On 21/11/2016 CiviKos Platform organized the conference on cooperation of civil society and Government. It was attended by Mr. Isa Mustafa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, representatives of civil society organizations, international organizations, the Council for the Implementation of the Government Strategy for Cooperation with Civil Society, officials of the Kosovo Government, civil society activists and media. During this meeting, Civil Society representatives addressed issues and concern of sector to Prime Minister Mustafa.
Prime Minister Mustafa was invited to discuss with representatives of civil society organizations about the civil society – government cooperation.At the beginning of the conference, CiviKos PlatformDirector Mrs. Valdete Idrizi stressed that Kosovo is facing huge problems in different areas, where civil society is continuously raising its voice, whether through protests or advocacy. Idrizi added that cooperation between civil society and the Government is also of particular importance. Today’s conversation with Prime Minister Mustafa focused on accessibility of government to civil society, and the problems that organizations face towards this institution. Selective accessibility of some ministries in relation to civil society organizations in being inclusive, non-transparent allocation of public funds for the organizations, lack of adequate public consultation, etc., where some of the topics that were addressed directly to the Prime Minister.
Besides cooperation in general, with particular emphasis were addressed some of the challenges and problems in implementation of the Government Strategy as: the negligence of the Government representatives in the Council, non-serious access towards the sector, delays in implementing the Strategy, the non-allocation of budget by government to implement the Strategy, etc. Representatives of organizations of people with special needs requested greater support by the Government for these categories, improving the legal framework and implementation of current laws regulating the issues of people with special needs.
Prime Minister Mustafa vowed that all the concerns raised will be treated with great seriousness by the government, and very quickly at the next meeting of the Council he will be present and require accountability and commitment by all ministries, since the role of civil society is extremely important. Also this meeting was rated by civil society activists and is considered a good start for improving cooperation between the two sectors.
CiviKos Platform, with a membership of over 180 organizations, is committed to creating a conducive environment for cooperation between civil society and government by ensuring transparency and inclusiveness in the whole process, and will continue to articulate issues of interest to the sector.