Tag: Kosovo

On October 17, 2017, Kosovo’s Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel, ECAP, delivered fines worth a total of 18 thousand euros to four political entities as a result of BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova’s written complaints regarding alleged violations of the Law on Elections during the local election campaign.

As a result of the panel’s decision, the new Kosovo political party Alternativa has received a fine for 1,200 euros; The Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, has received two fines adding up to 6,300 euros (one fine for 3,100 euros, and the other for 3,200 euros); The Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, received three fines worth 7,500 euros (one fine for 2,000 euros, another for 2,500, and another for 3,000 euros); and finally, The New Kosovo Alliance, AKR, was fined 3,000 euros.

This decision follows several previous decisions by ECAP to reprimand political parties for violating Kosovo’s Law on Elections following complaints from BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova.

KALLXO.com will report on each decision individually in the coming days

What do the citizens of Podujeva expect from their future mayor?

 

The future mayor of Podujeva will struggle to solve the problems with water, sewage systems, waste, public transport, education and street infrastructure with only five million euros.

The KALLXO.com investigation into municipal issues, which lasted several months in the villages and the city of Podujeva, identified a range of problems that await solutions from the municipal government.

There are two waste collection companies in the municipality of Podujeva. However, the municipality still has serious problems with illegal waste disposals.

There are illegal waste disposals within the city, also located on school grounds.

Data shows that the former local government built around 25 kilometers of sewage systems. However, the system is not spread around all inhabited areas.

The KALLXO.com investigation shows that all sewage systems of the city and of the 41 villages end up contaminating the flow of the Llap River, which was used by farmers to water their cultivations for a long time.

The Batllava Lake, which is one of the main basins from which Prishtina and a few other municipalities receive water supply, is located in the region of Podujeva. However, Podujeva is discriminated in terms of being supplied with water. The lack of drinkable water, especially during summer, is considered a huge problem in Podujeva. Fitorja and Dumnica e Poshtme Streets, despite the fact that they are linked to the water supply system, still do not receive water. Villages such as Zakuti, Doberdoli, Kerpimehi and Revuq are not even linked to the water supply system.

The audit stated that the water supply project “Vrella” has not been finished since 2009. The citizens have contributed by 71 thousand euros for this project, but it hasn’t been functionalized yet. The begun project in 2009, costing 331,336 euros, co-financed by the citizens with 71,600 euros.

Infrastructure and urbanization

The investigation shows that Podujeva has problems with infrastructure, urbanization, illegal constructions and municipal property usurpations.

During the investigation, was evident that the villages of Lupç, Shajkoc, Sveçël, Balloc, Metergoc, Ballaban, Kushevicë have problems with streets.

Within the municipal governance, Podujeva has problems with municipal property usurpations. KALLXO.com has asked for the usurpers list and the list of illegal constructions. However, no such list was received with the excuse that it is “being updated”.

According to the audit report, the Municipality of Podujeva has not verified 1/3 of the real estate, as required by the Law on Taxation of Real Estate no. 03/L-204 and the Administrative Order no. 03/2011 for the Collection and Registration of Information on the Property and Tax-Payers. For this reason, the Municipality of Podujeva has failed to collect the debts from offering these properties for use.

Health and social welfare

There are 21 clinics built for the 78 villages of the municipality and for the city. Two of them are located in the city, and 19 are located in villages. Only two clinics work 24/7, whereas the others work only on one shift.

Podujeva has in total 19 clinics in the following villages: Majac, Bradash, Shajkoc, Herticë, Dobratin, Llapashticë, Lupç, Lluzhan, Orllan, Batllavë, Dyz, Halabak, Sveçël, Shajkovc, Gllamink, Dumnicë, Kërpimeh, Murgull and Bajçinë.

The Main Center for Family Medicine, after being governed by an acting head for six years, has been assigned a director only recently. The Emergency Center does not fulfill the requirements and the expectations of citizens. The majority of health labs of this municipality are out of function.

Budget, money management and usurped propertied

According to the genera audit, the business debt toward the municipality is up to 3.6 million euros. Recently, apart from the fact that the municipality has not collected the multi-million-euro debt, it has decided to decrease different municipal taxes by 50 per cent.

The audit says that the capital investments budget was spent by 85 per cent, while the spending of own source entries was only 59 per cent.

Podujeva has a budget of 19 million euros, out of which five million are allocated for capital investments. The municipality of Podujeva has collected 230 thousand euros less than it had planned for year 2016.

For the years 2015 and 2016, the audit found that the municipality of Podujeva has problems with collecting debts for the properties it has let on rent.

The directorate of property, cadaster, and geodesy has had stagnations in drafting contracts for the properties it has given for rent, since most of the liabilities according to the contracts have not been fulfilled by users, the report states. Apart from this, the municipality has not registered 1/3 of its properties, and as a consequence, it does not manage to collect the revenues from taxes and rents.

Will the future mayor of Drenas manage to solve its many problems?

The future mayor of Drenas, a municipality famous for its metal processing, will have to confront many challenges, from illegal constructions to the health care sector.

The municipality, located in the center of Kosovo, has 73 thousand inhabitants. Currently, Drenas is dealing with an emergency clinic that has been turned into a disposal for animal food, 14,081 illegal constructions, and damages to water sources and the environment.

BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates) tackled this issue and others during KALLXO.com’s investigative research and the subsequent municipal debate.

The data shows that the governance of Drenas has managed to collect 1.1 million euros of revenues, in comparison to Suhareka, a municipality of similar size, which collected 1.9 million euros. The central governance of Drenas has built an industrial park which has potential for the development of the municipality. A challenge for the upcoming mayor will be the treatment of sewage systems deriving from of the park. Sewage from this park ends up in Korretica, which leads to environment contamination.

The other generator of jobs in Drenas, the processing of Ferronickel, in the past two years has faced problems due to the decrease of the price of nickel in the stock market. The current government has decided to exempt the company from municipal taxes in order to make the continuance of work possible. After the local elections, the debate as to whether these taxes will proceed will continue, along with the expectation that the increase of investments and subsidies in agriculture will occur.

Illegal constructions and infrastructure

The mayor of Drenas will have to address the challenge of illegal acts in the construction business.

KALLXO.com’s research shows that Drenas has 14,081 illegal constructions and six constructions that exceeded the high limit n the existing apartments of the city.

The control of these buildings will be able to bring thousands of euros of revenues to the municipality.

When it comes to infrastructure, Drenas has a huge problem with parking lots, because the space near the bus station that is used for parking floods when it rains.

The residents of the villages of Dobroshevc, Bainca, Gllanasella, and Abri struggle with a lack of sidewalks. This is especially frightening because children have to walk on the streets on their way to school.

The traffic at the entrance and exit of the city and the dangerous railway remain a challenge in the city’s infrastructure. Several deaths have been recorded due to this insecurity.

The problems with infrastructure extend further when it comes to the water supply and sewage system.

Only 35.7 per cent of the residents have access to drinkable water, while 27 residencies do not have access to the public water supply system at all.

KALLXO.com’s investigation revealed that Drenas has 31 schools and one kindergarten. 29 of the schools work in two shifts. A challenge for the new mayor will be to double the space for schools in order to allow schools work in one regular shift.

Health and social welfare

The municipality has still not finished building a new health clinic in the village Negrovc or dividing parcels of land for the families of war veterans. Three mandates ago, the municipal government promised to build the veteran’s street by dividing land banks and promising the development of infrastructure on this street. The project continues to remain on paper, serving as a promise to win votes.

The investigation also shows that there are 73 thousand inhabitants who are not provided with services such as mammography and ultrasounds.

The images of the center of family medicine show that there is lack of equipment, while the beds are too old and the bathrooms are not clean.

The mayor will also be expected to functionalize the center of family medicine in the village of Negrovc. The constructions began four years ago, and the building cost the municipality 45 thousand euros. It was built on the property of a resident who was promised that his property would be compensated. After the failure of negotiations, the property owner stopped the work, while the building, which was an investment of the municipality, is now used as a disposal for animal food products

What challenges will the next mayor of Gjakova face?

The Municipality of Gjakova once had 26 factories, which today have become supermarkets or warehouses. Gjakova was once an economic powerhouse in Kosovo and today has major problems with economic development. But the problems do not stop there.

The citizens of Gjakova have problem with illegal waste disposals and the contamination of beautiful rivers in the municipality. Meanwhile, construction of the new biomass central heating has not started yet, despite the noises that were caused years ago.

Gjakova’s airport is out of function, while the industrial park to develop the free economic zone is absent. The Municipality of Gjakova also has a serious problem with parking lots and sidewalks.

The environment

Gjakova has poor waste management. There is an absence of waste containers, and garbage is present in almost every area of the city.

A big portion of the area of “Çarshia e Vjeter” and of the city does not have enough containers. Also, in the “Shkugza” zone, there are illegal waste disposals. In the “Rezina” street, the excrements pass through houses, whereas in the Krena River, which passes through the city, waste and water irrigation are poured continuously.

Residents of Brekoc Street have a different concern. Since 2005, they’ve faced flooding. The houses in this area, located on Patriot Berisha and Hajdar Salihu Streets, are flooded after heavy rain, causing considerable material damages to housing equipment, inventories, and nutrition.

Economics and finances

Gjakova finished 2016 with a budget of 19.4 euros. It has planned capital investments in 2016 worth 5 million and 74 thousand euros. However, it had managed to spend only 3.7 million euros, or 73 per cent of the planned budget. Also, the audit had stated that in 2016, the real annual expenses for capital investments were only 2.4 million euros because Gjakova was obliged to pay 918 euros of accumulated debts from the previous years.

The airport of Gjakova has turned into a public enterprise after it was transferred from the KFOR Italian command. Yet this airport has not been launched for use, and it brings a risk of theft millions of euros in equipment within it, because for a long time, there was not even a guard. Not only did this public enterprise fail to serve as a catalyst for country’s economic development, but it has become a barrier of Kosovo institutions to maintain its assets which are worth around 8 million euros.

The heating system for Gjakova was promised to be finished within this mandate, but the problems appeared in finding a location and the refusal of the government to give the property.

Culture and sports

Gjakova has the Music Museum in Çarshia e Vjeter. However, today it is in a miserable condition. KALLXO.com investigative reporters have found that this museum, the only one in Kosovo of its kind, is destroyed and is not being maintained.

The stadium on Dardania Street, which was used for decades by the entire neighborhood, is now privatized and the area has been left without a stadium, while the football club Dardanet, which used to play its matches there, is running for the Second Kosovo League. The residents have signed a petition, but a solution has not been found.

Sidewalks and parking lots

Gjakova has absence of parking lots and as a consequence, the cars park on the sidewalks. The parked cars disturb the free move of pedestrians and compromise their safety.

Little has been invested in Gjakova from the central level regarding infrastructure. Gjakova has also been left behind with the expanding of entrances and exits of the city, whereas the connection of two highways to Prishtina and Prizren has not been done yet.

The Kramovik Bridge connects Klina and Gjakova and is used as the main destination to enter Gjakova from the direction of Peja and Prishtina as well. The bridge was damaged in the summer of 2013 from rain and floods. The bridge has had a few interventions to be fixed, but it is still dangerous.

 

Known for its history and national renaissance in the 19^th century, Kaçanik now suffers from environmental degradation.

The riverside downtown area has become an attraction for many residents of the municipality. Palm trees were planted in this cold environment, which today are dried up; furthermore, the downtown area has problems with waste landfills, sewage, and infrastructure.

The two rivers of the municipality, Nerodime and Lepenc, are polluted by sewage, destroying its living beings.

The villages of Kaçanik si Doganaj, Elezaj, Koxhaj, Duraj – Gabrricë, Bajnicë, and Gërlicë e Epërme still have issues with the irrigation system, while the touristic village of Shtrazë continues to function with no water system.

In the villages of Stagovë, Provoli and Dubravë, the citizens have self-financed the construction of the irrigation system.

The KALLXO.com investigative research team has found that the city lack trash bins, and the trash, as such, is thrown about.

Although the municipality has allocated around 10 thousand euros for setting up informational tables to raise awareness about illegal waste disposal, the KALLXO.com research team has identified some places close to these tables loaded with waste.

KALLXO.com has identified 35 waste landfills across the municipality of Kaçanik, 17 of which were removed from the municipality, while 18 continue to be filled with waste.

The research shows that in places where rivers are polluted by sewage, citizens have serious issues with drinking water supply.

The data collected by the municipality itself, show that 41 per cent of Kaçanik’s residents have water supply issues, considering that the municipality has not provided a connection with a water supplier.

Villages such as Gajre, Gjurgjedell, Korbliq, Kotlinë, Llanishtë, Nikoc, Ivajë and Drenogllavë are not connected to a water supplier.

Road Infrastructure

The KALLXO.com investigation has revealed that the residents of the village of Begracë have complained that the road within the neighborhoods of Gash, Kuqishtë and Jahaj are not paved.

The municipality also lacks sidewalks and public lightning in the villages as well as within the suburbs of the city.

The General Auditor, who found that on February 2^nd, 2016, the municipality of Kacanik secured a contract worth 53 thousand euros for the maintenance of local roads, has provided its remarks on the given municipality. According to the auditor, the municipality of Kacanik implemented this project within six months although the contract’s timeline was one year.

As it was written on the General Auditor’s 2016 report on Kacanik, “this comes as a result of improper planning of costs, considering that the municipality needs to complete the road maintenance throughout the entire year, both during summer and winter. This has imposed an additional cost to the municipality considering that the municipality secured another contract with another operator.”

The next mayor of the municipality will be expected to address the existing problems in the municipality.

Kaçanik has a budget of 6.6 million euros, out of which only 494 thousand euros are self-generated revenues.

This municipality also has problems with budget surplus: the problem is not the lack of money, but the municipality simply did not know how to spend it. According to the auditor, seven capital projects that were planned to be implemented in 2016 were not even in the initial phase during the completion of the auditor’s report in early 2017.  This municipality tolerates debtors, even those who use municipal property without paying debts.

What are the problems and challenges that the next mayor of Rahovec will face?

Based on a Life in Kosovo investigation, the problems of the residents of Rahovec are not little compared to the territory this municipality has. Inhabited by 76 thousand residents, the Rahovec Municipality has a budget worth 11.5 million euros, out of which 3.5 million were allocated for capital investments in 2016. The long list of problems the citizens of Rahovec deal with cannot be solved within one mandate, with a budget of 3.5 million euros for capital investments.

Education and kindergarten

 

The municipality of Rahovec has 42 school buildings in total, and around 12 thousand students enrolled in elementary and high schools. The auditor has noted complaints about the huge number of teachers fired from their jobs. For this, the Work Inspectorate fined the Municipality of Rahovec twice in 2014. The Director of Education was accused for misuse of official duty.

Apart from this, KALLXO.com researchers have revealed the lack of cabinets within professional schools, which were initially planned to have cabinets for practical exercises. The municipality of Rahovec has a professional school, and there are 400 students attending classes within this school. The school has a new building, which lacks the relevant cabinets for practical exercises for students. In the beginning of the school’s construction, the building was projected to have cabinets for food technology, information technology, electro, machinery and agriculture. The school has none of the abovementioned classrooms, expert for the food technology, which was recently built.

In the recent years, the huge number of student absences in schools was identified as an issue. In 2016 (during the first and second semesters), Rahovec’s Education Directorate documented 208,903 student absences during classes.

Rahovec has demolished the old kindergarten building in order to build a new building in better conditions. The students are currently attending an improvised kindergarten.

In the municipality of Rahovec, there are three other requests submitted by residents for opening kindergartens. One of the requests is from the village of Krushë e Madhe, the next from the village of Ratkoc, and the last one from Xërxë. So far, the municipality has not included the opening of new kindergartens in its budget or plans.

Infrastructure, water, and the bus station

 

There are still villages in Rahoves that are not connected to the water supplier. The Zone in the Neighborhood 3 in Rahovec has a water supply network, but lacks drinking water. This problem was brought up by the residents of the villages through a petition.

The workings of the process of water supplying have recently started within three villages.

The village of Kaznik lacks a water supply network, while workings have started in the villages of Guri i Kuq, Palluzhë, Pastasellë and Zatriq, and the first phase of networking is completed. However, these three villages lack drinking water. The drilling was completed in the village of Pastasellë, and the basin for drinking water supply for this village was built. According to the analyses conducted during Smajl Latifi’s mandate, water was drinkable, while during the mandate of Idriz Vehapit, water was non-drinkable.

The municipality of Rahovec has inherited the problem with the bus station. Its ownership is still unresolved.  The bus station is legally a property of the Kosovo Privatization Agency, but technically is managed by the municipality. The municipality has not taken any measures to resolve the status of this company.

The “Life in Kosovo” team has found that there is a risk that old buildings will collapse in Rahovec. A relatively large number of buildings within the different parts of the city are dated and might collapse, and could threaten citizens’ safety. The municipality has not taken any protective measures yet for the reparation and preservation of these buildings. Apart from this, the villages of Rahovec lack public lighting, as well as sidewalks in some particular areas.

 

Budget and agriculture

Rahovec is the capital of agriculture. It is known for grape and vegetable production.  For a few years now, farmers were faced with damage from frost, hall, and floods, and they never received the compensation they deserved.  A large part of agricultural lands is under the irrigation system, but there are still parts outside of it, especially the hilly part, right where the vineyards are. Rahovec has a budget of 11.5 million euros, 3.5 million of which were spent on capital investments in 2016.

Rahovec has a basketball team competing in the first league of Kosovo, but unfortunately, the municipality has no sports hall. The construction of the sports hall in the Municipality of Rahovec began in 2008, is not finished yet. The workings completed so far have begun to get damaged. This sports hall is transformed into a shelter for dogs, and is frequented by drug addicts.

The obelisk of war in Gradish, which up to now, has cost more than 400 thousand euros, is in a similar state. Initially projected as a war memorial, which was also supposed to be a museum and an area for various festivals, looks more like a ruin today.

What solutions will the next mayor of Kamenica bring for the municipality’s problems?  

The Municipality of Kamenica, inhabited by 36 thousand people, has the least investments of any Kosovo municipality. For the next four years, Kamenica has allocated only 124 thousand euros for capital investments; Kacanik, which has a similar number of residents, has allocated 1.1 million.

Kamenica has no gynecologists, and consequently, women are forced to travel to Gjilan in order to give birth and receive gynecological check-ups.  Kamenica, too, is among the municipalities that have issues with the lack of essential medications. This problem is mostly faced by those diagnosed by diabetes, who struggle with the municipality’s lack of insulin.  The unemployment rate in Kamenica is 35 per cent, and residents are in need of social care.

In Kamenica’s education sector, there are many issues with staff recruitment and class division. Two years ago, in the absence of funding and support, the football tournament that has been organized since after the Kosovo War had unfortunately stopped being held. Moreover, athletics champions of Rogana, who represented the Republic of Kosovo at the Olympics, were supported by the municipality with only 4,500 euros this year.

BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates) discussed these issues and others with Kamenica’s mayoral candidates.

 

Kamenica, a municipality with no gynecologists

In Kamenica, three years ago, the sole gynecologist retired; since then, the municipality has had no gynecologist. For some time, some gynecologists from Gjilan worked on a rotational basis, and left the job in order to fulfill the needs of Gjilan hospital. There have been no gynecological check-up, let alone births, in Kamenica over the past few years, causing residents to travel to Gjilan.

Part-time teachers
Another issue in regards to healthcare is the supply of the essential medications. According to the Municipality of Kamenica, although the Ministry of Health is authorized to complete the given duty, MFMC often purchases basic (urgent) material with the municipal budget.  Diabetic patients suffer the consequences the most, considering that their health needs require insulin, and sometimes such medications are absent at MFMC due to insufficient supply.

 

According to KALLXO.com’s and the GAP Institute’s research, many school buildings in Kamenica need renovation. There are 10 schools with fewer than 25 students, while some students are obliged to walk in dangerous, mountainous terrains to attend classes.
Today, in the village of Lisockë, within a building constructed in the late 1970s, there are only 20 students attending classes, with three or four students per classroom. In the school of the Meshinë village, there are only three students; in the village of Kranidel, there are four students, and there are also four students in Dazhnica. There are 10 schools in total that have less than 25 students.

In the education system of the Municipality of Kamenica, there are also problems in regards to staff recruitment and class division. Due to the large number of teachers engaged, the average work rate is below 40 hours per week. Also, trying to hire as many teachers as possible, the municipality has increased the number of employees in schools, and thus reducing salaries for teachers.

During the local election debate in 2013, the Kamenica Mayor, Begzad Sinani, promised, among other things, to construct a school in the village of Krilevë. In 2016, Sinani, in the middle of his mandate, promised that the given school will be built in 2017, but this has not happened yet.

During the past four years, municipal student scholarships were granted only once. These scholarships were awarded in 2015, from which about 100 students benefited.

A theater hall for commemorative meetings

Kamenica has issues with culture and sports too.  The main problem ensembles and other cultural groups face in the Municipality of Kamenica appears to be the lack of financial resources, which would serve to support professional and technical preparation, including residents’ participation in festivals and ensemble-related activities. The Municipality of Kamenica stated that they have tried to support culture groups, and the average annual amount going towards them during the last four years was around 5,000 euros per year.
The theater hall located in Kamenica’s cultural house is not used for theatrical performances, but for political parties’ meetings and commemorative meetings.

In the absence of funding for the past two years, the municipal power has terminated the largest sports activity, which has been held in this municipality since the post-war period. In honor of the Liberation Day of the city, on June 18, the Directorate for Culture and Sport in Kamenica for many years organized the football tournament. This sports activity lasted about 20 days, and the final match was held on June 18, which marked the city’s liberation day.

The Athletic Club “Rogana” remains one of the most successful athletics clubs in Kosovo. Out of the seven participants in the Summer Olympic Games Rio 2016, two participants, Musa Hajdari and Vijona Kryeziu, came from the “Rogana” athletics club.

According to a research conducted by the GAP Institute, the Kamenica Municipality has allocated only 4,500 euros a year to this club, which is 375 euros per month to support the whole club.

 

Only 124 thousand euros for capital investments

Compared to other municipalities, Kamenica is the municipality with the lowest level of capital investments. In 2016, Kamenica realized only 281 thousand euros of capital investment, while this year, it planned only 124 thousand euros, or 3.44 euros per capita. The previous amount is only 1.7 per cent of the municipal budget, which is very little compared to other municipalities, that generally invest 29 per cent of the budget. The huge number of employees remains one of the reasons for this, considering the prevalence of over-employment within the administration and education sectors.
In Kamenica, there is one civil servant employed in administration sector in relation to 156 residents, who is supposed to provide services for 156 inhabitants, while the average in the country is one civil servant for 278 inhabitants. The student-teacher ratio in Kamenica is 12 to 1, while the average in the country is 29.9. According to MEST, the optimal number should be 21.

The municipality also does not properly cover rents. According to the auditor, out of 7 public spaces that have been leased by Municipality of Kamenica, the given municipality has lost over 90 thousand euros due to the non-collection of rent. The auditor has also revealed that the municipality has no mechanisms for applying fines for late-payment delays.

Villages with no sidewalks

Kamenica has managed to pave the road in the city center, and in the main parts of the city. However, based on KALLXO.com’s and the GAP Institute’s research, infrastructure continues to be a problem for this municipality. At a gathering in the village of Topanica, during the electoral campaign in 2013, Begzad Sinani promised the construction and expansion of the bridge at the entrance of the village. However, it was not constructed in 2017 either, and the lack of an expansion continues to make it impossible for two vehicles to pass at the same time.

The village of Hodonoc is need of roads and asphalt, as well as the village of Topanicë, right where the mosque and 30 houses are located, including the road Shipashnicë e Epërme – Desivojcë, and the road across the the river in the Koretin village. The road in the Lagjja Bugaqku neighborhood in Koretin also needs to be paved.

The villages of Kopernica, both Upper and Lower Shipashnicë, Muçivercë, Topanica, Busavata, Krilevo, Strezoc, Ruboc, and Petroc have no sidewalks. Also, in the neighborhood of Çamëria and Malësia in Kamenica, the sidewalks are narrow. The Stralica and Bosce villages, inhabited by Serbs, have no sidewalks either. In the meantime, the Rogane village has incomplete sidewalks in some of its neighborhoods.

 

 

 

 

What problems in Suhareka will the mayor have to solve after October 22?

BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime has been diving deep into municipal issues in the days leading up to Kosovo’s local elections. In Suhareka, KALLXO.com’s investigative research team has uncovered a myriad of citizen concerns that this municipality’s next mayor should address.

There were five candidates present at the debate in Suhareka: Bali Muharremaj of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Blerim Xhemajli for the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Kadri Balaj of NISMA, Sali Asllanaj of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), and Sali Zyba from Vetevendosje. Each candidate presented their promises and platforms to their potential voters.

During this past mandate, the Municipality of Suhareka has been run by Asllanaj from LDK.

The KALLXO.com team have found that the city of Suhareka has a few regulatory plans that were approved in the Municipality Assembly during the previous mandate. However, the Ministry of Environment has withdrawn all of them, since the plans were drafted without taking the municipal development plan into consideration.

The field research has shown that in the city of Suhareka, there are in total nine regulatory plans drafted, but they have failed and have caused huge financial losses. The field findings show that apart from the villages of Samadrexhe, Studenqan and Mushtisht, the other remaining villages do not have regulatory plans at all.

The field team has found that the Municipality of Suhareka, despite the investments in roads, has not managed to eliminate traffic jams.

The most crowded road is the one from the Balkan Factory to Shiroka, then the transit road that links to Skenderbeu Street, and then the main road, Brigada 123. The city of Suhareka has a major issues with lack of parking lots. The citizens park their cars everywhere, while the pedestrians do not have sidewalks to walk on.

The lack of parking lots for cars causes problems throughout the entire year, but the problem becomes more concerning during summer when the diaspora visits.

The KALLXO.com field research shows that drinkable water continues to be an issue for the citizens of Suhareka. Twelve villages of Suhareka still do not have a water supply network.

The city also has problems with drinkable water supply, especially during summer because there is no drinking water supply. This makes the lives of Suhareka citizens harder.

Based on the data collected, the following villages do not have access to water or have issues with water supply: Nishor, Gelancë, Leshan, Tërrnje, Budakovë, Dobërdelan, the city street of Reqan, and Bukoshi.

Further, based on the field research, Suhareka has problems with illegal waste disposals. The team located zones within the city and in villages across the streets where illegal waste disposals were apparent.

Based on the data, Suhareka foresaw building a waste disposal and the location for this disposal was even located, but no investment has been made yet. The city is full of illegal waste disposals, some of which are found in lakes.

The KALLXO.com team has found that out of the 30 schools in Suhareka, only three of them have Chemistry and Physics labs, while only six schools have a sports hall. The research has shown that the city schools are in need of more space due to an increasing number of students.

Suhareka continues to have only one public kindergarten. The kindergarten building is too old, and the municipality has not invested in any other location in order to build other kindergartens. The single public kindergarten is located on a disputable property, and some of the building remains to be dysfunctional due to a property dispute that is currently in court.

Another problem related to education in Suhareka is the court sums that the Municipal Directorate of Education has with its retired staff. There are also cases when the Court has returned the staff to work. For instance, there was a school director in the village Sallagrazhde and one female teacher in Suhareka.

KALLXO.com’s investigation shows that the municipality of Suhareka has problems in the field of health, with several emergency clinics out of function. This is mainly due to the lack of staff, because the municipality has not had the means to hire doctors and other staff personnel in these clinics. As a consequence, there is an overload of patients at the Main Center of Family Medicine in Suhareka.

The findings show that Suhareka has had issues with implementing projects and their own source of revenues. Out of the total budget of this municipality, 12.7 million euros, 3.3 are allocated to capital investments. The bulk of this budget is a grant from the government, while the revenues of the municipality of Suhareka in 2016, according to the audit, have been only 1.1 million euros. Hence, Suhareka also has budgetary problems.

Because Suhareka has not managed to implement its projects on time, the citizens of this city face problems such as potholes, lack of drinkable water, lack of sewage systems, and so forth.

Despite the huge potential for agriculture and tourism development, the municipality of Suhareka allocates only 5 per cent of its capital investment budget for these vital sectors related to economic development. Meanwhile, Suhareka allocates over 50 per cent of its capital investment budget to paving roads.

The Municipality of Suhareka has not regulated the public transport within the city. As such, the citizens travel via private minibuses, and residents in villages use private bus companies.

 

What problems will the mayor of Vushtrri have to face after this year’s local elections?

Vushtrri, which has around 65 thousand residents, is known for its historical monuments such as the Castle of Vushtrri, the Hamam, the Stone Bridge, and the House of Mahmut Agë Gjinolli; however, it also has several basic problems with its cultural heritage. These monuments do not receive institutional care. Months ago, the Castle of Vushtrri was about to be turned into a restaurant by the uncle of the current mayor, Bajram Mulaku, while 36 blocks fell from the Stone Bridge this year.

Residents also face basic problems in their day-to-day lives: Vushtrri has still not had its dream of having drinkable water come true.

Water and irrigation

This city still has problems with drinkable water, even after the water factory was built last year.

Seventy per cent of the villages are connected to the water irrigation system. While for the water supply network, apart from the city, only 30 per cent of the neighborhoods are connected.

Most of the villages of Vushtrri still are not connected to the water supply system and to the water irrigation. The villages that are further on the outskirts of the city have always had to receive their water supply from alternative sources. Meanwhile, sewage coming from villages that are not connected to the irrigation system is poured in the Sitnica River.

The project for building the water factory was finished in May 2016. This project cost around 8 million euros, granted by the Government of Kosovo. According to the project, this factory is supposed to produce 350 liters per second. However, even after this factory was built, citizens complained about the water supply, and those who live in villages still do not receive water supply from the network.

For three mandates in a row, Mayor Bajram Mulaku promised to provide drinkable water. During BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates), the mayor abandoned this promise, and the three other candidates running for this mandate are still promising to provide water supply.

The water supply network lies in 11 villages of the eastern part of Mitrovica, which is supposed to be connected to the Vushtrri-Grace highway, which is being financed by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and is worth around 400 thousand euros.

Illegal waste disposals

The Municipality of Vushtrri has problems with 11 illegal waste disposals, whereas only 57 per cent of the citizens receive waste collection services.

The citizens of this municipality thus dump their waste into illegal landfills, because only half of the family economies in Vushtrri are offered waste collection services.

Some of these disposals are in the villages of Studime, Maxhunaj, and Reznik, and the biggest disposal is in Pestova, where waste from potato production is disposed.

According to the municipality, during 2017, 57 illegal waste disposals were found in the municipality of Vushtrri, out of which 46 were eliminated. Hence, based on the general number of family economies in the municipality, currently, 57 per cent of them are offered the service of waste collection.

Education, schools, and kindergarten infrastructure

In Vushtrri, only 3 of the 35 schools have labs, and only 2 of them have sports halls.

By the beginning of the new academic school year, this municipality stopped the transport of students due to lack of funds. Around 90 per cent of the villages of this city need transport.

Vushtrri has only one public kindergarten, while for a 4 year mandate, no such building was built.

During this mandate, the municipality of Vushtrri built three schools.

Health

Vushtrri has an emergency clinic, but it does not have enough staff. Despite this, a vacancy announced just before the elections was canceled with the excuse of the current Mayor Bajram Mulaku that the opposition can accuse him for “hiring campaigners during election times.”

Vushtrri has 19 health centers, but there is only one Main Family Center which works seven days per week and with two shifts. All other centers do not work on weekends and their working schedule is only until 3:00 p.m.

In the villages of Zhilivoda and Skroma, the centers work only three hours a day and not on weekends.

The citizens of Vushtrri are currently without two dentists, three nurses, and a few other health houses employees.

However, in this sector, health director Abdullah Klinaku, a while before his mandate ended, was hired in the hospital of the city, called Sheikh Zayed. The hiring of Klinaku in this position was done two months before the cabinet of Bajram Mulaku had its mandate come to an end.

However, this municipality also has problems with a lack of therapy in health centers. In some of them, there is no doctor, with the excuse that “there is missing staff.”

Nineteen health centers are functional in Vushtrri (excluding weekends), and three of them are located in the city. These health centers have an absence of therapy services.

“In some of these centers, the doctor is not present every day because there is missing staff, and the citizens hesitate to visit these centers where there is no therapy, so they are supposed to go to the city,” the municipality said in response to inquiries.

Agriculture and the budget

Vushtrri is known for producing and processing potatoes. The huge cultivation of potatoes is also thanks to the watering system, which covers a part of the territory of this municipality. However, unfortunately, houses were built throughout the agricultural land where the watering system is, which shrank the agricultural land.

In 2017, the Municipality of Vushtrri planned a budget of around 16 million euros, 4.4 million out of which was planned for capital investments. Vushtrri, like other municipalities, has problems with budget implementation. Based on the audit report, Vushtrri has managed to implement a budget worth 14.9 million euros, 3.3 of which went to capital investments.

Gender equality

Kosovo has a law on Gender Eq1uality, which requires men and women to be equally represented at all levels. The Kosovo Ombudsperson insists that this law should be fully implemented. Apart from the fact that the political parties announced their candidacies in the capital city, no woman was announced as a candidate, and both the directorate positions and the municipal assembly fail to be divided equally?

 

Out of 12 municipal directorates, during the previous mandate, only three of them were led by women.

In the race for mayor of the municipality of Vushtrri for the October 22 elections, the following candidates are running: Abdullah Vojvoda from Nisma, Besim Muzaqi from Vetëvendosje, Ferit Idrizi from PDK, Lutfi Bilalli from AAK, Nasuf Aliu from AKR, and Xhafer Tahiri from LDK.

What are the problems that the next mayor of Shtime will face in the aftermath of October 22^nd?

Illegal landfills, illegal constructions, lack of drinking water, including the basic issues with bus parking lots, are the challenges the next mayor of Shtime will face.

As a municipality with 27 thousand inhabitants, Shtime has 6 thousand illegal constructions, 8 illegal waste landfills, and since its establishment, the municipality has no bus stations.

The citizens of Shtime do not enjoy a special transport line to Prishtina, while the roads are overcrowded.

According to his magical wand of promises, the next mayor of the municipality manages 1.5 million euros to solve the existing problems of Shtime.

Money will certainly not be enough to solve all of the existing problems, and therefore, the municipality will face the challenge of prioritizing investments.

The municipality will face the challenge of eliminating waste landfills.

The river of Shtimjan, as photographed during the electoral campaign, is covered in waste.

The problems with waste and irrigation system are not faced only by the city of Shtime, but also the villages around.

The villages of Carralevë, Reçak, Pjetërshticë and Vojnoc have not fully completed the irrigation system yet.

The municipality of Shtime has drafted the plan for waste management, and it has allocated a specific parcel for solid waste. Shtime, according to municipal authorities, has eliminated around 20 illegal landfills across different neighborhoods, and are continuously eliminating such landfills.

Shtime has around 8 small illegal landfills, however, it remains impossible to determine the right number of existing landfills due to its continuous creation and elimination.

KALLXO.com investigation shows that Shtime has issues with water supply. During summer, the city faces water shortages, while the villages of Llanisht, Topillë, Devetak, Dugë and Karaqicë have no water supply network.

The water reservoir, which was initially foreseen to supply with water the villages of Pjetërshticë and Carralevë, is built in the middle of the given villages. However,the village of Pjetërshticë is not supplied at all with water, although the villagers have paid 70 euros each for having access to a water source.

The city with 6 thousand illegal constructions

The municipality of Shtime has around 6000 illegal constructions, while the next mayor will face the challenge of legalizing constructions along with determining relevant taxes. Based on the answers delivered by the municipality, there are around 6000 illegal buildings constructed during the process of legalization, including villages. On Urbanization, the most overcrowded streets are the following: “Tahir Sinani” “Mic Sokoli” and “Imer Devetaku.

Our research shows that the citizens of Shtime wait for their bus from there to here.

The municipality with no gynecologist, dentist, and pediatrician

 

Although the municipality of Shtime has invested within the health sector, this municipality lacks gynecologists, dentists, and public pediatrician.

The Family Medical Centers are classified as centers of basic health, and as such, the citizens of this municipality should travel to Ferizaj in order to receive the services of the gynecologist and dentist.

The emergency services are only functional within one village, while residents of other villages should travel for emergency cases.