10 reasons why Prrenjas should not merge with Librazhd

By Luciano Boci

1. Prrenjas has sufficient demographic mass to be a separate municipality.

According to the 2023 Census, the Municipality of Prrenjas has 18,768 inhabitants, organized into four administrative units: Prrenjas, Qukës, Stravaj and Rrajcë. This is not a ghost municipality with a few hundred inhabitants, but a territory with a population comparable to many other municipalities that continue to exist separately. Librazhd has 23,312 inhabitants. So, the merger would not be the integration of an insignificant unit, but the merging of a complete community into another.

2. The merger would create a municipality that would be too large and difficult to administer.

Prrenjas and Librazhd are separated by about 29 kilometers of road, while many villages of Rrajca, Stravaj, Qukës, Lunik or Stëbleva are much further from the possible administrative center. A map can connect them with a line. The resident, meanwhile, must make the route in reality, not with a mouse.

3. The administrative center would be moved away from the citizens of Prrenjas.

Services currently received in Prrenjas would gradually be concentrated in Librazhd: documentation, urban planning, economic assistance, local taxes, permits, forest and land administration. For residents of remote areas, this means more time, more expenses and less access.

4. Prrenjas has a distinct territorial and economic identity.

Prrenjas is naturally connected to the axis Qukës–Rrajcë–Qafë Thanë, Qafë Plloçë, with mining, agricultural, forestry, tourist activities and with the corridor towards Pogradec in North Macedonia. Librazhd has another functional extension, along the Shkumbini valley and towards the areas of Çermenika and Stëbleva. The two territories can cooperate without being forced to lose their institutional individuality.

5. Prrenjas is a strategic border and transport hub.

Its position near Qafë Thanë gives Prrenjas a specific role in transport, trade, tourism and cross-border cooperation. A territory with this profile needs an administration that focuses precisely on these opportunities, not an administrative periphery that competes for attention with an even larger space.

6. The union would weaken the political representation of the area.

Prrenjas would lose its mayor, a council focused on its own problems, and some of its weight in decision-making. In a joint council, the needs of Qukës, Rrajca, and Stravaj would compete with those of the seven administrative units of Librazhd. The usual result is known: the center gets the investments, the periphery gets the promises.

7. Administrative savings are not proven.

Removing the name “municipality” does not eliminate the needs of the territory. Local offices, field workers, road maintenance, water supply, cleaning, civil protection and social services are still needed. Some management positions may be removed, but the real costs of service remain. They may even increase due to distances and a larger territory.

8. Union does not solve depopulation, on the contrary

Depopulation is fought with jobs, roads, schools, health, support for agriculture and investment. It is not fought by eliminating local institutions. When an area is losing residents, the answer cannot be to remove its administrative center. This is like closing the ambulance to a patient because he is sick.

9. Prrenjas has a coherent urban and rural network.

Its four administrative units form a connected territory around the city of Prrenjas and the national axis. Rrajca Qukësi, the Prrenjas unit and Stravaj are units that have an identifiable center and a functional relationship between them.

10. Reform should bring power closer, not further away.

The fundamental principle of decentralization is subsidiarity. Decisions should be made as close to the citizen as possible. The Prrenjas–Librazhd Union would do the opposite. It would expand the territory, move the center away, and reduce accountability.

So Prrenjas should not be merged with Librazhd because it is a territory with a population, identity, economy, strategic position and special needs. It does not need to be merged, but to be strengthened.

Territorial reform should not produce large municipalities on the map that are unattainable in real life. Prrenjas should remain a separate municipality, with more powers, more funding, and more services for its citizens.