Establishing new municipalities: an opportunity or an obstacle to better services in the local governance system

Venue: Swiss Diamond

Date: 4 June 2013

Lecturers:

Basri Musmurati, Deputy Minister, MLGA

Besnik Tahiri, Director of the Kosovo Local Government Institute

Rizvan Sylejmani, former Minister of Local Government of the Republic of Macedonia

Rufki Suma, Mayor of the Municipality of Hani i Elezit

Sasa Mirkovic, Mayor of the Municipality of Kllokot

Shukrie Ramadani, Zhegra

Bajrush Ibishi, Orllan

Topics:

The Government’s approach to establishing new municipalities, and presentation of the government’s criteria for establishing new municipalities,

Presentation of international principles and criteria for establishing new municipalities: Opportunities and risks

The case of Macedonia

The case of Kosovo

Requests to establish new municipalities

Prishtina, 4 June 2013: The Kosovo Local Government Institute (KLGI), within the framework of the Local Governance Academy, today held a one-day conference on the creation of new municipalities. The invited speakers at this conference were the Deputy Minister of Local Government Administration, Mr Basri Musmurati, and the former Minister of Local Government of Macedonia, Mr Rizvan Sulejmani. The invitees were mayors, department directors and members of Municipal Assemblies. On this occasion, Mr Besnik Tahiri, Director of KLGI, explained in depth the importance of how local self-government is regulated in Kosovo, mentioning that “changing the composition of the current municipalities is a process that must be based on clear criteria, set in advance through national policy and legislation, which also reflects the formal international basis and good Western practice”.

In this context, in his role as Deputy Minister, Mr Basri Musmurati stressed that, among many other principles, “the creation of new municipalities, from an institutional point of view, must be based on the principles of efficiency and subsidiarity, and as the Ministry of Local Government Administration they consider that each request to create new municipalities must be dealt with separately and not as a package”.

In this way, in the Deputy Minister’s view, the risk arising from creating one or more municipalities without basing this on criteria and prior assessment is reduced. According to Mr Musmurati, even with the current composition of municipalities “there are difficulties in providing services that are mainly regional in scope, so it must be taken into account that new municipalities must have the capacity to administer themselves and to provide the necessary services prescribed by law”.

The former Minister of Local Government of Macedonia spoke in a similar vein, stressing that “creating new municipalities without basing this on analysis and demand, and without taking as a basis the need for them to be sustainable and autonomous, would be more a political act, and a risky one, than a practical solution.” According to him, Macedonia had to correct its mistake when it had increased the number of municipalities, reducing that number through a far from easy reform. In this context, according to him, Kosovo should not make a similar mistake and establish municipalities without criteria.

At this meeting, the positions of the municipalities established through the decentralisation process (Junik, Kllokot, Hani i Elezit) and of representatives of localities seeking to create new municipalities (Rogova, Orllan and Zhegra) were also presented.

Statement of the Kosovo Local Government Institute from the Conference:
Establishing new Municipalities
An Opportunity or an Obstacle for the Local Governance System in Kosovo

Explanation: Establishing one or more new municipalities is a process that must be based on clear criteria defined in advance. Establishing one or more municipalities is not, and should not be, an isolated and arbitrary process driven by anyone’s preferences, not even those of the government. Regulating the establishment of new municipalities as provided for by the current criteria set out in this document would make it possible for the process of establishment to be based on the principles of respect for local democracy, respect for local authorities and consultation of the stakeholders affected by this process, including aspects related to the general public good.

A similar practice also applies to the division and changing of municipal boundaries and to determining the names of municipalities or settlements. Under the legislation in force, Kosovo has a number of municipalities whose governance is regulated through the constitution and international documents (in particular the European Charter of Local Self-Government). At present we are facing not only the ignoring of legal provisions, but also of the aspects of democratic regulation, which is based on respect for the will of citizens, respect for local institutions, and consultation of public opinion, including actors active in the field of local governance within civil society, the donor community and more broadly.

In this context, changing one or more administrative boundaries is understood as a process carried out through:

a) Merging one or more municipalities into an existing municipality;
b) Merging two or more districts to form a new municipality;
c) Separating part of a municipality or municipalities to form a new municipality.

As can be seen from this formulation, all three of these dimensions concern, and refer more to, a need or necessity that must come from local authorities and communities, in this case from the representatives of one or more municipalities, and not from the decision of a community or village or the political preferences of representatives at the centre.
This is because the precedent of creating municipalities without criteria, and without the consent of local representatives and structures, sends an entirely negative message to existing municipalities, and moreover creates the impression that their existence and authority serve the central agenda, thereby placing the representation of citizens and local interests in an inferior position.

The regulatory basis required for creating one or more municipalities, or better said for any change of administrative boundaries – which should also be understood to include the changes arising from the establishment of new municipalities – must include at least:

a) a map of the territory or territories and the administrative boundaries of the municipalities proposed for change, specifying the proposed new administrative boundaries;
b) the reason why such a change is necessary and its positive or negative effects on citizens’ access to the services provided by the municipality;
c) an analysis of the effects of such a change on the economic sustainability of the municipality;
d) a justification demonstrating that such changes are in line with the principle of subsidiarity and will have a positive impact on the exercise of municipal competences;
e) explanatory material on the settlement of the debts or obligations assumed by each municipality;
f) a report explaining how citizens were consulted and the results for and against arising from such consultations; and
g) other documents produced by the relevant authorities during the process.

On the basis of these criteria it can clearly be concluded that the establishment of one or more municipalities is not merely a technical process, but on the contrary a thoroughly studied process aimed at positively changing a situation in favour of the interests of the citizens of the existing municipalities, which set out the reason for creating a new municipality, always for the good of the citizens of the municipalities involved in this process.

Furthermore, a proposal to separate part of a territory in order to create a new municipality must include:

a) A plan for the division of their property, rights, actions, debts and obligations;
b) A plan for the reassignment of municipal staff to be appointed to the new municipality; and
c) A certified list of the citizens residing in the part or parts that will make up the new municipality.

Findings by way of conclusion:

Establishing one or more new municipalities must be an inclusive, transparent and consultative process. This has largely not happened and is not happening at present;

Establishing one or more new municipalities is a process based on assessments, analyses and documentation, including aspects related to rights and obligations,

• The precedent of creating a municipality without this practice challenges local self-government, economic sustainability and the democratic spirit of local representation;

• The Government, in coordination with the municipalities concerned by the change in administrative boundaries, may in principle take the initiative to establish one or more new municipalities, but;

• Bypassing the existing municipalities, their will and above all their legal mandate places local self-government in a vulnerable position, and consequently is not a good message for anyone;

• The wider public, civil society, the donor community and those involved in local self-government issues have an interest in contributing to the strengthening of governance and democracy.

• In this context, failing to involve them in important topics such as this one is a negative and, at the same time, exclusionary signal.

Recommendations:

KLGI suggests that the Government form a commission including the OPM, the Ministry of Local Government Administration, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Civil Society to study and review the conditions for new municipalities.

In this respect, KLGI recommends that:

• A reasonable need for establishing a new municipality be presented, together with the effects on citizens as regards access to the services provided by the municipality;
• An analysis be carried out of the effects on the economic sustainability of the new municipality;
• A justification be drawn up demonstrating that such changes are in line with the principle of subsidiarity and will have a positive impact on the exercise of municipal competences;
• A plan be presented for the division of their property, rights, actions and obligations;
• A plan for the reassignment of municipal staff to be appointed to the new municipality;
• A certified list of the citizens residing in the part or parts that will make up the new municipality.
KLGI believes that establishing new municipalities while bypassing these elements will lead to considerable confusion in general, and on the political and electoral scene in particular, and will create dissatisfaction among citizens.