Përparim Rama: Municipal Mayors to Protest Outside Kurti Government in September

Pristina Mayor Përparim Rama has announced that the mayors of Kosovo’s municipalities will stage a protest outside the Kurti Government in September.

He accused the executive of repeatedly violating the law and exerting financial pressure on municipalities not governed by Vetëvendosje.

Rama claims that, since 2022, more than €344 million has been taken from municipalities to cover liabilities they did not incur. According to him, funds are also being blocked and the implementation of local projects is being obstructed.

“Municipalities do not belong to mayors, but to citizens,” Rama said in his statement.

In his full post, he said that all municipal mayors are united today and that they will protest together outside the Kurti Government in September.

According to Rama, the mayors of Kosovo’s municipalities gathered to oppose the ongoing legal violations and what he described as the Kurti Government’s totalitarian approach toward local government.

He recalled the warning made during the local election campaign that municipalities not governed by Vetëvendosje would not be allocated funding. Rama believes that this statement is now turning into a dangerous practice through the blocking of funds, the obstruction of projects and the financial punishment of municipalities not under the government’s control.

The mayor of Pristina reiterated that more than €344 million has been taken from municipalities since 2022 to cover liabilities they did not incur themselves.

He stressed that funds are being kept frozen, while investments that rightfully belong to citizens are being obstructed.

According to Rama, political and financial pressure is being used in an attempt to subjugate the local level of government.

Rama reiterated that municipalities are not the property of mayors, but belong to citizens.

He said that when the Government obstructs a municipality simply because it is not governed by Vetëvendosje, it is not targeting a mayor. According to him, this deprives citizens of a road, a nursery, a school or a service solely because of how they voted.

In conclusion, Rama described this approach as primitive, discriminatory and dangerous for democracy. He said citizens cannot be divided into the categories of “with us” and “with them,” while public funds cannot be blocked based on the electoral map.