FLASH
Shkruar nga Namir Lapardhaja
Today, more than a decade later, the failure has been acknowledged more than once even by Prime Minister Rama himself.
The territorial reform of 2014, voted on July 31 only with the votes of the majority in the Assembly, boycotted and without the participation of the opposition of the time, was presented at that time as a necessity for modernizing local administration, reducing economic costs, reducing redundant personnel and increasing efficiency in services.
Today, more than a decade later, the failure has been acknowledged more than once even by Prime Minister Rama himself.
The territorial reform was launched to save money and to establish better control over the territory, while what happened is exactly the opposite. Today we have an excessively bloated local administration, costs for taxpayers have increased and services, in many cases, have become even more distant for citizens. Instead of an efficient administration, an obese administration was produced and only in function of electoral battles.
From 284 local units, it was reduced to 61 municipalities, in which, as was said at the time, public service would be consolidated and abuse would be avoided. Today, the mayors of these municipalities are not accountable, do not hold themselves accountable and in many cases have turned into “local pashalars” (!) with unlimited power.
The recent actions of the IKMT in Theth and other cities of Albania, to vacate illegally occupied public spaces, clearly speak of the failure of one of the reasons for which the reform was conceived and voted. In many cases, the local units that should have controlled the territory have become parties to the violators.
Likewise, Rama's demands for the resignation of directors and deputy mayors of municipalities at the national level are, in a way, also part of the public acceptance of the failure in many cases of local government.
So, although the reform was made to save, the savings did not happen; it was made for better control of the territory, but the terrain is today more uncontrolled than before; it was said that there would be efficiency, but the efficiency was not sufficient and the new local administration offices produced more bureaucracy.
The only "achievement" of the new territorial reform has been vote control, due to a deliberate concentration of the electorate and the perfect administration of power and votes at the local level, but this is not a reform for the citizen, but for the ruling party.
Under the current circumstances, if the Democratic Party truly wanted to be a constructive force, away from adventures and futile battles, it would have to find ways and international guarantees to sit at the table with the majority and review territorial reform together, listening to experts in the field and interest groups.
Only on a properly revised reform and on clear principles to do what is best for the country and citizens and not what is best for political parties, could a new Electoral Reform be built, which would respond to today's demographic reality and the new territorial division.
This is what the country needs, not a repetition of a political war for personal interests, far from the interests of the people, which ultimately brings nothing, but only repeats the mistakes of the past.
Lini një Përgjigje