pays special attention to strengthening local government and advancing the decentralization process in Albania. In the framework of its Cooperation Strategy with Albania (2010-2013), Switzerland commits approximately one third of its budget resources towards strengthening local government, the rule of law and decentralization