Featured Image

The Ombudsperson met the mayor of Pristina, Perparim Rama

09/08/2023

Pristina, August 9, 2023 – Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj hosted on Wednesday the mayor of the Municipality of Pristina, Mr. Perparim Rama.

The topic of discussion was the strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation for a better governance, and other issues in the improvement of public services and the general protection of human rights.

Mr. Qelaj said that public institutions should undertake concrete actions in order to implement the recommendations issued by the Ombudsperson, which increases the level of democracy in the country but also improves the lives of citizens.

The Ombudsperson highlighted some of the complaints received by citizens, such as access to facilities, sidewalks and local bus stations, a major challenge for people with disabilities. Further, the problem with stray dogs, sewage collectors, water contamination in the village of Marevc, as well as the legalization of facilities without a permit, were highlighted.

In this meeting, the recommendation of the Ombudsperson for the repeal of the regulation on municipal fees, charges and fines was also discussed, for which it was concluded that the obligation to pay the tax fee for the transaction of immovable property constitutes a violation of the right proprietary. The mayor Rama emphasized that the municipality has already repealed this regulation.

Mayor Rama said that he welcomes this meeting with the Ombudsperson, seeing it as an opportunity to increase the exchange of information between institutions. He spoke about some of the issues raised and the measures taken by the municipality of Pristina, such as in the case of stray dogs where the municipality has allocated 1.5 million euros, which includes subsidizing those who adopt stray dogs, the construction of shelters for dogs, and construction of the dog park in the area of 10 hectares.

Mayor Rama emphasized that the municipality does not issue construction permits if the conditions for access for persons with disabilities are not met in advance.