KDI: Lipjani, Drenasi, Ferizaj and Prizren - the most transparent municipalities during 2023

Lipjani, Drenasi, Ferizaj and Prizren have been declared the most transparent municipalities for 2023 by the Democratic Institute of Kosovo (KDI), which have been evaluated with 97 points, reports Ekonomia Online. KDI, in the framework of the program for local governance and citizen participation, this year has also reflected the level of transparency for the 38 municipalities of Kosovo for the year 2023, data that were also presented in a report entitled "Municipal Transparency".

According to the findings in this report, one of the main challenges that KDI has encountered during data collection is the malfunction of municipal websites, as well as the municipalities that have experienced significant regression due to facing challenges related to political and administrative stability are the four municipalities northern, which have negatively affected transparency and accountability.
The executive director of KDI, Ismet Kryeziu, has said that according to the findings, municipal transparency at the level of municipalities has generally shown a slight decrease compared to the report of 2022. He added that from the general data, the Municipal Assemblies have better performance. . He emphasized that the lack of transparency and accountability was shown as a cause of the specific political contexts in the four northern municipalities.

"According to the findings, municipal transparency at the level of municipalities has generally shown a slight decrease compared to the 2022 report. Therefore, it is necessary to continue the work to increase the level of transparency and accountability, to maintain and improve the stability of the level of transparency, especially in those municipalities that had a weaker performance in terms of meeting the standards. In the 24 indicators, the general data show that Municipal Assemblies have the best performance. One of the main challenges that has been in local government for years is the updating and maintenance of various websites. The municipalities in the north of Kosovo which have faced the specific political contexts that have affected political transparency and accountability", he said.

Selvije Kurti, project manager at KDI, has said that the purpose of publishing the "Municipal Transparometer" by KDI is to promote and improve transparency and accountability in the local government of Kosovo. She has said that this assessment aims to increase citizens' awareness of their rights to access information, supervision of municipal authorities and encourage participation in decision-making./EO