Assemblyman in the Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica, Betim Osmani, said that the Government of Kosovo should have a clearer strategy for the north. According to him, central institutions should consider having a ministerial office in every municipality in the north.
As the assemblyman says, this would affect the integration of the Serbian community.
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Osmani described the plan to build two new bridges as being driven by the impasse in opening the main bridge over the Ibar.
"It didn't have to go through the Municipal Assembly. It's a kind of emergency. After, let's say, a failure to open the main bridge, the central institutions have decided to build a bridge because the other bridge was in the project for regulating the height of the Ibar River and it is decorative for the citizens of both Mitrovica. The project has been ready for 15 years. Only this bridge near the Ibar Bridge is a novelty," said Osmani.
He called on institutions to be more present in the north and offer more concrete support.
"We have asked the EU, our institutions, to visit the north more often. The north needs investments that it has lacked for 26 years. When the citizens of this area do not see seriousness from the Government, and seriousness is shown through investments, then they are reluctant to integrate into Kosovar society because they do not believe that our institutions are serious about this approach that they have been offering for two years now," Osmani declared.