CPII launches the monitoring report "Transparency of State Publications, 2010"

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Citizens Transparency Office in Durres calls for immediate approval of the Municipality Budget for 2011

The Citizens’ Transparency Office in Durres, expressed its concern today about serious delays in approving the Municipality budget for 2011 by the newly elected City Council. Although the local elections ended in May 8, Durres Municipality has not yet its budget for 2011. Moreover, it is not yet set a date when the budget will be adopted by the new municipal council, while remain less than four months from this year to end.
Approval of the city budget is responsibility and legal obligation to the Municipal Council. The Municipality Council should not miss a minute to fulfill its primary task which is passing the annual budget.
The Citizens’ Transparency Office of Durres has required that all actors should be included in the budget discussion process prior approval. No one should be excluded. The city needs investments as much as the citizens need to know and has a right to now how their taxes will be spent.
The Municipality budget is a crucial efforts of all the citizens of Durres, whether be municipality administrators or ordinary people, to have a better city, better public services, wider opportunities for economic development, cleaner environment etc. The candidates on May 8 elections, promised a better city, and the citizens voted exactly for a better city. The budget is the instrument that makes these promises tangible. Without a budget, the promises remain in the air.
The Citizens’ Transparency Office of Durres reminds the Municipal Council its big responsibility in front of its own citizens. The Office asks for the draft budget to be provided as soon as possible to the interested stakeholders, so they can get to know it and provide their inputs prior approval. The Office also requires from the Municipality administration to publish as soon as possible a copy of the draft budget in the official website of the institution, so that any interested citizen can see and get informed on the draft
The Citizens’ Transparency Office of Durres is established by the Center For Public Information Issues, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, NED, (in Washington DC). The mission of the Civic Transparency Office is to promote the citizen’s participation in local decision making.