DEMOS in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Government Administration (MLGA) have started the new round of Social Audits in 12 municipalities: Pejë/Peć, Drenas/Glogovac, Gjakovë/Đakovica, Malishevë/Mališevo, Klinë/Klina, Lipjan/Lipljan, Obiliq/Obilić, Viti/Vitina, Skenderaj/Srbica, Shtime/Štimlje, Ranillug/Ranilug, Kaçanik/Kačanik. Through the Social Audit, members of civil society, active citizens and professionals in the relevant fields are committed to contribute to better implementation of capital projects financed by the Performance Grant, aiming to improve the quality of public services.
The Director of the Department of Municipal Performance at MLGA, Drin Haraçia, says that Social Audit as a social accountability tool is very important for the Ministry. “This initiative will affect the fulfilment of one of the main objectives of the Strategy on Local Self-Government, which is: Strengthening partnerships between local government and civil society to create an inclusive and cohesive active citizenship”, he said during a panel discussion held on the occasion of the start of the new round of the Social Audit.
The Social Audit has so far been carried out in 18 municipalities, of which 9 with the support of MLGA, while 9 others with the support of DEMOS. The municipalities have welcomed this initiative and are interested in continuing the cooperation. Some of the recommendations offered by the Social Audit groups have also been taken into account through concrete investments in the municipalities.
This year, the projects that have been selected to undergo the Social Audit are mainly from the fields of education, health and the environment.
The representative of the DEMOS project who is responsible for the supervision of the Social Audit, Drilon Shala, says that in the entire process of social audits, special attention is paid to the inclusion and giving voice to marginalized groups, including women, young people, minorities and persons with disabilities.
“Through the Social Audit, citizen engagement increases, transparency and accountability at the local level increases and a public dialogue platform is promoted – with a focus on citizens-civil society-municipality triangle”, he emphasized.
This year, two non-governmental organizations, namely the Kosovar Local Government Institute (KLGI) and BIRN Kosova, have been selected through a competitive process to facilitate the implementation of the Social Audit in the respective municipalities. The findings and recommendations of the Social Audit groups will be made public at the end of the year.
The previous reports of the Social Audit groups can be found here