Baseline Study on Roma Housing ISBN 978-608-65506-5-2 in the Municipality of Prilep Baseline Study on Roma Housing in the Municipality of Prilep March, 2017 This Baseline Study was made possible with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of the Baseline Study are the sole responsibility of the authors and in no way can be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 7 2. Municipality of Prilep 9 3. Home and Housing 12 Housing of Roma population 13 4. Housing in the Municipality of Prilep 18 5. Methodology for Development of the Baseline Study 22 5.1. Consultative Meetings 23 5.2. Analysis of Documents 25 5.3. Survey 25 5.4. Presentation of the Baseline Study on the Housing and Urban Development of Roma Population in the Municipality of Prilep 27 6. Survey Findings 28 6.1. Structure of Respondents 28 6.2. Home Conditions 29 6.3. Local Environment 35 6.4. Findings from the Meetings with Representatives of the Local Self-Government and Public enterprises 38 7. Conclusions 41 Recommendations Stemming from the Participatory Evaluation Held on 29th November 2016, in Prilep 45 Resources and Literature 48 Annex 1. Competences of the Municipal Council and the Mayor 51 Annex 2. Persons involved in preparing the Baseline Study on Roma housing in Municipality of Prilep 53 List of Acronyms ESA - Employment Service Agency of the Republic of Macedonia SSO - State Statistical Office EIDHR - European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights LSGU - Local Self-Government Unit PE - Public Enterprise LLG - Local Leader Group MoLSP - Ministry of Labor and Social Policy IMCSA - Inter-municipal Center for Social Affairs MoES - Ministry of Education and Science NAP - National Action Plan UN - United Nations UNHCHR - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights HRBA - Human Rights Based Approach RIC - Roma Information Center Introduction 1. Introduction This Baseline Study is part of the project “Roma Housing Rights for Sustainable Urban Development” implemented by Habitat Mace- donia in collaboration with “ROMA S.O.S.” - Prilep, “Sumnal” - Skopje (Chair) and “Cherenja” - Shtip. This project has started in December 2015 and is financed by the European Union, under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). The Project is being implemented in three municipalities: Prilep, Shtip and Chair (Skopje). Its aim is to strengthen the inclusion and participation of local Roma communities in social inclusion processes in the area of housing. The project will strengthen the local mechanisms for collab- oration and networking; motivate participation of Roma in decision- making processes at local level, in the process of community develop- •ment, urban development and social inclusion. The project, inter alia, will implement the following activities: • Establishment of Local Leader Groups (LLG) in the three • municipalities; Mentor support for LLG during the project implementation; • Conducting over 15 workshops and trainings at local and national level; Preparing and publishing three baseline studies for Shtip, Prilep and Chair, that will give an overview and analysis of the housing • situation and the level of urbanization in the so called Roma settlements; Preparation of a Study on the Sustainable Urban Development of Sub-standard Settlements, which will analyze the status of housing and urban development, with a focus on local and national policies in the fields of housing and urbanization processes. The general aim of this Baseline Study is to define the condi- tions in the housing and urbanization of Roma settlements in the mu- nicipality of Prilep. The specific objective is to determine the problems related to the housing, right to housing and access of local self-government in relation to the urban development of Roma in the aforementioned municipalities. The basis for the development of the Baseline Study was the survey conducted in 600 families who live in the so called Roma set- tlements in the municipality of Prilep. During the development of the 7 Baseline Study on Roma Housing in the Municipality of Prilep Baseline Study, a series of meetings was organized with citizens and responsible persons in the municipality of Prilep and relevant institu- tions. Also analysis of current legal solutions that regulate the hous- ing in the country and in the municipality was carried out. With this Baseline Study, we will try to present the current situation of Roma in the municipality of Prilep and help to better understand the prob- lems and needs of Roma community related to the housing. Moreover, the Baseline Study should serve as a basis for defining the priority needs of the local community, for mobilization of citizens and their inclusion in the decision-making processes at local level, as well as for increasing the involvement of local authorities in the housing area and sustainable urban development. In all three municipalities where the project is being imple- mented, i.e. in the so called Roma settlements, a certain improvement of housing conditions has already been noticed. This is due to sev- eral factors: increased awareness of citizens regarding the housing and change of living habits of Roma community, as well as increased number of initiatives of the local government for improving the living conditions in the suburb settlements. 8 Municipality of Prilep 2. Municipality of Prilep In historical resources, Prilep had been mentioned for the first time in 1014. The city territory and its surrounding area had been one of the most important strategic,1 political and military areas of this part of the Balkans. The municipality of Prilep is located in the central part of the southern region of the Republic of Macedonia, and in the northern part of the biggest wheat producing region in the country, Pelagonia. The municipality stretches 1,195 km2 and according to the area, it is the biggest municipality in Macedonia. There are in total 59 inhabited places - the City of Prilep and 58 villages. As concerns the number of citizens, the municipality is on the fifth position out of 84 municipali- ties in total. The municipality also spreads on one part of the uplands of Mariovo, which borders with the Republic of Greece. According to the Census in 2002, 76,768 citizens had been registered in the municipality of Prilep, of whom 93.2% were Mace- donians. Of the total population in the municipality of Prilep, 89% (69,704 citizens) live in the city, whereas the remaining ones or 11% (7,064) citizens) live in the rural areas. The distance of Prilep from the City of Skopje is 135 km, and the distance from the two airports in the country is 130 km from the airport “Alexandar the Great” in Skopje and 125 km from the airport “St. Paul” in Ohrid. Prilep is 50 km far from the southern border of Macedonia (with Greece). There is a railway line passing through the city, which con- nects Bitola, Veles, Prilep and Skopje, and through Skopje, the city is connected with other countries. The distance of Prilep from Thessa- loniki, Greece (airport and sea-port) is approximately 210 km, and it is connected with Skopje and Thessaloniki via the highway E-75 and trunk road A-3. The distance from the sea-port in Durres, (Albania) is 240 km, and from the sea-port in Igoumenitsa (Greece) is 350 km. Prilep is part of the Pelagonia Planning Region. The Pelagonia Planning Region plays a significant role in enhancing the favorable business environment and supports the process of increasing the domestic and foreign investments and competitiveness of the entire economy by fostering the entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as by promoting the tourism and natural and cultural values. According to data from the State Statistical Office, the Skopje Re- gion had the biggest share in the GDP of the Republic of Macedonia 1 Strategy for Local Economic Development of the Municipality of Prilep, 2014-2020, in 2011,December with 2014. 42.4%, whereas the Northeast Region had the smallest 9 Baseline Study on Roma Housing in the Municipality of Prilep share, with only 5.5%. The share of Pelagonia Planning Region in the GDP of the Republic of Macedonian in 2011 was 11.6%. The economy of the municipality of Prilep plays an important role in the economy of the Republic of Macedonia. Data from the State Statistical Office (MAKSTAT Database, 2013) show that in the country there are 71,290 business entities registered. If this number is com- pared to the number of business entities in the municipality of Prilep, which is 2,763, it can be concluded that Prilep contributes significant- ly to the economy of the country, As in other regions, the micro and small enterprises are the most important drivers of the economic development. Micro and small en- terprises participate with 99% in the overall production. The economy in Prilep is mainly focused on the following sec- tors: tobacco industry, food industry, mining, agriculture (with the tobacco as the most important crop), textile industry, trade, industry for production of machinery and robotics, metal processing industry etc. The biggest portion of revenues of population in the municipal- ity of Prilep is earned from agriculture, with tobacco, cereals and veg- etables as the most important crops. The stock breeding is also very much present in the municipality of Prilep. Through the trunk road A1 - section Gradsko - Prilep, the munic- ipality of Prilep is connected with the motorway Kumanovo - Gevgeli- ja, which is actually the connection with the capital city and all other municipalities from the central and eastern part of the country. The trunk road A-3 is the connection with Bitola and the border crossing Medjitlia and Republic of Greece, as well as with Prespa and Ohrid Regions, whereas with the western part of the country, Prilep is con- nected via the regional roads R-1303 with Kichevo and R-1306 with Krushevo.