The Mayor of Pristina, Përparim Rama, accused the Vetëvendosje movement of sabotaging and blocking projects for the development of the capital. He cited the Pristina ring road and hospital as examples. But despite this situation, Mr. Rama says, Pristina has been transformed.
Mr. Rama is in the United States to attend the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, on January 20.
During the interview with Voice of America, the mayor of Pristina responds to critics who accuse him of not solving problems with traffic, waste collection, or environmental pollution. Mr. Rama also speaks about the investigations launched by the Special Prosecution Office into the 12 million euro tender for the establishment of the 'Architect of the Capital' service.
Mr. Rama says that all legal procedures were followed with the tender, describing it as a major project that has helped transform Pristina.
Voice of America: Mr. Rama, Kosovo is now officially in the election campaign for the February 9th showdown. Do you think anything has changed since the previous elections, where your party, the Democratic League, came in third? Is there a chance that the LDK will be the first or even second force?
Progress Rama: The Democratic League of Kosovo has invited me to run for mayor of the capital. So it is the only party that at that time began its immediate transformation, that is, the revitalization of the party, the review of internal structures and has done a great job since that time, that is, more than three years, when we won the race, that is, when I became mayor of the capital, mayor of Pristina, a race that was thought to be unwinnable. But here we have won and we have shown that with a genuine vision, with a genuine analysis and recognition of the problems, and with a vision for the future of the capital, there is nothing that can stop us. And this is already being seen after more than three years in the management of the capital.
Voice of America: But does the party (LKD) have this winning vision for the general elections?
Progress Rama: Yes, we are working together with Dr. Lumir Abdixhiku, who is the chairman of the Democratic League of Kosovo, where the internal structures have been restructured and revitalized, so it is a fantastic team and winner in the February 9 race. We had a joint conference where we pledged that investments in the capital would be 1.5 billion euros, investments that the capital needs because the capital is the largest taxpayer in the Kosovo budget. So 49.8 percent of the entire Kosovo budget is paid by businesses and citizens of the capital, for this reason it is important that investments come first and the largest ones are for the capital.
Voice of America: Logic would have you think that a local government leader would prefer to have his party in the central government in order to advance the projects and vision for the city. Have you experienced any problems in your work, considering that the Vetëvendosje movement is in the central government. How would you define cooperation with the government?
Përparim Rama: I think that in any normal government there should not be a problem about who is at the central level and who is at the local level, but despite the fact that I have been neutral in terms of governance, so Pristina has been for everyone, that's how I have governed and that's how I will continue to govern it, looking at unity and not division, unfortunately we have not had the support of the government, so we have had sabotage and various blockades in the development of the capital. For example, for major projects such as the ring road and the capital hospital. But despite the blockades and sabotage, we have managed to realize the capital's budget by 80 percent, which is actually a historic achievement, the largest in the history of the capital, as well as 63 percent in capital investments. Imagine if we had a more normal government, if I call it that, what we would have been able to do. We would then have the opportunity to do much more in the capital, but also throughout Kosovo.
Voice of America: But what would you say to your critics who blame you for not solving problems related to heavy traffic, narrowing of spaces for cars, problems with garbage collection, environmental pollution, illegal construction, or other criticisms of this nature?
Progress Rama: These are exactly the problems that I mentioned earlier. So the capital ring road, a major project for the capital that has been ready for two and a half years now, and that is being blocked by the government. A 206 million project, in which 40 percent of all funds are actually grants from the European Community, continues to be blocked by the government. So this is a major project that would have significantly alleviated and improved traffic in the capital. With the information that we receive every day, we have 748 thousand entries into the city, I mean entries, so only from IPKO mobile telephony, we have this data from them. So imagine when we also take those who have VALA phones and others, we have close to a million entries. What does this mean? That almost more than half of Kosovo comes to and leaves the capital every day and this naturally causes pressure on traffic in the capital. For this reason, major projects such as the capital ring road...
Voice of America: You're talking about the 'A' road, what's happening to it?
Përparim Rama: We are currently continuing work on the A road, but we have won the court three times, so they have blocked it for us. We went to court and won the first time, and we also won the second and third times. So they have blocked our project for more than six months. Major projects that are for the benefit of all citizens of the capital and not only. So when they are for the capital, they are for all of Kosovo, because I mentioned that we are the largest taxpayers in the Kosovo budget. So these are the challenges. But it is not only this, there has also been a lack of school construction, we are building schools all around. We have now continued full-day schooling and this has become a problem because parents have had to send their children to school, not in the areas where they live, but in the center in the morning and pick them up at noon, which has also caused traffic problems. So when we have a city that is developing and that has a fantastic energy, a positive energy and we are enabling businesses and every citizen to come, to work, to develop, it also needs infrastructure, it also needs cooperation with the central level. That's what we don't have here. But despite the fact, I'm saying that we don't have the support of the central level, we continue to transform the capital and continue with good and major projects for it.
Voice of America: Mr. Rama, the Special Prosecution Office confirmed a few months ago that it has launched an investigation into the 12 million euro tender for the establishment of the 'Architect of the Capital' service. Do you believe that all legal procedures were followed during the tender?
Progress Rama : Yes, I have all the information that all legal procedures have been followed and it is normal that all contracts in the public sector should be analyzed, to see if everything is legal. I have welcomed these and I will welcome them in the future. However, the contract of the Capital Architect is a major project that helps the capital in its transformation. So far, not even half of this contract has been spent, we have more than 65 projects for the benefit of the capital. For the first time, the capital has numerous projects where it is possible for the works on the ground to be carried out better, faster and in a planned manner. For this reason, I am saying that we have achieved the historically largest budget execution this year and we will continue on the same path. The projects will continue, even the major projects, despite the fact that we have a blockade from the central level.
Voice of America: Will you run for re-election for Pristina?
Përparim Rama: Of course, yes. I said during my first candidacy that I need eight years to transform the capital, we are in the process of transformation, so we have started the transformation of the capital. Pristina is now internationally known in terms of art, culture, major events, and also a good life, where the technology sector, for example, has more than 35 thousand employees, most of whom are focused in the capital, with increasingly larger and more numerous companies from different countries coming to the capital to establish their base.
Voice of America: How could the outcome of the February 9 elections affect Pristina's fate in the fall local elections?
Progress Rama : Surely there will be interconnections, but I say if we have the center-right winning the central level, then development not only in the capital, but in the entire territory of Kosovo will be better, more accelerated. If we have a victory of the extreme left, then it is normal that it will continue with obstacles. But we will not stop. The capital also has its own law and its own power, so there is nothing that stops us from transforming Pristina, and with Pristina, the entire country. /VOA (A2 Televizion)
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