The Association of Municipalities of Kosovo organized a protest today outside the Government building, calling for guarantees regarding local government budgets, property and powers.

Among the protesters’ demands are coverage of obligations arising from collective agreements, funding from the central budget for the 0.5 percent rate for work experience, compensation for the consequences of flooding, and fair financial treatment for municipalities.

The Association also called for an end to central-level interference in local autonomy, as emphasized during the protest.

Deputies from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) also joined the gathering.

Meanwhile, the mayors of municipalities governed by the Vetëvendosje Movement are not taking part in the protest.

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The Association of Kosovo Municipalities has announced that it will organize a protest on September 1 at Skënderbej Square in Pristina. Through the gathering, the municipalities aim to oppose central-level interference in their powers, the burden of financial obligations, and the lack of support from institutions, KosovaPress reports.

The protest will begin at 11:00 and, according to the chairman of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities and mayor of Ferizaj, Agim Aliu, will be peaceful, nonpartisan, and institutional in nature.

Aliu said that the municipalities’ demands are not related to special benefits, but to the implementation of laws and respect for the powers assigned to them.

Aliu: We Demand Respect for Our Powers and Institutional Treatment

“The municipalities are not asking for privileges. They are asking for what belongs to the citizens of the Republic, who are represented at the municipal level by the mayors. Our demand is the implementation of the laws, non-interference in the powers of the mayors and municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo, as well as fair and institutional treatment,” Aliu said.

The mayor of Ferizaj also said that the municipalities have long been facing financial obligations that, according to him, were created by the central level.

Aliu: Collective Agreements Have Caused Municipalities Losses of 360 Million Euros

“The first issue concerns finances and the consequences arising from collective agreements. The amount has now reached 360 million euros, which have effectively been taken from the budgets of the municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo. Unfortunately, in the history of the political functioning of municipalities and institutions in general, the largest financial outflow has been recorded precisely through collective agreements and enforcement proceedings. At the implementation stage alone, the damage amounts to 27%, or more than 100 million euros, which has led to a kind of functional bankruptcy of the municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo,” Aliu said.

He also opposed the way the salary law and the seniority allowance have been implemented, stressing that the financial consequences are being imposed on the municipalities. Aliu also mentioned the reduction in the number of teachers, which, according to him, could cost the municipalities around 24 million euros, as well as the way the performance grant is distributed. According to him, citizens and farmers are still waiting for compensation for the damage caused by floods, earthquakes, and hail.

Asked whether there would be further protests if the Government did not respond to the municipalities’ demands, Aliu said that the September 1 gathering represented only the first action. He stressed that the Association had not met with Prime Minister Albin Kurti for two years and listed the lack of institutional communication among the main obstacles to the municipalities’ work.

Aliu: We Have Not Met with Albin Kurti for Two Years

“You should bear in mind that for two years we have not met Prime Minister Albin Kurti, either in his capacity as prime minister or as acting prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo. This clearly shows how much the failure to establish institutions and institutional instability obstruct the work and commitments of the municipalities. The September 1 protest is the first step, while as the board of the Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo, we will also consider other actions in order to raise our voice more strongly about the reality, challenges, and difficulties we face in our work,” he said.

Asked whether any mayor, particularly one from the ruling party, had opposed participating in the protest, Aliu said that by the time of the conference he had received no official notice of nonparticipation.

Aliu: We Have Received No Official Notice of a Boycott of the Protest

“By the day of this press conference, we had not received any official statement that anyone would not participate in the September 1 protest, which will take place at 11:00 at Skënderbej Square. There may have been public reactions on social media, but no mayor has officially contacted the Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Kosovo. Even if a mayor does not participate, the problems remain the same. They affect both those who will be present and those who are absent, because we represent the voice of citizens through the trust they have placed in us as mayors,” Aliu concluded.

According to the Association, the mayors, their cabinets, directors, assembly members, and members of the administration are expected to participate in the September 1 protest. The gathering will be held at 11:00 at Skënderbej Square.

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Acting Minister of Local Government Administration Elbert Krasniqi has responded to statements by Sazan Ibrahimi, chairman of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, regarding the financing of municipalities.

Krasniqi described claims that the government had taken funds from the municipalities as unfounded accusations, emphasizing that without evidence, they remain mere statements.

According to him, the decision to transfer 25 percent of the unused funds to another investment program was made in accordance with legislation on public financial management.

“These funds have neither disappeared nor been taken by the ministry. They have once again been returned to the municipalities through investment projects intended to directly improve citizens’ lives. This is in accordance with the law, and that is what happened,” Krasniqi wrote.

He also stated that the Association of Kosovo Municipalities should represent and be the voice of all 38 municipalities, not just some of them.

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