Rama in Elbasan: The municipalities that merge will operate as cities, while services will not be reduced

Prime Minister Edi Rama held his latest meeting with citizens in Elbasan as part of the public consultation on the administrative-territorial reform. In his remarks, he focused on how the reorganization of local government units would affect public services and economic and social development.

According to Rama, the merger of Elbasan with Cërrik and Belsh, as well as that of Librazhd with Prrenjas, will not be accompanied by the closure or reduction of existing services.

“Today in Elbasan, where the Administrative-Territorial Reform will bring about the mergers of Elbasan–Cërrik–Belsh and Librazhd–Prrenjas, creating new prospects for sustainable economic and social development,” Rama said.

Prime Minister Rama said that the concerns and objections expressed today were similar to those heard in 2015, when the first administrative-territorial reform was implemented.

He said that at the time there had also been fears, doubts and hesitations similar to those being expressed today, with the difference that this time the merger involved municipalities, rather than communes with municipalities.

Rama stressed that subsequent developments showed that the concerns raised in 2015 were not based on facts, since all the communes benefited from the merger.

“All the figures show that investment increased and, overall, services improved,” he said.

The prime minister also clarified that the current municipalities would not be transformed into administrative units, as part of the public perception suggests.

If Prrenjas merges with Librazhd, it will not have the status of an administrative unit of the Municipality of Librazhd. Similarly, after merging with Elbasan, Cërrik and Belsh will not operate as administrative units of that municipality.

For this reason, Rama said, the new structure would establish the city as an administrative unit. The structure would consist of the municipality, the city and then the administrative units.

He added that the relationship between the city and its respective administrative units would be maintained, with the aim of ensuring the best possible coordination of services.

“None of the existing services will be reduced,” Rama declared.

According to him, the current municipalities perform fewer functions than they should, and the reform’s objective is to increase their capacities so they can provide citizens with more functions and services.