Rama also centralizes water, government initiatives that are undoing local government

S. Gjidede

From the beginning of next year, drinking water will be managed by a national operator, as a mechanism that is claimed to optimize supply for citizens.

This initiative was presented today by Prime Minister Edi Rama, according to which the 15 regional water companies in the country will be integrated under the leadership of a single institution, the National Water Operator. 

Through this platform, in the National Water Operator, the country's 61 municipalities will be shareholders with 2 to 5%, from the 49% they currently have in the 15 regional companies.

This move by Rama, presented as a reform, actually looks like another step towards centralizing executive power to the detriment of local autonomy. 

The reduction of shares from 49% to 2-5% is a concrete signal that proves that decision-making for a vital service like water is being taken out of the hands of communities and is being concentrated in a government-controlled institution. 

So far, Rama has described local government as an incompetent structure and is finding mechanisms to replace it with the government. 

But what else did Rama take from the local government?

Dismissal of municipal directors 

 

 

A few weeks ago, Rama publicly demanded the dismissal of the municipal leaders in Vlora and then 'expanded' the map to other areas after accusing them of negligence during the summer season. 

But instead of an institutional process, a political intervention was observed where appointments and dismissals were made by delegated groups of the SP. 

Political experts have seen this behavior as a propaganda spectacle to cover up the failures of local government and as an attempt to personalize power in every aspect of public life.

Analyst Fatos Lubonja considered these actions as anti-democratic messages in a media statement.

"The question that arises is: how can all the players of a team that has achieved an 'excellent' electoral result be punished? It is clear that it is not work that has brought this result, on the contrary, the country is experiencing a severe political, economic and cultural degradation," said Lubonja.

Political Science lecturer Ermal Hasimja also considered the appropriation of local government by the prime minister and the lack of legal justification for the dismissals to be concerning.

"Rama is trying to shift the responsibility for failures to others and present himself as the only moral and political authority in the country," said Hasimja, adding that this is also happening in function of the increasingly pronounced personalization of election campaigns.

Clearing public spaces 

Rama has also recently ordered the clearance of public spaces from unauthorized construction, a competence that traditionally belongs to municipalities. 

The Association for Local Autonomy has reacted several times to this approach of the Prime Minister, demanding transparency on the criteria for intervention and a clear regulation that does not overlook the role of local government. They have even warned that this model could create a precedent for other interventions without consultation. 

In this context, municipalities are not being viewed as partners, but as extensions of a government-controlled administration. Therefore, the initiative for the National Water Operator also comes in the same line, to serve as a political instrument and a model of governance where decision-making is centralized in the hands of Rama. Politiko.al/