“Territorial reform” / Mazniku: The 2014 reform was successful, but insufficient for the SP’s aspiration

The co-chair of the Special Committee for Territorial Reform, Arbjan Mazniku, has argued the reasons why citizens and the country need a territorial reform. In his speech in Parliament, Mazniku declared that the 2014 reform, although it was a success, is insufficient for the Socialist Party’s aspiration. He stressed that Albanian citizens deserve better opportunities, while municipalities will be strengthened, income and investment per resident will rise and debts will continue to fall.

“It is very important that, at the moment we talk about how the territory is organised and when we raise issues related to administration, the important thing is to say: does that organisational structure have the ability to provide the services it should provide.

Was the 2014 reform a success? Yes, it was a success. No one from the DP said: we want the communes back.

Municipalities were strengthened, revenues rose, investment per resident rose, debts fell, the investment power of municipalities grew. And yet this is insufficient for the aspiration the SP has for how people in the territory are served, because we can do better, better than what we did then, and we can offer people better opportunities,” Mazniku declared.

The draft law on Territorial Reform, proposed by the Socialist Party, foresees reducing the number of municipalities from 61 to 46, while the opposition sought to increase the number of municipalities, taking them to 100.