Local LDK governance model based on development and employment

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has presented Saturday's Model of Local Governance, which at its bottom has the creation of conditions for economic development and job creation.

“The LDK is a centre-right party, and as such it maintains the private sector é private initiative at the centre of its ideological and political faith. This has been consistently witnessed during the LDK government, whether in tax policy, fiscal package, bureaucratic facilities, infrastructure and business treatment”, LDK chairman Isa Mustafa has said.

He has said that the LDK in this local elections has clear local economic development programme for each municipality, depending on the specifics of the municipality. “The local governance that the LDK offers is oriented: reducing unemployment and increasing the standard of living through the activism of potential for economic growth and employment; creating new economic capacities; creating opportunities for new investments; and increasing business competitiveness through improved and advancing local self-government in the area of economics”, Mustafa said.

The head of the LDK Parliamentary Group, Avdullah Hoti, has said the country's private sector has marked increased number of businesses. According to data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in addition to increasing the number of active businesses, facilities have also begun to change. Now we have an increase in the number of businesses in the production sector, and this is thanks to the economic and fiscal policies implemented by Government Mustafa during 2014-2017.

“Platform for local economic development guarantees that, in the next four years, in municipalities run by the LDK: to develop local support policies for businesses; improved urban and rural infrastructure; improved public services; greater and equal opportunities for all businesses and citizens; more suitable conditions for developing small and medium-sized businesses; external lending for municipal projects; support of businesses that create new jobs; and support local agricultural output; and etc.

He has added that increasing transparency and eliminating bureaucracy in municipalities will be the first step of governance and establish an accounting system in terms of spending tax on citizens and businesses.

“In collaboration with businesses, we will draft policies that fit businesses and change the rules and criteria that are obstacles to business. Our country is known for its natural wealth, mining and minerals, fertile land, forests, tourist potential, and so on. A great wealth of our country is the new, educated and entrepreneurial population, which the LDK gives special attention to in the government programme”, Hoti said.

LDK MP Lumir Abdixhiku has said that in many municipalities, the most developed sectors are trade and construction that employ the largest number of workers. But in many municipalities these two sectors have reached the highest level of their development. Therefore, orientation to production and services, as well as the use of economic potential in each municipality, is our priority.

Abdixhiku has said the LDK has defined the 10 main pillars of the Lokal Economic Development Platform.

The first set of local development platforms of LDK will be development and functioning of economic areas; the second pillar envisions the revision of municipal taxes and their collection; the third pillar is about increasing municipal financing, the fourth pillar of urban regulation in business development; the fifth environmental protection pillar, the six transport and infrastructure pillar, the pillar of seven subsidy of local businesses and products; the pillar of eight efficient public services; the nine pillars of agriculture and the entire rural development; and the development of ten pre-constructionary education pillars for the country, Abdoki said.