Communities under financial pressure, Ibrahim: Over 236m euros lost

 Ibrahimi has stressed that the findings of the report reflect the problems facing Kosovo municipalities, while blaming the central government for unilateral policies that, according to him, are burdening municipalities with unjust burdens.

The GAP report confirms what municipalities have constantly raised: that the main problems stem, not from the weaknesses of municipalities, but from the unilateral decisions of the central level. The findings coincide with reality: municipalities bear the burden of judicial debt, low revenues and demographic fall, but these challenges are imposed on them by policies and laws drafted without consulting them”, Ibrahimi said.

According to him, one of the biggest challenges facing municipalities is the implementation of judicial and final decisions stemming from collective contracts drafted at the central level.

“The most disturbing challenge is imposing judicial and final decisions on municipalities. This year alone, out of the total amount, where most means have been taken over to municipalities due to collective contracts approved by the central government and the respective unions, municipalities have been seized over 73.5m euros, out of which over 40m euros have been removed from capital investments. From 2022 to August 2025, that amount totals over 236m euros”, he stressed.

Ibrahim added that even though municipal budgets have increased, this growth has not resulted from a strategy for local development, but is the result of increased wages and financial formulas imposed on laws in force.

“It is true that municipal budgets have increased, but this has not been due to a political will to strengthen municipalities, but due to increased wages and enforcement of the laws in power and formulas for budgetary divisions that automatically increase the budget for municipalities. So growth is technical and not developmental”, he said.

Another concern raised by the Association is linked to personal revenues, which, according to Ibrahim, have been significantly reduced as a result of changes in the Property Tax Law.

Personal revenues have dropped precisely because of the arbitrary change of the Government Property Tax Act. This law, imposed without consultation, reduced the collections and made self - financing more difficult for municipalities. To improve the situation, it is imperative that the central level review the law along with municipalities and create new fiscal instruments that give more financial space to municipalities”, Ibrahim said.

However, he stressed that association is taking action to protect the interests of municipalities and to influence the necessary changes.

The Kosovo Commission's “Association is taking steps to protect municipalities from unilateral central-level decisions: Avoting for legal changes that prohibit burdening collective contracts on municipalities; working with donors to bring projects that help digitise and budgetary transparency”, he stressed.

In the end, Ibrahim accused the central government of failing to support the local level and of worsening the situation through decisions taken without consultation.

The government has not only failed to support the local level, but has often damaged it: it has not changed the Law on Local Finances to create the IV Investments for Capital Investment and the grant for Social Services, which would be a concrete support for municipalities; there is no law or other mechanism to ease the financial burden of municipalities; it has made unilateral decisions such as changing the Law on Property and imposing collective contracts that have left municipalities with debt and without an investment option, Ibrahimi.