The municipalities managed their pandemic well, but they lacked communication with the central level

The change of two governments and the frequent change of measures are seen as the main problems facing Kosovo mayors during the pandemic management.

Once the first central level measures are taken, Kosovo municipalities have activated local emergency headquarters for COVID-19, through which headquarters have taken action to help citizens and businesses in their municipalities.

The executive director of the Kosovo Communists Association, Saban Ibrahimi, says that since March, when the first two cases were recorded with COVID-19, the mayors have been on the front lines of the throne in the struggle to prevent corruption from spreading.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the mayors have been on the front line in terms of the war preventing the spread of COVID-19. At first, there have been some challenges, but in time those challenges have been overcome and we can find that municipalities managed the best way COVID-19”, he says.

He stresses that there has been good co-operation with the central level and that they have been consulted before making any decision on the tribulation or release of anti measures. - CO VID.

However, Kosovo municipal heads show their experiences in managing pandemic and co-operation with the central level.

Prizren Mayor Mytaher Haskuka says that at first there have been difficulties as they were not prepared for such a situation, but that over the course of days he says they have undertaken all measures for better management of pandemic.

Prizren's first says frequent shift in decisions about anti measures - CO VID has caused problems because even he as mayor has not been well aware of those measures.

A problem that was especially caused after June, after July, has been that we have had many different decisions. The decisions have been changed within the week, every two days we have had other decisions, not the manual for protection, not that, not that, this has presented a problem because I, as chairman, have not been well informed about how we should act but in general with the Kosovo Police and the municipal inspectorate and health inspectorate, we have had very good co-operation”, Hasku says.

That there have been difficulties in implementing measures undertaken by the Government of Kosovo, says the mayor of the Gnjilane municipality Lutfi Haziri, who says they have managed to implement all anti-pronged measures, however. - CO VID.

He points out that difficulties in pandemic management have been serious, citing the lack of food often for oxygen.

The “have been difficult because initially the pandemic in the Kurti government has faced double attitudes or different positions between the presidency and the government, between the civil emergency situation and the state of emergency, but we have implemented our legal duty. Later in the Hoti government the manual was built, clear rules were built, and we acted in accordance with those manuals, we translated it into the needs of our municipality, and our reaction was daily. The emergency committee that is led by me includes municipal and state institutions that are faced with legal duty with pandemics and emergency situations, and we have reached with co-ordination to the regional public health centre, the general hospital that is regional, state police, civil emergencies, red cross, religious community and civil society so that all institutions and all factors are involved in preventing spread. The difficulties have been serious, we have been faced with supply in absence often to oxygen that has been necessary for patients in the hospital, increased social card”, Haziri says.

While the chairman of the Gjakova municipality, Ardian Gjini, says that since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a correct co-operation with the country's government and with the Ministry of Health, while respecting measures imposed by the central level attributes to citizens.

“Respecting measures should be attributed initially to citizens, we didn't need to intervene in unusual ways, once or twice throughout this time, two governments this year, we've had communication since the beginning, we communicate even through the Communist Association with all other mayors, we have our permanent” communication modes, says Djind.

Meanwhile, the head of the Peja municipality, Gazmend Muhharrier, says the restrictions undertaken by the country's government have been received by citizens with objections but stressing there has been respect for them.

“Like all other municipalities, there are after opposition, there are after the respect of measures and sometimes disrespect of measures, but now most of the citizens are aware that they are extraordinary measures and an extraordinary situation in which the world has never been”, says Muhram.

Bekim Salihu from the GAP Institute says municipalities have had a major role in managing the situation created by the pandemic. He says the local level has been dealt specifically with implementation of measures undertaken by the central level.

According to him, the local level is the third most important link in the management of the coronary situation, related to it, he says the local level managed well with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The GAP Institute has also made an assessment through a relevant analysis report, and the data says local government has had a good management of the situation created by the pandemic. In addition to this fact that the pandemic was not something thought out, something planned and therefore not institutionally prepared in this regard could reason to a degree, because it was not something previously thought and planned. That means the results say there was a good management on the local level over the situation created”, Salihu says.

Salihu says a defect that has characterised the report between the central and local levels is that often the government has taken measures without consulting the mayors.

“What has actually been missing is perhaps there was not much incorporation of municipalities in common decision-making between the national level and it would take the local level to agree on measures towards implementing them”, he says.