More transparent decision-making: CPII provides Korça Municipality with digital acts’ database, ’07-’12

Korça, 28 March 2012 –Korça Municipality has already a new standard of transparency in the decision making process. All decisions of the Municipal Council from 2007 to date are available online, linked to its official website http://www.bashkiakorce.gov.al

This vital digital database was built by the Center for Public Information Issues, CPII, due to the coordination with its local branch, Office for Citizens’ Transparency, Korça and the support of Soros Foundation.

“CPII and its branch in Korça, Office for Citizens’ Transparency currently provide an added value to the transparency of the Municipal Council. They provide today not only to the Municipality but above all to Korça citizens, a digitalized archive of decisions of the Municipal Council. This is really a special contribution of indisputable value which indeed fills a gap created during these years in terms of the effective access to the Council decisions and practical use of new information technologies, directly helping the citizens”, said in his welcome speech the Chairman of the Municipal Council, Mr. Ilirian Pendavinji.

In the meantime, the Mayor Mr. Niko Peleshi, who was also present in the ceremony of the database donation, stated “The deeper the decentralization process, the higher the impact of decisions of Municipal Council and Municipality policies on the life quality of each citizen. These decisions should, at any time, be effectively accessible by each citizen. We are aware of the relevant challenges we had to date”.

“Currently, there are three municipalities in the Republic of Albania possessing an online database of decisions of the Municipal Council, specifically in Tirana, Durres and Korça. In the last two Councils such database was created and was further donated by CPII Center and its Offices of Citizens’ Transparency. We are very pleased for this achievement”, stated the CPII executive director, Gerti Shella. He extended his special gratitude to the members of the Office for Citizens’ Transparency, Korça, who have known how to apply in practice the entire training and instructions received for increasing the public participation in the decision making processes but also  to enhance the effective access to municipality acts.

The use of new technologies and  opening to innovation is one of  12 Principles of Good and Democratic Governance of the Council of Europe for the implementation of which, the  Municipal Council of Korça has assumed a commitment through the signature by its chairman, Mr. Niko Peleshi, of the social contract with citizens in April last year. Presently, due to the concrete assistance of the Office for Citizens’ Transparency and CPII, this contractual commitment may be deemed fulfilled.