Representatives from Kosovo municipalities visit Albania to exchange with local government counterparts

A delegation of around 80 local government representatives from 17 municipalities in Kosovo had an official visit during 17-18 November in Albania to hold a planning session and to exchange with their colleagues and partners here.

“Democratic and decentralisation processes are hot topics for both Kosovo and Albania. Therefore visits like this can only help in gaining understanding and learning for local government representatives on both sides of the border, said Swiss Ambassador in Tirana Christoph Graf during his welcome speech. He mentioned the importance of inclusiveness when it comes to governance, referring to the need for consensus and participation from all concerned institution and groups. “Switzerland sees decentralisation as a means to improve governance, make political processes more democratic and participative and strengthen local power. As Swiss representations we are happy to play our role in working together with Albania’s and Kosovo’s local authorities to improve as much as possible the way government delivers services”, said Ambassador Graf.

The new Mayor of Shkodër,Mrs Voltana Ademi talked about waste management issues in her municipality. She mentioned examples of new instruments that are being used to manage waste such as the inter-municipal scheme introduced by the Swiss decentralisation programme in the north which creates links between neighbouring municipalities in tackling waste. “Waste management in Shkodër poses challenges due to the increase in size of the municipality’s territory and the diversity of situations in different units”. According to Mayor Ademi former communes that have been trained and cooperative with the Swiss decentralisation programme (dldp) have shown more readiness and flexibility in adapting to the challenges of the territorial reform. 

On behalf of the Municipality of Tirana Deputy Mayor, MrsBrunildaPaskali presented the experience of how the municipal council relates to the executive body in Tirana’s case. She mentioned the example of making a decision on the city’s parking rates whereby SMI’s proposal to increase free parking spaces for residents from 40% to 60% was discussed and accepted by the municipal council.

About 19 representatives from the Serb-led municipalities of Kosovo were also part of the visit.Mr. StankoTrajkovićis the deputy head of commune in Parteshsays his unit has a very good cooperation with the Swiss supported local governance programme DEMOS that operates in Kosovo. “Today’s meeting about waste management was of particular interest for us as we are not receiving a good service from the private company. Our problem in Kosovo is that the waste management service is 100% contracted to the private sector whereas we learned that in Albania it’s 50%-50% between the municipality and the private companies and this is a better solution”, said MrTrajković.

Both Kosovo and Albania are engaged in reforming local government structures although the decentralisation process in Kosovo has started earlier. Two common challenges are related to clear competences and financial delegation at local level. On the other hand, regional cooperation in the Western Balkans is a focus of Switzerland’s policy in the region.  

Swiss embassies in both countries support actively the strengthening of local governance and the acceleration of decentralisation. Previous study visits were made by Albanian mayors and heads of communes as part of this support. The Kosovo delegation is the biggest of its kind and serves to intensify exchanges and increase learning among local elected officials.