Part of the discussion during the meeting in the Municipality of Prishtina was the spokesperson of the Municipality of Prishtina, Miranda Mullafazliu, the Municipal Assembly member, Vala Peshku, senior researcher at GAP Institute, Bekim Salihu, and Alma Tafarshiku, senior official for political affairs at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo. The panelists stressed the importance of implementing good governance principles in view of achieving good results of local governance in Kosovo. It was emphasized the importance of accurate information of citizens about the roles and responsibilities of their elected politicians, as well as the standards that should be adhered to in the exercise of their official duty so that they can hold them accountable.

The ‘Good Governance’ Platform has been produced as a need in Kosovo to bring local decision-makers closer to citizens to promote sustainable governance. Given that in Kosovo, many public officials struggle with understanding what good governance means when translated into the everyday tasks they need to exercise and the standards they need to uphold while holding their public office, the Good Governance Platform addresses this issue by providing explanation for relationships between municipal bodies and citizens, among municipal bodies and of each municipal body towards the state, and mapping out good decision-making processes as prescribed by the law. This platform is useful in fulfilling the knowledge gap of municipal officials, assisting public representatives and citizens, as both parties will be able to continuously verify the correct functioning of procedures and relations in public institutions.

This activity was held in the framework of the project “Increased Participation for Good Governance”, implemented by D4D, supported by the Embassy of Netherlands in Kosovo.