Tag: Kosovo

What are the responsibilities of the next mayor of Obilic in the aftermath of October 22?

Obilic has become synonymous with pollution in Kosovo. Due to coal mining and the operation of two old power plants, the Municipality of Obilic has become highly polluted.

The municipality alone cannot deal with the troubles the energy industry brings to the area, but is expected to care for the well-being of 21 thousand residents. Obilic residents have various illnesses due to the operation of the power plants, especially respiratory illnesses.

So far, Obilic has been faced with all of the pollution caused by the Kosovo Energy Cooperation, KEK, but has benefitted from nothing in return. Last year, the Kosovo Assembly approved the law for this city, which is more advantageous for the inhabitants living close to the energy industry. In the future, Obilic will have a higher budget allocated for capital investments, which will better the lives of citizens. Twenty per cent of the mining rent KEK pays will return to Obilic, or between 4 and 6 million additional euros, which varies depending on amount of coal extraction.

 

As if the troubles of the Municipality that hosts KEK were not enough, the Prishtina region’s waste is discharged into the territory of Obilic, risking the occurrence of an ecological catastrophe in the landfill of Mirash. After many years of mismanagement, the largest landfill in Kosovo represents an environmental catastrophe, and may cause irreversible water pollution.

 

Obilic also has problems with illegal waste landfills, including the lack of irrigation systems and the presence of vastly polluted rivers. The Sitnica River is now transformed into sewage collector in a few cities.

The village with no convenience store

Although the municipality has reported that they are continuously trying to eradicate the presence of sewage and illegal waste landfills, KALLXO.com has identified waste landfills in many areas of this municipality. According to the municipality, Obilic has secured a contract for the cleaning of the Sitnica River, and is currently in the process of securing another one for the Llap River.

According to this municipality, Obilic faces sewage issues in a few parts of the municipality; according to Obilic, around 80 per cent of the territory is included in the sewage system.

Some villages have basic problems related to the operation of KEK. In the past, some neighborhoods of the Hade village were displaced. Considering that a huge number of families were displaced from Hade due to inhumane living conditions, this village is currently inhabited by a small number of people. These citizens have basic problems: they have no public transport or schools, and not even convenience stores. The village of Shipitullë is in the same situation, the residents of which are expected to movie soon, as well as the villages of Sibovc and Grabovc, which are affected by the mining.

In the villages of Sibovc, Shipitull, Hade, roads are damages, especially due to the heavy vehicles movement, while in some parts there are no sidewalks of public lighting.

Complaints about kindergartens and the need for shelter

 

This municipality also has issues in the education sector. During the past mandate, a school was constructed in the village of Lajthishtë, as well as three other school annexes in Kozaricë, Mazgit i Ulët and Plementin. Nine out of 21 schools work in two shifts, and 21 schools have no labs. Obilic has one public kindergarten. The other kindergarten of the municipality, although investments have been made, is closed and not functional.

The municipality of Obilic is also inhabited by families faced with shelter issues. According to the municipality of Obilic, there are 112 families that have submitted requests for shelter. During this mandate, the municipality of Obilic has built no collective living center, despite the huge number of requests. Based on the KALLXO.com investigation, three buildings of local communities have been built in Obilic during 2009-2011. So far, none of the buildings are functional. These buildings have only demolished since its construction.

The village of Plemetin is also inhabited by members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. Based on KALLXO.com’s research, a while ago, although the municipality has built a flat to the communities, the roof of the flat caught on fire. The municipality has not taken any measures regarding the previously mentioned case.

 

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

Malisheva, with the support of the local governance, has managed to not allow its citizens to die from tick biting, which cause hemorrhagic fever. In the past few years, tick biting deaths were avoided.

However, Malisheva has many other issues, which are not to be proud of. The most challenging problem of the next mayor will be the irrigation system and sewage treatment.

Half of the population in this municipality is connected to an irrigation system, although an irrigation tube that ends at the collector, crosses through the city.

This tube is severely damages, and the sewage does not reach the collector, but is discharged into the river. This collector, which passes through the main collector from Temeqina that connects all villages of Malisheva, does not connect the villages of the municipality. As such, the collector is damaged, and entirely out of function. All sewage is discharged into the river of Mirusha, and ends in the artificial lake. This recreational lake is now transformed into a sewage collector.

In the beginning of 2016, the municipality of Malisheva, has had issued with flooding, although the issue remains prevalent even today. Moreover, in the village of Mirusha, people live their lives fearing that one day the dam, which is located by the municipality that supports the artificial lake, may explode due to the damage it has suffered.

This dam is severely damaged from the recent floods in Malisheve, which may severely threaten the lives of people residing in the neighborhood of Mirusha.

Infrastructure and Education

 

The Municipality of Malisheva has issued 53 construction permits. Only three areas of the city have regulatory plans: the neighborhood “Gërmiza”, “Goleshi” and the center of Malisheva. The rest of the zones, and the villages may construct buildings by no particular plan or regulatory. The Municipality of Malisheva still has no Municipal Development Plan. Although the plan was drafted by the executive and approved by the Municipal Assembly, it has not yet received the approval of the Ministry of Local Government Administration. In the given municipality, there is a significant lack of public lighting, specifically in the villages of Malisheva. In Caralluka, the construction was annulled about 120 meters in the most dangerous zone for children, which leads to the “Ragip Latifi” neighborhood, within which numerous students live.
The municipality continues to face problems within the education sector, although it has made investments in this particular field, specifically construction of the first kindergarten. Firing and rehiring teachers based on the decision of court decisions is another highlighted problem, while the results of the national test show that only 77% of Malisheva graduates have passed, in the first term, the national test. Contrary to the given municipality,  in Gjakova, 85.71% of students passed this test.

Sports and finances

The municipality of Malisheva has no football stadiums in function. This stadium was built under the governance of Isni Kilaj, however, it soon was demolished under the governance of Begaj although no game was played. In 2016, the municipality of Malisheva has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports in regards with the stadium renovation, but the given stadium remains non-functional still.

 

The municipality of Malisheva has a budget of 12.3 million, of which 94% comes as a grant from the government, and only 6 percent the given municipality manages to collect itself. In order to solve all of the given issues, the Malisheva municipality has a budget of 3.5 million euros for capital investments, while the rest of the budget goes for wages and salaries

According to the Agency of Statistics, Malisheva has 56 thousand residents- almost reaching the number of residents in Lipjan and Drenas, and 15 thousand more residents than Fushë Kosova. In 2016, Malisheva had only 586 thousand euros self-generated revenues, while in 2016, the municipality had an amount of739 thousand euros self-generated revenues. Malisheva\s revenues are for 1 million lowekr than those of Lipjan, half a million lower than those of Drenas, and 1.3 million euros lower than Fushë Kosova.

 

Dragash, also known as Sharri, is a municipality associated with natural beauty that could be used for mountainous tourism development. Thus far, the municipality has invested very little in this sector

This municipality, with a budget worth 6.2 million euros, invests most of its budget on salaries, goods, and services, while only 1.3 million euros are allocated for capital investments.

In 2016, the municipality realized revenues generated worth 131 thousand euros, which is very low compared to other municipalities.

The first thing that catches your eye when you enter the municipality is the waste landfills close to rivers. An investigation by KALLXO.com reveals that there is a severe environmental situation in the mountainous zone in Dragash, considering that both waste and sewage are actually poured into rivers.

Rivers that pass through the villages of Bellobrad, Rapçë, and Bresanë are transformed into waste deposits.

According to the residents of the abovementioned villages, some of the residents throw the waste themselves, and they call on the municipality to engage inspectors to punish irresponsible citizens.

In the village of Brezne, the sewage ends up in the middle of the village, in the private trash collectors built by the families themselves. Sewage is the main problem within the town, considering that during the rainy days, the sewage flows into the middle of the road.

Water

Dragash has water supply issues, although the municipality has plenty of water resources across the Sharri Mountains. Most of the villages are equipped with a water supply network, but are supplied with water for only two to three hours during the day. Many villages do not even use the water for drinking due to its dirtiness, and are forced to get water from different resources.

The Auditor has revealed that only 78 per cent of the budget for capital investments is spent, considering that the project of the main Supplier, initially projected to be worth 500,000 euros, was not realized due to the Procurement Review Body’s complaints.

Education

 

Te municipality of Dragash is located at the border between the two Opoja and Gora villages. Different languages are spoken in these areas, as Opoja has an Albanian majority and Gora has a Gorani majority.

There are political and infrastructural issues in the education sector.

Based on KALLXO.com’s investigation, there are schools within this municipality that use parallel curriculums.

Serbian parallel structures continue to be present within the Municipality of Dragash, where the lectures are delivered in Serbian, and in accordance with the Serbian government’s curriculum.

Additionally, in several villages, lessons are conducted up to the fifth year, and as such, students from their sixth year up to their ninth year are forced to walk up to six kilometers per day in order to attend classes in the closest school.

These problems were identified by KALLXO.com in the villages of Zaplluxhë, Zym and Brezne, where children walk on roads with no sidewalks; these mountainous zones are even more dangerous due the presence of vehicles and stray dogs.

On the other hand, in Dragash, the students attend classes in the old Ruzhdi Berisha gymnasium, since the new school building is not functional, eight years after construction works began.

Infrastructure and urbanization

Road reparation in Dragash remains another issue of the municipality, considering that roads are not repaired in a timely manner.

KALLXO.com has reported on the pine trees planted by the residents in asphalt pits as a creative way to convey messages to the relevant authorities to close the dangerous pits.

Social health

 

The only gynecologist who was working in Dragash has now retired.

Meanwhile, this municipality has a high level of unemployment, and residents of the villages are leaving.

Out of 1,530 inhabitants, only 300 reside currently in the village of Rapçë, which has a Gorani majority. According to the residents, the village’s youth travelled to European Union countries to find jobs due the poverty within their hometown. In this village, there are also residents who live in severe living conditions.

The current mayor of the country is Selim Jonuzaj, from PDK, while mayoral candidates for the October 22 municipal elections are Admir Šola from Jedinstvena Goranska, Fatmir Halili from Nisma, Samidin Dauti from Vetevendosje, Selami Saiti from AAK, Šerif Aga from Koalicija Vakat, Selim Kryeziu from LDK, and Shaban Shabani from PDK.

Apart from not having communication officials, this municipality also has no women directors and no women mayoral candidates.

What responsibilities will the Mayor of Peja have after the October 22 elections?

There are two women and five men vying for the position of Mayor of Peja for the next four years.
The municipality, which has about 96,000 inhabitants, has a budget of 22,646 million euros. From this amount, 13,194 million goes towards wages and salaries, while 5,820 million euros are allocated for capital investments.

Peja citizens expect from their next Mayor to demolish illegal buildings within the city, but hopefully the construction of new buildings will be prevented

As Kosovo’s local election day, October 22, is approaching, BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates) has been presenting citizens with investigative research on municipal issues, as well as mayoral candidates’ platforms and promises.

KALLXO.com’s investigation shows that Peja has a problem with waste management and the treatment of stray dogs. There are also sewage treatment issues in tourist towns and villages.

In villages, there is also a lack of emergency clinics. And although there have been visible improvements in school infrastructure and constructions of new schools, there remains to be issues with the buildings.

During the #DebatPernime debate in Peja, residents had the opportunity to listen to the plans of seven mayoral candidates for tackling these issues.

 

 

Infrastructure

KALLXO.com has identified roads in Peja that have been neglected for many years. Çamëria Street in the Jarina neighborhood is in a poor condition and has not received investments in a long time.

However, Shpetim Bojku Street within the Tabje neighborhood was cobbled several years ago.

Residents said they have financially supported road improvement with their own means. But the road is completely damaged and the cuttings in some cases are not visible either. The main reason for road damage remains the overweight trucks that have crossed the Shpetim Bojku road, where new constructions are taking place. Municipal authorities have been notified of the problem, but have not taken any measures in this regard.
Residents of the neighborhood “7 Shtatori” have repeatedly complained about the danger associated with the four-lane Agim Qelaj Street. The speed of the vehicles passing through has often resulted in fatalities for pedestrians, especially students heading to the Xhemajl Kada school, the economic school, and that of the village of Vitomiricë. The road’s lack of speed limit signs, policemen, and signal lights remain to be the residents’ main requests from municipal institutions. KALLXO.com has reported on these concerns, and municipal authorities have promised to solve the issue.

A year after it was paved, part of the Drelaj-Koshutan road in Rugova was seriously damaged due to flooding and the lack of a drainage system on the side of the road. The municipality had invested about 900 thousand euros for this road project.

KALLXO.com visited this site and reported on this issue; the head of the Mayor of Peja’s cabinet pledged to regulate the road within a few weeks.

 

This year, the Peja Municipality expanded the main city square towards Hotel Dukagjini. There were previously parking spaces in front of the hotel, and now, with the new constructions in the city square, there are only spaces for hotel guests’ vehicles. Now the urban plan foresees space for citizens to walk freely.

Illegal constructions

Peja has not managed to control the construction of high-rise buildings. KALLXO.com’s investigation reveals that out of 28 high-rise buildings, 23 exceed building permits. The Director of Inspection has been arrested for charges regarding these constructions. Though he is no longer currently residing over his official duties, there have been no changes to the constructions.

This topic has been debated several times in the Assembly, but the municipality has not given a formal explanation of why no actions have been taken.

In addition to this problem, the municipality’s most attractive tourist destinations, the Rugova villages, have no regulatory plans and experience constant unregulated construction.
Waste

Peja is known for tourism, and the livelihood of the industry is in ​​Rugova. But, in these tourist sites, garbage is thrown along the road as well as throughout the villages of this region. Similarly, the city of Peja is overburdened with garbage on a daily basis. Without the presence of trash bins, sidewalks become clogged with garbage.

Ironically, most of the garbage is thrown in front of the Police Station, including on the road to the hospital. The abundance of waste also creeps up towards the school of the blind.

 

Sewage and river pollution

The Municipality of Peja is faced with an enormous sewage issue. The tourist area that hosts many guests annually has no sewage network, and most of the facilities do not even possess septic tanks.

The black waters of dozens of restaurants and hotels in the Rugova area, including those in the villages of Bogë, Haxhaj, Drelaj, and Shtupeq i Madh, are discharged into the Lumbardh River.

Peja has invested in the construction of beaches at Lumbardh, in the Rugova Gorge. Meanwhile, 26 kilometers further, sewage is discharged into Lumbardh, and below, people swim at “Peja Beach.”

Peja’s Lumbardh River has not been cleaned for a long time, and in addition to the water being dryed up, the banks are also filled with rubbish. Sewage flows into the water and crosses the city midway through the river.

After an extended struggle of tenders breaching procurement rules, the main river is finally being equipped with work on its riverbed.

In the meantime, in the Tabhane neighborhood, the riverbanks are collapsing and endangering the inhabitants.
Economic development and tourism

Tourism is the main pillar of Peja’s economic development. Boga remains the main point of tourism, while attractions at Rugova Gorge as such as the zip line have put Peja on regional maps for foreign and local visitors.

Peja’s major tourist project, the vision for the BOREA ski resort, has not yet been implemented. The Municipality of Peja, with a public-private Partnership, initiated this project, and it has projected investments worth 54 million euros.

The contract has been approved by the Government of Kosovo, and a draft contract has been signed between the parties; the constract is currently being negotiated with the winning company.

A finalist amongst the companies was initially believed to be a foreign company, but it was later discovered that a co-owner of the consortium is Valmir Krasniqi, married to singer Adelina Ismaili, said to be related to LDK.

 

Education

KALLXO.com’s investigation has revealed that the infrastructure of Peja’s school facilities has improved significantly over the last four years. A new high school of medicine has been built, while two other schools are being built, one for music and the other for art.

In 2016, the Municipality of Peja started constructing a new music school facility. But after the workings had begun and the foundation was completed, a water pipe burst, causing damage and thus moving the foundations of the building.

Damages were estimated at around 60 thousand euros. The municipality blamed the Hidrodrini Regional Company for the explosion of this pipe, while the company blamed the municipality. The dispute remains to be resolved by the judiciary.

However, in order to clean up the space, another tender had to be launched, worth the amount of 20 thousand euros.

After all these damages, which were worth of about 80 thousand euros, everything started again from scratch, and the building is now being constructed.  KALLXO.com has reported on its progress since the beginning.

 

The Municipality of Peja currently has two public kindergartens. During the years, an old kindergarten was ruined, and thus a new one was built. However, the new kindergarten was not built on the same parcel, which was used for the construction of the National Center of Judo, but instead, it was constructed across city’s small park.

 

Stray dogs

About 4,000 stray dogs still wander in the Municipality of Peja. The municipality has initiated a project regarding their treatment, gathering them from the city and taking them to a shelter in the village of Sferka, close to the waste dump. But this initiative did not last long, considering that there were allegations of ill-treatment of dogs by animal rights advocates.

The initiative came to an end when the dogs were released from the shelter. KALLXO.com has occasionally reported on the problem of the presence of stray dogs in the municipality of Peja.

Health

 

The whole Rugova region has no emergency clinic, though there are emergency facilities there.  Additionally, during the winter season, when the Bogë village is overcrowded by skiing visitors, there is no emergency clinics to be of use in case of any disaster.

Residents expressed their concern regarding the absence of an emergency clinic in the Rugova region, especially in the village of Bogë, which is the most inhabited village. KALLXO.com reported on this case here.

 

What are the problems in Fushë Kosovë that will be transferred to the next mayoral mandate?

 

The Municipality of Fushë Kosovë has experienced a recent growth in the development of high-rise buildings, despite a lack of new kindergardens. This is just one issue amongst the many problems that Fushë Kosovë has inherited from the past, which grow year-by-year.

Around 36 thousand residents of Fushë Kosovë face drinking water problems, schools that operate in three shifts, a lack of parking lots and sidewalks, health care issues, and closed and demolished emergency clinics.

Fushë Kosovë also faces with river pollution as a result of industrial wastewater discharges, including illegal waste disposals across public spaces.

Since 2007, the municipality of Fushë Kosovë has been governed by Burim Berisha, from LDK, which as a party has governed the municipality since 2000.

During his 9-year period of governance, the head of the municipality has promised his citizens drinking water, which was not completely fulfilled, considering that half of the city of Fushë Kosovë is not connected to the water plant in Shkabaj due to a pipeline that failed to provide the connection.

Leading up to Kosovo’s local elections on October 22, BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates) has conducted investigations into the issues faced by local residents.

Mayor Burim Beriha, who is running in hopes of attaining another four-year mandate, has admitted to KALLXO.com that the 2.5 kilometer pipe is not connected from Ujësjellësi.

“Half of the city is connected to the water plant in Shkabaj, while the other half is not. We are waiting for the ministry to place the water pipeline in Shkabaj for the municipality of Fushë Kosovë. There is no problem with that, but both the government and the Ujesjellesi Company are evidently procrastinating, considering that the amount of 600 thousand euros is available for this project,” Berisha told KALLXO.com before the electoral campaign.

When he was asked about the water issue during the #DebatPernime electoral debate, Berisha shortly answered, “it is important that I do have water, and I get from my well”.

When it comes to urban constructions, in the recent years, the municipality of Fushë Kosovë has experienced rapid development. Only in the last four years, this municipality has granted 168 construction licenses, while seven or eight apartments were identified as illegal constructions.

The current LDK governance has “ensured” the lives of others, while is on leave itself. So, the municipality building of Fushe Kosove resides on rented premises, costing where it pays 16 thousand euros a month, which adds up to 192 thousand euros per year.

 

The new municipal building, funded by the European Union in Kosovo, which was launched in November 2011, and has not yet been completed due to the problems arisen with the contractors.

 

The large number of residents who have recently bought flats in the municipality has increased the number of students. Only in the three primary secondary schools “Mihal Grameno,” “Selman Riza,” and “Daut Bogujevci,” the number of students reaches over five thousand, which leads to the schools operating in three shifts.
According to a KALLXO.com investigation, currently in this municipality, it appears that there are three schools that have been started, two of them for six years from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, that are not completed and a school in neighborhood 300, where there are complaints from residents for construction on the basis that it is occupying the public space.

While in the city of Fushë Kosovë there is overcrowding in schools, villages do no operate in the same way. The KALLXO.com team revealed that school in the village of Bardh i Vogel was closed due to the small number of students and the lack of teaching staff.

Recently, the municipality of Fushë Kosovë has not built any new kindergartens, while the school facilities in the villages of Bardh i Madh and Miradi continue to be unused since their construction in previous mandates governed by Burim Berisha.

In the four-year period, the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë has not hired any teaching staff, although based on the number of students, there should be 18 more teachers.
The health sector lacks staff, too. The Municipality of Fushë Kosovë has not hired any individuals anymore. 103 to 104 medical workers who have 150 thousand visits, and 350 thousand services within a year. This, according to municipal representatives, was not done because they were not allowed to announce job vacancies for the new staff from the Ministry of Health.

Although the employment of medical staff is not within the competences of the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë, at least the maintenance of facilities remains their competence. KALLXO.com’s investigation revealed that in the village of Bardhi i Vogel, after the emergency clinic was shut down by the medical staff, the facility was left unattended.

By opening the door of this emergency clinic, which was roped off, the serious condition of the facility and medical equipment became apparent. The stomatology chairs, the beds used for patients, and the sterilizing equipment were damaged in different areas.

Rooms where patients had previously received medical services were left in disarray, with various syringes and needles, including for diazepam, were strewn about on tables and floors.

Despite the poor state of medical infrastructure, the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë has invested in road infrastructure, but has issues with sidewalks in the city. This is especially true in the Dardania neighborhood, including in neighborhoods numbered 028 and 029where the Ashkali, Roma and Egyptian communities reside, as well as villages like Miradi, Henc, Bardh i Vogël, Bardh i Madh, and Lismir.

Although about one thousand families live in social assistance housing, Fushe Kosove is among the few municipalities in Kosovo that has invested in solar lighting.

Waste disposals and sewage

This municipality, located near the capital, has ensured to give away for free to over 10,000 trash bins for its residents in order for them to manage the waste system.

Although this is deemed as a right step by the citizens of Fushë Kosovë, the municipality continues to have issues with illegal landfills.

Speaking to this problem, even the current mayor, Burim Berisha, told KALLXO.com that “we cannot get rid of the illegal landfills issues that we are faced with”.

KALLXO.com’s investigation has highlighted that in the villages of Vragoli, Miradi i Ulët and Miradi i Lartë, including the entrance of the village Kuzmin, there are illegal landfills that go unmanaged by the municipality.

An enormous issue of this municipality remains the treatment of wastewater that drains into the rivers. Prishtine’s sewage streams through the municipality of Fushë Kosove.  Drenas also drains the sewage waste to the Drenica River that runs through Fushë Kosovë. In the current setting, in the rivers of Fushë Kosovë, sewage from Prishtina, Drenas and the municipality itself is discharged, which is then discharged to Sitnica, the most polluted river in Kosovo.

In recent years, the municipality has acknowledged that it has not invested in sewage treatment, except for a memorandum signed with the Austrians and the French, but it may take up to eight years for its implementation.

What are the duties of the future mayor of the Municipality of Deçan?

There are five candidates running for the position of Mayor of the Deçan Municipality in Kosovo’s upcoming local elections, set to take place on October 22.

The municipality’s 40 thousand residents expect solutions to the problems they are faced with, such as infrastructure and traffic within the city.

Pedestrians certainly expect free spaces on the newly constructed sidewalks so that they can walk freely. Drivers, moreover, need more public parking lots.

Huge responsibilities await the future government regarding solutions to sewage treatment, waste removal, and environment protection from degradation, especially regarding water.

The students of the village of Ratishë remain hopeful to moving to a new school building, and to no longer attend classes in wooden barracks.

These are some of the problems that Deçan residents will demand solutions for over the next local government’s four-year mandate, which has local budget 8 million euros per year. However, half of the budget goes to salaries and daily pays.

On BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates), Deçan’s residents were granted the opportunity to be exposed to the promises and governing programs of the five mayoral candidates.

Infrastructure and Urbanization

Because the road that runs through Decan is used to connect Peja to Gjakova, the center of Decan becomes clogged every summer with high volumes of traffic. Citizens must wait in traffic for extended periods of time even to travel one kilometer.

There have been talks of the possibility to construct a new transit road to reduce traffic, but no actions have been taken thus far.

Meanwhile, Deçan needs public parking lots; vehicles parked on sidewalks create problems for residents to walk freely.

Some of the roads that were constructed years ago, such as the streets in the Llukë and Irzniq villages, also require further work and repairs.

None of the 37 villages of this municipality possesses a regulatory plan, though the city has drafted a plan.

In the past four years, the municipality has identified 45 illegal constructions, while only within this year, it has granted seven licenses for construction.

Environment and water

The municipality of Deçan faces an enormous waste problem. Around 30 illegal waste deposits are located within different areas of the municipality.

Three weeks before elections, the municipality began cleaning up its wastes sites.

Garbage is tossed into public spaces in most of Decan’s villages and neighborhoods, and the land remains littered for long periods of time.

 

There were also problems with the workers of the cleaning company “Hygiene,” who several times have striked due to working conditions, and because they did not get paid.

Illegal forest cutting in Deçan’s mountains continues to be an issue, while rivers are contaminated by sewage. Though the city has drinking water, there is a lack of drinking water within the municipality’s villages.

The workings in the Hydro central have caused damage to Deçan’s valley since the beginning of its implementation. The riverbed, which is shrinking day by day, has been considerably damaged.

The water supply network is extended to most of the villages of this municipality, except for three: two villages in Ratisha, and Maznik. For three years, the residents did not receive water bills, and as such, did not pay for water at all. Apart from that, there has been major water misuse. A few villages complain that there is an issue with their water supply network, considering the existing low water pressure and water cuts.

Health and social welfare

The municipality of Deçan lacks an emergency center, causing residents to travel to Peja for emergency health services.

Medical family centers in Isniq, Strellc, Prapaqan, Gramaqel e Ratishë require renovation.

When it comes to patient care, the municipality has failed to purchase a transportation vehicle for patients diagnosed with hemodialysis.

There are 30 families across the municipality of Deçan that have applied for housing, while the municipality has not allocated any social housing yet.

Education

In addition to allegations that Deçan’s education system is politicized, the municipality also has issues with school infrastructure, especially with schools located in the villages of Lumbardhë, Maznik and Ratishë.

In Ratishë, a number of students attend classes in wooden barracks and severely inhumane conditions. These school buildings are damaged, and the students are learning in poor environmental conditions. Even the sports grounds remain poorly equipped.

There are no labs in the schools in the whole municipality, while 16 schools work in two shifts, and only six of them are equipped with physical education halls.

When it comes to children care under the age of six, Deçan has only one kindergarten across the whole municipality in public-private partnership, while the municipality’s needs are much greater.

 

Tourism

One of Deçan’s assets is its beautiful natural environment and the potential to attract tourism investments. However, a large part of the zone where tourism may further develop is managed by the Decani Monastery.

Deçan’s forests are also an asset, but the best forestry has damaged areas, specifically due to cutting and habitat destruction from hydro-centers and river pollution.

What will Ferizaj’s next mayor face on the first day in office?

BIRN Kosovo’s mayoral debate series #DebatPernime (#RealDebates) has revealed many issues faced by the Municipality of Ferizaj, from waste management to preventing violent extremism.

Out of 45 villages in Ferizaj, 31 have problems with sewage.

Also, field research revealed that Ferizaj, one of Kosovo’s most populated cities, has only 130 public parking spaces. Furthermore, the municipality’s railroad tracks, where two people died this year, poses a danger to citizens.

BIRN investigations also revealed a construction and urban planning crisis in Ferizaj; the city has over 10 thousand illegal constructions.

Illegal constructions

In 2014, a decision was taken to initiate the amending and supplementing the regulatory plans, with an illegal basis, specifically focused on the examination of the construction coefficient for zones I and VIII. This was followed by consecutive legal, substantive and procedural violations, including more serious violations, such as the falsification of official documents.

Lawsuits regarding compensation for investors whose construction permits have been suspended due to the contestibility of the revision process

The Ferizaj Mayor’s failure to intervene in a timely manner and to hold those responsible for illegal constructions accountable, has risked Ferizaj hundreds of thousands of euros of its budget, due to the deposit of the lawsuits regarding compensation for investors. These investors’ construction permits have been suspended due to the contestability of the revision process.
Investigations by corruption reporting platform KALLXO.com reveal that the

Municipality of Ferizaj did not considered the recommendations submitted by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Local Government Administration, and the decision of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, to reinstate the decision to initiate the revision of the regulatory plan for zones I and VIII, including the regulatory plans to be drafted, revised and harmonized in compliance with the given procedures, terminology and content envisaged by the Law on Spatial Planning.

Road safety

During 2017, three accidents occurred near the railroad tracks that run through the center of Ferizaj, two of which were fatal.

A KALLXO.com investigation shows that there is a lack of road safety signals in the area where the fatalities occurred, and the responsibility for this has continuously been transferred to and from the municipality to the public enterprise INFRAKOS.

The municipality casts the responsibility to INFRAKOS, the public enterprise for railroad management, while the latter holds the municipality responsible for the lack of road safety signs and traffic barriers.

Mayor Muharrem Svarqa, during the election campaign of November 2013, promised to take measures to prevent accidents near the railroad. However, over the past four years, the problem has not been addressed.

Field research has also revealed that Ferizaj’s lack of parking lots within the city is one of the many issues residents take issue with.

Based on KALLXO.com’s findings, the Municipality of Ferizaj ranks amongst the top for municipalties that lack sufficient parking spaces. Ferizaj has only two parking lots, with a total capacity of 130 cars.

Within the city, there are several plots of land that citizens have turned into private parking lots. The parking mayhem has given the city a bad image, especially because in some areas, sidewalks are used for parking

Water and sewage issues

Ferizaj has a major issue with drinking water availability, especially evident in dozens of the municipality’s villages. Many villages lack a water-supply network, and several have no water supply despite investments in this area.

Moreover, investigations reveal that the drinking water supply in the city remains a major issue due to water cuts, especially during summer.

More than 20 per cent of Ferizaj lacks drinking water. The specific zones currently without water supply are: Greme, Rakaj, Prelez i Jerlive, Prelez i Muhaxherëve, Papaz, Sazli, Bibaj, Sojevë, Zllatar, Dardani, Burnik, and Jezerc. In some of these villages, investments into the water supply began in 2011, but as of this year, the network has not been completed.

 

The municipality of Ferizaj lacks sewage collectors, and most of the waste is poured into rivers. In the Mirosalë village, sewage is poured close to some houses, private properties, and agricultural lands. There are no wastewater treatment plants, and none of the existing collectors clean the water in compliance with the given standards.

Education and health

 

Field research reveals that some of Ferizaj’s villages, such as Nerodime and Koshare, lack of health centers. Residents of the given villages, in order to receive basic health services, have to travel to the city. The distance between Koshare and Ferizaj is 7 kilometers, while Nerodime to Ferizaj is 4-6 kilometers.

Almost all schools operate in two shifts, except two other schools currently working in one.

Research has also highlights connections between employment and politics. Specifically, Arta Tahiri-Beqa, at the beginning of the mandate, was a Vetevendosje Assembly member who then joined LDK, and this year, she was appointed as the director of the lower secondary school “Ramadan Rexhepi” in the Sojevë village.

Economy

Ferizaj has 20 thousand residents more than Gjilan, however, its revenues remain the same.

During 2016, Ferizaj’s budget was only 3 million euros, while the government allocated a grant to this municipality of 21.3 million euros. Based on the gathered data, the municipality of Ferizaj itself may only provide 11 per cent of the budget, while 89 per cent is received as grants from Kosovo’s central government.

Ferizaj’s economy is known for its wood industry. Investigations show that in the municipality, taxes are used as bait for elections. Taxes were cut during the period when Mayor Aliu, from PDK, was in power. When Svarqa became the Mayor, taxes were once again restored to the previous amount. At the end of the mandate, Svarqa asked the Municipal Assembly to cut taxes, but the Assembly, supported by PDK, removed them completely.

Waste

Ferizaj has around 40 illegal waste deposits, while investigations shows that currently, 10 of them are located within the urban zones, which have no legal landfill. The investigation further shows that the municipality has not yet determined the location where the waste dump will be constructed.

Consequently, in villages and areas within the city, our researchers have identified waste dumping areas during their investigations. Such waste dumping occurs in the area called “The Eagle Circle”.

Preventing violent extremism

BIRN’s investigation shows that Ferizaj is amongst the municipalities dealing most with preventing violent extremism and indoctrination of young people by terrorist organizations.

Seven people from Ferizaj are in prison on charges of recruiting members of terrorist organizations or partaking in the war in Syria.

Investigations further reveal that the Municipality of Ferizaj, despite possessing several competences regarding the de-radicalization and integration of people previously involved in foreign conflicts, has done nothing in this regard.

The findings show that the municipality has failed to ensure that the centers for social work and health, the municipality’s psychologists, and the directorate of youth and sports are able to address issues faced by these individuals after their return from foreign conflict zones.

On January 15, 2017, BIRN’s televised programme Justice in Kosovo and the anti-corruption platform KALLXO.com published an investigation on alleged criminal offences that took place at the Deçan Municipality Basic Court. The investigation included research by KALLXO.com’s team, which presented sufficient evidence that Judge Safete Tolaj was involved in an act of bribery. As a result of the research, Justice in Kosovo published a video reportage that detailed how the situation developed. After the show’s publication, measures were taken by the relevant rule of law institutions, leading to judge Tolaj’s dismissal.

A Kosovo citizen, Berat Kelmendi, reported the case to KALLXO.com through an online report. Kelmendi reported the case after experiencing longer than usual resolution times regarding a case at the Deçan Basic Court. As the court proceedings were ongoing, the judge’s son, Fisnik Tolaj, approached Kelmendi and offered to speed up his case in exchange for 20,000 euros. Kelmendi secretly recorded all of the bribery negotiation talks. Justice in Kosovo and KALLXO.com, after hearing Kelmendi’s story, gathered sufficient material to produce a show on the matter.

Rule of law institutions, sixteen hours after the first part of the story was published, initiated an investigation. The State Basic Prosecution invited KALLXO.com to cooperate. According to the prosecution, investigation into corruption suspicions began in January 2017, and Tolaj was charged with abuse of office and other criminal offenses. Tolaj’s son was also charged with fraud, exertion of influence, forgery, and other criminal offenses, including illegal possession and use of weapons. In the aftermath of ten-month period, on October 11, KALLXO.com reported that an indictment was raised against Judge Safete Tolaj. The department for Heavy Crimes of the Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Peja raised an indictment against the judge under the charge of misuse of official duty or official authority. In order to fight corruption and organized crime, Justice in Kosovo and KALLXO.com will continue to follow similar cases.

These lectures were part of a project titled “Expand Youth Participation to Counter Violent Extremism,” given in cooperation between ATRC (Advocacy Training and Research Center) and Internews Kosova.

The lectures tackled a general overview of the current situation and how ideologies of violent extremism have impacted Kosovo’s youth. Two of the lectures were held in Prishtina, while two others were held in Kaçanik and Mitrovica.

Kreshnik Gashi, managing editor of BIRN and Internews Kosova, moderated the discussions and also spoke about how we can prevent the manipulation of youth with violent extremism ideologies on social media networks. Gashi has produced two televised programmes for Justice in Kosovo about the failures of de-radicalization programs in Kosovo and has provided recommendations to relevant institutions on de-radicalization measures.

Along with Gashi, a representative from the Kosovo Police was present to offer his insights on preventing violent extremism. Florim Shatrolli, from the Anti-Corruption Unit, lectured on the role of the Kosovo Police in preventing violent extremism. He explained the need for rapid response and educating the public to report violent extremism cases.

These activities were held with the purpose of urging Kosovo’s youth to work towards their career goals, and not to become influenced by ideologies telling young people to join conflicts in the Middle East.

Preventing violent extremism has been an important topic in Kosovo over the past several years, and BIRN and Internews Kosova remain committed to mitigating the influence of extremism, and educating Kosovo’s youth about countering violent extremism.

BIRN is bringing the #DebatPernime (#RealDebate) format for mayoral candidates of seven municipalities in Macedonia—Cair, Saraj, Struga, Tetovo, Gostivar, Kercova, and Debar. By hosting these debates, BIRN Kosovo aims to inform voters about the candidates’ platforms during the days leading up to the municipal elections in Macedonia, set for October 15.

BIRN’s product KALLXO.com, which is a well-trusted online anti-corruption platform, will be used as a tool for citizens of these municipalities to send debate questions and address their concerns regarding the governance of the municipalities they live in. BIRN Kosovo, along with its partners BIRN Macedonia, Portalb, Vistinomer, and Art Channel, have undertaken this approach in order to offer a transparent and accountable governing system in Albanian-majority municipalities.

The #DebatPernime format has proved to be successful in Kosovo, considering the large percentage of politicians who participate in the debates. Through candidate debates, BIRN aims to promote transparency and accountability in municipal governments, and to support public discourse.

During the debates, mayoral candidates will be given the equal opportunity to share their political programmes. All political parties, except for the former ruling VMRO-DMPNE led by ex-prime minister Nikola Gruevski, will participate in BIRN’s electoral debates.

The debates will be held every evening, from October 1-7, in Albanian language, and will stream live on KALLXO.com’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, as well as on the Macedonian TV programme TV Art Channel, which is headquartered in Tetova.

The #DebatPernime format has shown to be successful in viewership and citizens’ trust, as it offers a straight-forward way for municipal candidates to reflect on their development strategies for the municipalities they hope to govern.

Citizens are encouraged to submit questions or concerns through BIRN Kosovo’s anti-corruption platform, on KALLXO.com or through KALLXO.com’s mobile application, and via its Facebook channel.