Pristina, October 13, 2023 – The next round table gathered on Friday the representatives of the local government and civil society organizations of the Ferizaj region, with whom it was discussed to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation in the promotion of human rights and good governance.

The Ombudsperson, Naim Qelaj said that his role is multidimensional in the sense of the principle of separation of powers, control and balance between them, exercising powers through giving opinions and recommendations to the responsible authorities.

He emphasized that he has a special role that through his work affects the improvement of the administration, both local and central.

The Ombudsperson reminded the representatives of the local government, this time of the municipality of Ferizaj, Shtime and Kaçanik, about the obligations they have towards the demands of the Ombudsperson, which are related to citizens’ complaints.

“One of the complaints we receive is the non-response from the local authorities to the citizens. A culture must be created to return the answers to citizens, whether positive or negative,” said the Ombudsperson Qelaj.

He added that the “administrative silence” of the municipalities to the requests or complaints of the citizens should be stopped even though this silence or lack of reaction, in many cases, according to the law is defined as acceptance or approval of the request.

On the other hand, the Ombudsperson also spoke about the implementation of his recommendations by local and central authorities, emphasizing that the higher the implementation by the authorities, the higher the level of democracy in the country.

He also mentioned that the Draft Law on Local Government Finances, which envisages the creation of a Specific Grant for Social Services, would manage to provide a minimum of funding for social services.

The deputy mayor of the municipality of Ferizaj, Lulzim Aliu, the mayor of the municipality of Kaçanik, Mehmet Ballazhi, as well as the deputy mayor of the municipality of Shtime, Faruk Beqa, welcomed this meeting and unanimously emphasized the importance and added that the Ombudsperson’s work and reports with recommendations would make them also improve their work.

The other participants emphasized some of the issues that affect all citizens and in particular people with disabilities who face lack of access to roads and institutional spaces. Another issue raised that has concerned this last category is the lack of orthopedic tools as well as the lack of assistants in schools for students with disabilities.

This table was organized in cooperation with the OSCE office in Ferizaj.