Newsletter no. 10 April - June 2017

Newsletter Dldp aims through this newsletter to share to the readers the main achievements of each quarter as well as the main activities planned for the next quarter.

This format further enriches the ways of transmitting information through our website www.dldp.al CONTENT 1

Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Manuel Sager visits the dldp investments

1 Dldp promotes the Women Councillors Catalogue Shkodra Qark

2

Positive models in drafting the General Local Plans

Public hearing on GLP and

2 MTBP in Mat Municipality 3 “The art of public speaking” - Training with the Network of Women Councillors

3 “The art of public speaking” -Second Training with the Women in Politics Network of Dibra, Lezha and Kukës Regions

4 Information campaign on “Budget Transparency” - the latest project in Shkodra Municipality dldp continues the local

4 government national trainings program

X-th edition APRIL - JUNE 2016

Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Manuel Sager visits the dldp investments Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Manuel Sager, was in Albania and among his visit he had the possibility to get closely acquainted with the projects funded by the Swiss implementation program dldp.

During the three-day visit of the Swiss delegation headed by the Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Manuel Sager, the delegation was closely acquainted with the Swiss implementation program dldp through two projects funded in the Municipality of Mat and in the

Municipality of Durrës.

On the first day of the visit, on April 25, the delegation was welcomed by the Mayor of the Municipality of Mat, Mr Nezir Rizvani, who thanked the Swiss support that made possible the realization of two very important projects for the municipality of Mat, the drafting of the General Local Plan and the establishment of a One Stop Shop office, projects supported by the Swiss dldp program.

On Wednesday afternoon, April 26th, the Swiss delegation met with the Mayor of Durrës, Mr Vangjush

Dako and inaugurated a renovated bridge connecting the villages Juba and Rrushkull. A 500-meter access road was paved between Rushkull center and the bridge.

“Switzerland has been a reliable partner for Albania especially in local governance which is closer to the people. A bridge symbolizes friendship and partnership between Albania and Switzerland”, said Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Manuel Sager.

Dldp promotes the Women Councillors Catalogue - Shkodra Qark The Swiss program dldp has supported since 2011 the Women in Politics Network, founded initially by women councillors of Shkodra and Lezha Region, to be extended in 2014 with the women councillors of Kukës, Dibër and Durrës Region, and which now enlists over 468 members.

The network, by being a nonofficial group of women that are part of party structures and their representatives in governing bodies at municipal councils, gathers with no political distinction women whose main aim is the improvement of the community lives, by turning into promoters of local and national changes about issues which are socially and gender sensitive.

In the framework of the continuous support that dldp gives through different activities to the Women in Politics Network, on May 12th, 2017, in the Shkodra City hall was promoted “The Catalogue – Profiles of Women Councillors of Municipal Councils – Shkodra Region”, which includes women councillors elected in the local

elections 2015-2019.

In this activity there were invited also the women councillors of Durrës Qark and women that have given a contribution in extending the role of women in local level, such as Klodiana Spahiu and Voltana Ademi.

In this event the women councillors were greeted also by a delegation of German eurodeputies from the ChristianDemocrat Union (CDU), who congratulated them for the active and positive role the network has performed through.

The dldp program manager, Mrs Valbona Karakaçi, in her opening remarks praised the fruitful cooperation and the positive will that women councillors have in offering their help in socially sensitive issues.

The MP Klodiana Spahiu stressed the importance of the experience emanating from the work in city councils for women that are up for election in the general elections in understanding general problems and

gender issues in local and national level.

The Shkodra Municipality Mayor, Voltana Ademi, underlined the successes achieved by women councillors of Shkodra to help people in need, especially women who head households, through incentives included also in the fiscal package of the municipality.

The Catalogue of Women Councillors aims the promotion of the profiles of these women whose will and ambition is closely linked to the respect toward the faith put on them by the community where they live and for which they work for.

Positive models in drafting the General Local Plans In the framework of dldp program support to 5 municipalities: Malësi e Madhe, Vau Dejës, Mat, Klos and Tropoja for drafting the General Local Plans (GLP) was held on 18-19 May 2017 a field visit, in the Municipalities of Lushnje and Kuçovë. In this visit were invited a group of experts from dldp partner municipalities assisted in the design of GLP. Lushnja and Kuçova were selected based on the characteristics and similar development context with the 5 municipalities that dldp is assisting in the design of PPV, but also considering the fact

that they have already adopted the PPV. The main purpose of this visit was to exchange experiences on: · GLP drafting process, transition of difficulties (lack of data, etc). · The deadlines and difficulties encountered in the approval process as well as the role of the various actors involved in the process. · Implementation of GLP and its development process.

During the meetings were presented illustrated presentations with cases encountered during the implementation and the Ministry of Urban Development Guidelines for the implementation of GLP. Meetings held in Lushnja and Kuçova municipalities were supported by experts from Metropolis consulting company, who have drafted the GLPs for these municipalities.

Public hearing on GLP and MTBP in Mat Municipality The Municipality of Mat, in accordance with the Law on Public Information organized on June 9th a public hearing on Local Development Plan and Local Regulation, as an integral part of the General Local Plan (GLP) of Mat municipality. This activity was held at the premises of the Culture Hall in Burrel city. Part of the presentation at the hearing was the document of Medium Term Budget Plan 2017 - 2020 that is being drafted in line with the strategic objectives set out in the Municipality's Territorial Strategy.

In the opening speech, the mayor, Nezir Rizvani, thanking the Swiss government's support through the cooperation with the dldp program and its staff as well as the consulting company, expressed great appreciation for the continued interest of the public in the pursuit of many other hearings organized within the drafting of the GLP for Mat municipality.

Following the presentations by the municipal experts and the consulting

company, there was an open session for discussions where the participants, in addition to recognizing the concrete proposals of GLP, also provided suggestions mainly related to local infrastructure and urban areas.

“The art of public speaking” - Training with the Network of Women Councillors Dldp has supported the Network of Women Councillors through many trainings in raising their capacities and strengthening their abilities in fields such as local governance, gender budgeting, and social inclusion, so that the voice of women to be heard more during the meetings of the city council where decisions for the improvement of the life of citizens are taken.

Wo m e n t h e m s e l ve s i d e nt i f i e d t h e improvement of public speaking abilities as a need for training, so on May 13-14, 2017, in Budva of Montenegro, it was held the training “The art of public speaking”, for the women councillors of Shkodra and Durrës Regions.

In the two days of training, the communication and media expert Valbona Sulçe Kolgeci spoke on interesting and useful topics to help women councillors prepare a good speech, to manage their public speaking, to be professional in different presentations, etc.

In the first day of the training there were invited also two Montenegrin MPs, Mrs Jovanka Lalicic and Mrs Marta Scepanovic, the later also member of the Parliamentary Commission of Defence.

Mrs Jovanka Lalicic spoke on her experience as a leader in local level, for the challenges and

successes achieved as well as her promotion to national level through the Parliament, where responsibilities and duties toward the community are greater.

Mrs Marta Scepanovic shared her experience with the participants and focused more on challenges and difficulties with which women are faced in the field of politics, where one can succeed only due to a serious and responsible engagement.

She stressed the key to success, which is cooperation with colleagues, regardless of profiles and political affiliations, which must be overcome when issues are great in magnitude.

Women councillors had an added interest on the way their voice is heard during the decisionmaking process, how much do they cooperate with the Albanian Parliament, etc.

In the end of the first day of the training, discussions focused on the identification of some issues related to local government that can be supported by women candidates in the elections

during their campaign trails, as well as the identification of help packages for women councillors.

At the end of the training, women councillors were acknowledged with the Blog established by dldp for the Women in Politics Network, which aims the promotion of this network and informing the public about its work and achievements. The training was successful and strengthened the spirit of cooperation between women councillors of Shkodër and Durrës Qarks.

“The art of public speaking” -Second Training with the Women in Politics Network of Dibra, Lezha and Kukës Regions Women themselves identified the improvement of public speaking abilities as a need for training, so on May 20-21, 2017, in Prishtina of Kosovo, it was held the training “The art of public speaking”, for the women councillors of Dibra, Lezha and Kukës Regions.

In the two days of training, the communication and media expert Valbona Sulçe - Kolgeci spoke on interesting and useful topics to help women councillors prepare a good speech, to manage their public speaking, to be professional in different presentations, etc.

The first day of the training was opened with a successful model of women's political profile therefore it was invited Mrs Mimoza Kusari – Lila, Mayor of Gjakova Municipality, which spoke about the role that women have in politics in central and local level in Kosovo.

She also spoke about her personal journey and gained experience during the work in different positions giving the

message that politics requires strong personality, extensive knowledge and most of all good will and collaboration to overcome the challenges faced in complex context such as in the region we live.

Women councillors had an added interest on the way their voice is heard during the decisionmaking process, the critical attitude toward the leader, etc.

In the end of the first day of the training, discussions focused on the identification of some issues related to local government that can be supported by women candidates in the elections during their campaign trails, as well as the identification of help packages for women councillors.

At the end of the training, women

councillors were acknowledged with the Blog established by dldp for the Women in Politics Network, which aims the promotion of this network and informing the public about its work and achievements. The training was successful and strengthened the spirit of cooperation between women councillors of Dibra, Lezha and Kukës.

Information campaign on “Budget Transparency” - the latest project in Shkodra Municipality Dldp has helped the staff of Shkodra Municipality to prepare an instrument on transparency and monitoring of the municipal budget. This assistance given to Shkodra Municipality comes after many years of cooperation in the field of local finances management. During 2015, the first year of the new big municipality established due to the territorial reform, dldp supported the municipality in preparing as good as possible the budget for 2016. Dldp experts in close cooperation with municipal experts, including all directorates, prepared this budget and after being finished, via the Ministry of Finances, it was distributed as a good model in all municipalities of the country. This good practice and this good budget model was a good document for municipal experts but it was voluminous and was not easy to be comprehended by citizens. Hence, the need of preparing an instrument that would be based on the prepared document

of the budget with programs, but that must be read and understood by common citizens who had difficulties reading such professional documents.

The instrument of transparency and monitoring of the budget (Smart Budget Transparency) puts on the map all projects that the municipality has on the budget, showing also their status, if they are started or if they have finished. The SBT instrument gives citizens information on what the project is, which the company is dealing with the project and what the deadlines are. In addition, citizens are given the possibility to view and make comparisons through pictures of before and after the project. All citizens may request according to budget programs of the municipality to see in which administrative units the projects are being carried out. The SBT instrument gives information not only for expenses, but for income as well, which is

the level of income paid by each administrative units during different periods of the year and also during different years.

Dldp has also made possible a promotional campaign with the slogan WE ARE TRANSPARENT to present the instrument to the citizens. For this reason, promotional materials have been completed and distributed during several meetings with citizens and different interest groups. In the local media, it is broadcast a TV spot, which gives info on how to use the SBT instrument on the municipal website. This good example of transparency of the budget is being replicated with the support of dldp also by Durrës Municipality.

dldp continues the local government national trainings program Dldp in cooperation with the Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA) has started the national trainings for 2017 in March and has continued them during May and June on delivery of administrative services from local governance, public finance management and urban waste management.

Considering the reforms undertaken by the Albanian Government in the field of decentralization and local government, as well as the approval of the Decentralization Strategy, one of its main objectives is the raising of professional capabilities of LGU employees.

In 2016, dldp and the Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA), as the legal authority on issuing certified trainings for local government employees, carried out for the first time long-term trainings on the management of public finances and waste management.

This cooperation was widened further on 2017 with the Local Administrative Services Program.

Continuing the good experience of cooperating with dldp, identified and contacted the Regional Development Agencies of the country in the role of facilitators for the foreseen activities for the smooth finalizing of these trainings.

In cooperation with Regional Development Agency 1 (RDA), dldp and ASPA started the first training for Shkodra, Lezha and Kukës qarks on “Delivery of local government services”. This training contains 3 modules and took place within May. In the first training held in Shkodra and organized on 11-12, May was attended by 27 representatives from the 10 municipalities of Shkodra Region. While on May 18-19 in cooperation with RDA 2, this training was organized for the Qarks of Tirana, Durrës and Dibra.

While on June 8, in cooperation with RDA 4 this training was held with experts from the Qarks of Vlora, Gjirokastra and Fier.

In the framework of the Urban Waste Management Training Program in cooperation with ASPA, on 25 May the training on the Cost and Tariff Calculation, Module II was held, in cooperation with the four Regional Development Agencies.

Continuous trainings of experts from 61 local self-government units in the field of local public finance management as part of the National Decentralization Strategy and Cross-Sectoral Strategy for Public Administration Reform became concrete with the organization of the national trainings on the first module "Strategic Planning and Local Finance Management ", that took place in June with the participation of finance experts from 12 Qarks of the country.