Budget for municipalities 40 million more for next year

Tahiri has clarified that through this bill, the budget for municipalities will be 40m euros more for next year.

“Budget Municipal, of 2019, is worth 531 million euros, or 40 million higher compared to that of 2018, which was 491 million euros. Expressed by percentage, that's 8%. The budget currently over half a billion euros for municipalities takes into account increased projections in all budgetary categories, including significant increases in specific grants (education and health). The municipalities, compared to 2018 to 2019, have additional financing in education of 14.7 million euros, while a total of 185m euros; already in health of 4.9 million euros. Expressing a total of 53.4m euros”, National Co-ordinator for Local Governance Besnik Tahiri writes in his analysis.

This is his full status:

Project budget for 2019, and projections for 2020-2021, are clear indications that in Kosovo we have a different ruling mindset

The Communist budget, in 2019, is worth 531 million euros, or 40 million higher compared to that of 2018, which was 491 million euros. Expressed by percentage, that's 8%. The budget currently over half a billion euros for municipalities takes into account increased projections in all budgetary categories, including significant increases in specific grants (education and health). The municipalities, compared to 2018 to 2019, have additional financing in education of 14.7 million euros, while a total of 185m euros; already in health of 4.9 million euros. A total of 53.4m euros.

This budget expressed in numbers takes into account the distribution of spending increases in these categories:
A) The salary and wages category growth of 6.7m euros (enhancing employment, covering under-budget employment, and raising wages)
b) Increases of spending for goods and services worth 13.6 million euros and c) increase of capital expenditures worth 18.8 million euros, or total investments of 164.9m euros.

In this budget, two laws have been budgeted for the first time; it for Pristina capital worth nearly 11m euros (10,841,400), and for the endangered environmental zone of Obilic, worth about 5 million (4,972,124). By the end of the mandate based on the structure of the 2019 municipal budget spending and projections for 2020-2021, the capital receives additional grants of nearly 35m euros (34,528,200), tools that do not affect the financing of the total grant to municipalities worth 10% of the Kosovo Republic's total budget.

So, the 2019 municipal level draft, envisions more budgetary sustainability, more investment maintenance opportunities and more functionality in services, whether administrative or sectoral. Despite the increase, funding remains insufficient through specific grants (education and health). Given the 2020-2021 projections, this annually projects growth to sustainable financing in these areas. And at the same time, we'll support the municipalities in raising cap and gas for collecting their own revenues.

In this context, the support added by the central government, specifically the line ministries, further strengthens the local level in the area of funding, given that in this framework Kosovo stands highest in the region. These days, the central government will proceed with approval of the concept-document for local government finances, further advancing policies promoting financing and efficient engineering of municipalities. This and supporting through decisions and sectoral legislation for the local level opens a new developmental perspective.