Mobilising local actors, a precondition for sustainable development

As part of their visits to municipalities and joint engagements, representatives of the KLGI Institute visited the Municipality of Kamenica, where they were received by the mayor, Mr Qëndron Kastrati, to discuss prospects for strengthening the local level. First, the Acting Executive Director of the KLGI Institute, Besnik Muçaj, congratulated Mayor Kastrati on taking office, stressing the particular importance of equal inclusion in decision-making. Mayor Kastrati, for his part, briefed the KLGI representatives on the engagements the municipality has undertaken.

During the meeting, the Acting Executive Director of the KLGI Institute, Mr Besnik Muçaj, and Mayor Kastrati discussed developments and challenges in the Municipality of Kamenica, as well as the next steps for the joint agenda to strengthen the local level. Mayor Kastrati stressed that he has paid particular attention to local economic development, involving the diaspora as strongly as possible as an important source of potential.

He also addressed the functional sectors, from education to building officials’ capacities for efficient planning and management. He stressed that funding formulas remain a challenge: in the case of Kamenica, it covers a large territory, while its budget is around 80% per capita. This becomes a chain challenge for the reach of infrastructure and services, as well as for staffing in sectoral areas such as education, health and administration.

Mr Muçaj offered professional support from the KLGI Institute, noting that it is important from the outset to have sustained cooperation and coordination with all actors for the sake of sustainable development.

To this end, the project “Support for Stronger and Sustainable Municipalities” being implemented by the KLGI Institute, supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy and presented at the meeting, aims to help municipalities build efficient practices of cooperation and coordination, both within and between municipalities. In this way, not only are democracy and oversight strengthened but, above all, the quality of decision-making and citizens’ trust increase.

In particular, the SSSM project places a strong focus on supporting municipalities with limited capacities, including small municipalities for which the reform process must produce sustainable solutions, whether for funding or for the delivery of public and administrative services.