HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT Albania 2002 Challenges of Local Governance and Regional Development Prepared for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) by the Human Development Promotion Center (HDPC) challenges of local governance and regional development 1 _____________________________________________________________________________________ for specific aspects, it is collaborated with The Albanian Association of Municipalities The Institute for Research and Development Alternatives The Albanian Center for the Information Technology The Center for Autonomy and Local Democracy The Institute for Habitat Development (Co-Plan) The Institute for Contemporary Studies The Institute of Urban Research and Arjana Misha, Artan Hoxha, Auron Pasha, Besnik Aliaj, Emira Galanxhi, Ferdinand Poni, Godiva Rrembeci, Prof.Dr.Gjergji Sinani, Klement Kolaneci, Prof.Dr.Kosta Bajraba, Mimoza Dhembi, Vojsava Progri. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Translator Robert Elsie Information contained in this report is not subject to copyright. However, clear acknowledgement and reference to of the Albanian Human Development Report 2002 authorship is required, when using this information. The views expressed herein are those of the authors of the report and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme. For more information please contact: Human Development Promotion Center (HDPC) Rr. Vaso Pasha, P. 9/1, Tirane Tel: +355 4 253 300, Fax: +355 4 253 299 E-mail: [email protected] and/or Office of the Resident Representative UNDP Tirana, Albania Tel: +355 4 233122 E-mail: [email protected] This report is available electronically through the Internet World Wide Web, at:Htpp:///www.undp.org.al Graphic design: studio grafike Elsi Kongo Photographs by Genci Treska Printed on PEGI ©:HDPC Note: The report refers to the developments in the country up to the end of September 2002. This report is based on official statistics from the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). Besides the references, data from different studies are provided by NGOs and individuals who collaborated during the preparation of the NHDR 2002. report. 2 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT - ALBANIA 2002 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT Albania 2002 Challenges of Local Governance and Regional Development Prepared for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) by the theHuman Development Promotion Center (HDPC) ______________________________________________________________________ Lead Author Dr. Ylli Çabiri Core Team Edi Rama, Filloreta Kodra, Dr. Lindita Xhillari, Milva Ekonomi, Piro Misha and Remzi Lani, Technical and administrative support for the preparation of the NHDR 2002 was provided by: Peter S. Gudgeon - Interregional Adviser, United Nations DESAexpert Sergej Tsvetarsky - Statistical Expert and Eno Ngjela - Project Coordinator, UNDP Tirana : challenges of local governance and regional development 3 4 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT - ALBANIA 2002 Preface It is my great honor to be invited to write a few MDGs and must now move ahead to make sure words by way of introduction to this – the fifth they commence – there is no time to loose. Human Development Report - prepared for Albania. The previous NHDRs of Albania Significantly the report observes that there is little covered a diverse set of development themes correspondence between the objectives of the local including the main development issues since 1990. government reform and the actual support given to the various regions. It is revealed that fiscal Increasingly the national HDR is seen as a decentralization – which should go hand in glove document, which highlights and explores issues with administrative decentralization, has been relating to critical economic, social and human largely ignored as an essential instrument of local development concerns of the day. It is intended to development. The result is that the poorest regions raise the level of debate on important features of are grossly under-resourced and getting poorer and social and human development. This I believe it the richest regions - mainly in the center of the has succeeded in doing. As can be seen from the country around Tirana are becoming richer and title of this report – a particularly sensitive and even in a sense over developed in a haphazard and germane topic has been chosen for discussion, unplanned manner. The poorest regions are loosing namely decentralization and local governance. The population at an alarming rate, employment Report is replete with observations, ideas and opportunities for the youth are almost non-existent suggestions on the policy front covering, inter alia, and infrastructure is falling into disrepair. This the social failures of the transition process, how to does not bode well for the future more equitable improve local governance, bring about more development of Albania. equitable development and on how to involve the citizenry in local government affairs. Finally I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Human Development Promotion Center As is now well known the national Human (HDPC), which has marshaled the expertise to Development Reports also present the calculations undertake the research in this Report including the of the various human development indicators of calculation, for the first time, of the HDI, and the the host country in accordance with the associated indices. methodology presented in the global Human Development Reports. In more than one sense, I would also like to express our appreciation to the 2002 NHDR for Albania marks a major UNDESA, which provided technical support for watershed in that, for the first time, the national the preparation of the NHDR 2002. Not least we HDI has been calculated. It also breaks new ground have utilized the expertise of the Bulgarian Institute in the presentation of regional human development of Statistics – through Mr. Sergej Tsvetarsky in indicators – at the district and prefecture levels. the preparation of the national and regional HDIis. On the basis of this new information, the report This is an excellent example of intra-regional draws out some relevant comparisons of the technical cooperation, which I am happy to economic and social conditions in the poorest support. regions and in the rapidly growing urban centers that are the new homes of the economic migrants The next stage will be to ensure that the Report from the poorest districts. gets adequate exposure and we will support this through a series of workshops after the initial The Report also covers the linkages between the launching ceremony. We have already paved the HDIs and the Millennium Development Goals way for this by the hosting of a meeting of the (MDGs) – and it is seen that for the attainment of regional media on the preliminary findings of the the latter the government must address the problem NHDR and used the services of a seasoned expert of deep-rooted rural poverty by tackling the in the media world – Mr. Ian Williams to guide deprivation in the most isolated regions. A new this process. In closing, I believe the challenge is regional planning approach must be developed to now also for the government and Civil Society in jointly address the problems of rural poverty, Albania to ensure that the issues addressed in the depopulation and deprivation and the rather NHDR 2002 are taken up in earnest. chaotic forms of urban development that has emerged in Albania. Likewise, support to the Anna Stjarnerklint – government and the peoples of Albania in the Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident design and implementation of a feasible path to Representative - United Nations achieving the MDGs has assumed a high profile in the UN system and the international Tirana community. All countries, and not least Albania, December 2002 must rapidly develop a strategy for achieving the MDGs. The government has agreed to these challenges of local governance and regional development 5 Glossary of Acronyms _____________________________________________________________________ CoM Council of Ministers GPRS Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy NHDR National Human Development Report INSTAT National Institute for Statistics MDG Millennium Development Goals HDI Human Development Index HDPC Human Development Promotion Center UNDP United Nations Development Programme NGO Non Governmental Organization GDP Gross Domestic Product EU European Union HPI Human Poverty Index GDI Gender Development Index GEM Gender Empowerment Measure TAI Technology Achievement Index 6 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT - ALBANIA 2002 table of contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8 1 THE HUMAN DIMENSION OF DEVELOPMENT 17 1.1 Transition expectations and reality 17 1.2 Poverty and social exclusion 22 1.3 The role of development strategies 25 1.4The measurement of human development 26 1.5 The challenge of local development 37 1.6 Human development and linkages with the MDGs 39 2 THE LOCAL MOSAIC AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE 43 2.1 Trends in local governance 43 2.2 Current territorial and administrative divisions 45 2.3 Assessment of the new local government administrative structure 50 2.4Regionalism - a new vision for development 53 2.5 Beyond consensual politics 55 3 CENTRALIZED DECENTRALIZATION 59 3.1 Decentralization within the framework of centralized governance 59 3.2 Progress in decentralization 61 3.3 Local administration capacity - reason or pretext 67 3.4Issues in fiscal decentralization 68 3.5 Regional funding policies and strategic development 76 3.6 The centralizing influence of