UNMIK/FR/028/01
FEATURE RELEASE - 13 April 2001

Municipal Government
Dealing with Challenges at the Municipal Level

The road to successful self-governance is a long and hazardous one, filled with potholes and bumps along the way. In Suhareke and Podujeve municipalities residents have long been familiar with bumpy roads of the real kind. As their Assembly leaders take increasing responsibility for management of their respective municipalities, road repairs are just one of many issues that require decisions, money and time.

The voters in both municipalities voted for the LDK, with the party taking 30 of the 41 seats in Suhareke and 28 of 41 (plus one appointee) seats in Podujeve. In both municipalities, the President and Vice President are from the LDK. The two, now nearly monoethnic municipalities, share some similar problems, such as unemployment, and infrastructure and rebuilding needs. However, when one observes their assemblies, it is clear both have quite different approaches to municipal governance.

Suhareke: Tackling issues together
While Suhareke homes suffered a 90 per cent damage rate during the war, the municipality has bounced back strongly. In October 1999 Suhareke became the first municipality to have a parallel structure, previously appointed by Hashim Thaci's "government," be dismantled by UNMIK. Under the stewardship of Municipal Administrator, Roberto Valent, the past year saw the municipality become a model for self-governance in Kosovo. Today, UNMIK's Department of Local Administration points to the municipality as one of the most advanced in Kosovo in terms of effective municipal governance. Valent's successor, Marek Kasprzyk, a former Municipal Administrator in Dragash will be working together with the Assembly and its leaders to make further progress in putting the municipality back on its feet.
According to Assembly Vice President, Vetor Markaj, while the LDK may have an overwhelming majority, small parties initiate and pass many proposals. In its workings the Assembly, he says, gives priority to individual ideas rather than  to political background. And, at committee level, seven of the directors chosen by Roberto Valent have remained in their positions.

Vetor Markaj says the main issues the people of the municipality care about are improving infrastructure and creating better living conditions (ie. sewerage, water supply and home-rebuilding). The question of social assistance for the families of veterans who died and the elderly are also issues of concern. The problem, he feels, is that the Assembly does not have the desired level of responsibility needed to act on these issues. He cited education as an area where the central Department of Education and its local counterpart disagree on many issues. "The electorate comes to us-not to Pristina," he said. Limited budgets also serve as a constraint for municipalities where resources are being pulled in multiple directions. "When people need assistance, the Municipal Assembly should have the ability to help," says Markaj.
 
Other issues the vice president raised concerned who public services should answer to, and UNMIK appointees from Pristina. Any Western observer would view this tussle as a typical power struggle common to a democracy. A central authority, with its money and overall plan, often has points of conflict with local government, with its limited resources, yet, grandiose ideas.
 
Overall, Suhareke has a bright future. Its vineyards are famous in the region and are now exporting to Japan. The Ballkan rubber factory produces large industrial belts for machines and fills orders for foreign companies. Relations with KFOR are good and Suhareke town's once inhospitable main road now makes for smooth driving.  

Podujeve: Party politics
Podujeve has a few problems. The Municipality found itself the focus of world attention recently when a premeditated bombing claimed the lives of 11 Serbs returning to Kosovo from Serbia, although the new Assembly appropriately condemned the attack. Unemployment, traditionally high in the area, has reached dangerous proportions in the post-war period. And, while recent rains may go some way to alleviate problems, the mild winter may cause drinking water to be in short supply this summer.
 
At the same time, Podujeve has many positive features. The international Municipal Administrator, Mick Verling is a well-respected, hard-working MA and the President of the Municipal Assembly, Agim Veliu, is an affable man with ideas. The municipality's large brick factory received a DM 4 million grant from the European Union (EU) to redo the entire production line, and an Albanian investor is soon to open a private rock quarry.
At the end of March, the Assembly gathered to hold a normal session that was to include adoption of the municipal statute.

All assembled seemed satisfied with the statute except for the names of the municipality's villages. A debate began on the village names that would continue for half the session. President Veliu informed the Assembly members that Regulation 2000/45 On Self-government of Municipalities in Kosovo does not give the Assembly competence to rename villages and urged that the issue be put aside. Municipal Administrator Verling, for his part, said during a coffee break to a few Assembly members, "Urge your colleagues to move on, we may have no water this summer, we can make changes later to the statute, but we can't make water." Currently, discussions are underway to examine some village water sources, but it looks like Podujeve, along with much of Kosovo, will have to implement water restrictions.

After the Assembly meeting, President Veliu admitted that too much time was spent on the question of village names. His opinion was that the opposition wanted to discuss issues that were not in the Assembly's competence to decide. "We have to deal with what we can solve," he said. In addition to water and infrastructure issues, prominent on his list of priorities is the transformation of enterprises to increase capacity for employment and development. Mr. Veliu also spoke about the power struggles between some Departments in Pristina with local departments. "The people who elected us are putting pressure on us to fulfil our promises, but we often do not have the power to do so."

Elected for the LDK in Podujeve were two teachers Shpressa Citaku and Mynavere Abdullahu. The two say they are the youngest female Assembly members in Kosovo. They became involved in politics because they felt that women and student issues needed greater representation. Their involvement in the Assembly assures that these voices are heard.
 Incidentally, Podujeve recently received new road-patching equipment that will, hopefully, help the town fix the holes in its roads.
 
Coming elections affecting Assemblies
With Kosovo-wide elections still expected this year, the Assemblies are in the unique position of trying to run their municipalities, while establishing themselves and their parties ahead of general elections. The debate on the village names is just another part of democracy, especially in a burgeoning democracy. Political points can be scored through statements that appeal to the masses. In Suhareke, for example, most politicians will speak about their municipality as 'Therande' regardless of its official appellation. This appeals to the residents who prefer that name. Solving deeper problems takes much more time, effort and money.

Power struggles are also common features of democracy, which never disappear but usually dissipate somewhat over time. Election years are famous throughout the world for big talk and finger-pointing. The rush to give Kosovo significant self-government means that those elected to run their respective municipalities must also consider the their parties' fate in upcoming general elections.

For UNMIK Municipal Administrators, the challenge for now is to assist Assemblies in improving the lot of their municipalities, while not restricting the natural jockeying-for-influence and popularity common in democratic systems. The
Municipal Administrator is also charged with ensuring that minorities are as involved in the processes as possible. Both Suhareke and Podujeve have minority populations that were forced to flee as a result of the war. Many of these people want to return to their homes. When conditions can be created to ensure their safety-they must be allowed to return. In Podujeve, an Ashkali representative voices the issues of his community. When Serbs and other non-Albanian minorities return-they too must have a say in political life. 

Contact: David Kahrmann
(038) 504 604 Ext. 5589
E-mail: kahrmann@un.org