This document discusses civic participation in decision making in local governments in Kosovo. It provides background information on Kosovo, noting that it has 38 municipalities administered by locally elected mayors and assemblies. Kosovo laws provide citizens rights to participate in local government activities through petitions, initiatives, and referendums. However, citizen participation remains low, with gaps in communication between governments and citizens. Local governments are often slow to inform the public and have incomplete websites. Surveys found varying levels of citizen consultation and participation across municipalities. The document recommends that Kosovo establish the rule of law to protect citizen rights and adopt the "Ten Reinventing Government Principles" to improve local governance.

1. PA 501: Essentials for Public Management in a
Complex Society: Processes, Structures and Values
Civic participation in decision
making on local Governments in
Kosovo
Astrit Tafolli

2. 2
Kosovo
•Population 1.7 million
•Capital city: Pristina
• Territory: 10,908 km2 (4.203
square miles)
•Ethnic mix 88% Albanian; 7%
Serbian; 5% Other
•Official languages: Albanian and
Serbian. Turkish, Bosnian and
Romany languages have official
statues in local governments.
•Independence day: February 17
2008

3. 3
Laws on Local government
• There are 38 municipalities (local governments) in Kosovo.
• Each local government is administered by a mayor and a local
assembly, elected every four years by citizens.
• Citizens of local governments have the right to participate in the
activities of their local government.
• Any person may inspect any document held by the Local
government
• Local government laws also provide a regular mechanism for
information and public consultation: at least twice a year, every local
government should organize public meetings

4. 4
Laws on Local government
• Laws on Local Government give the right of
petition, citizens’ initiatives, as well as local
referendum
• But, still local governments in Kosovo remain
underdeveloped, weak and dysfunctional.
• Dichotomy between politics and public
administration remains the biggest challenge
• Civic participation in decision-making is very low

5. 5
Citizens participation in decision-making
Participation in
public hearings
Participation
in decision-
making
Consultation
of citizen
opinions
Public
information
and outreach
Obiliq Weak Non-existent Weak Non-existent
Podujeva Medium Non-existent Medium Weak
Gjakova Strong Weak Strong Medium
Kamenica Medium Non-existent Medium Weak
Prishtina Medium Weak Weak Medium

6. 6
Local governments
• There is a big gap of miscommunication between the
local governments and the citizens.
• Local governments fail to serve the citizens. Local
governments are often slow to inform the public about
different issues.
• Local governments’ websites are often incomplete.
• Public administrations are overloaded and
unprofessional. There is a lot of corruption.
• In 2013 only 43.31% of the citizens voted in local
elections

7. Communist legacy is the main problem
• Kosovo has been ruled from a communist party for decades under
Yugoslavia
• The method of leadership in communiste Yugoslavia is
characterized by manipulation and control.
• The totalitarian method of leadership was rooted so deeply in the
minds and reflexes of those who lived under communism, that even
when communism fell, the people continued to rule with the same
abusive methods.
• Another characteristic that makes Kosovo’s institutions
dysfunctional is the unrealistic expectation by state.
• In communist countries the law is seen as an obstacle and people
tended not to respect the law
7

8. 8
Solutions and Recommendations
• Fundamental solution: Kosovo has to establish a legal
state. It is the rule of law that ensures and protects the
rights of people not the democracy.
• Recommendations: the strongest recommendation to
improve the work on local government in Kosovo would
be “The Ten Reinventing Government Principles ”
(Reinventing Government by Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T.
(1992).
1. Steer, not row (or as Mario Cuomo put it, “it is not
government's obligation to provide services, but to see
that they're provided”);

9. 9
Reference List (Bibliography)
• 2. Empower communities to solve their own
problems rather than simply deliver services;
• 3. Encourage competition rather than
monopolies
• 4. Be driven by missions, rather than rules;
• 5. Be results-oriented by funding outcomes
rather than inputs;

10. 10
Reference List
• 6. Meet the needs of the customer, not the bureaucracy;
Concentrate on earning money rather than spending it;
• 7. Concentrate on earning money rather than spending
it;
8. Invest in preventing problems rather than curing
crises;
• 9. Decentralize authority; and
• 10. Solve problems by influencing market forces rather
than creating public programs.