The Mayor of Klina, ZenunElezaj, was the next guest invited to the AAB College campus in Prishtina to give a lecture on local governance of Kosovo municipalities. During his lecture, he spoke of the achievements and the shortcomings of the Municipality of Klina. He said that,as Mayor, he is always in the service of the citizens and that transparency and accountability come first in this line of work.  

“Every request made by the institutions, journalists, or othercitizens have been taken into account and sent to the competent bodies for consideration andimplementation. Transparency is especially important these days where Mayors and other officials are painted in a negative light and accused of abusing their power for personal gain. Believe me when I say that I am here in the service of the citizens.” Said Elezaj.

One of the main challenges for the Mayor of the Municipality of Klina is the high unemployment rate of its youth. According to him, hiring students should be a priority for any municipality in Kosovo. He stressed that his main goal during his mandate as Mayor is to stimulate young people into becoming part of the labor market. Furthermore, Mayor Elezaj used this opportunity to discuss with the students of AAB College about Kosovo’s recent decision to raise the tax on Serbian products.

He said that this is the biggest step Kosovo has taken so far as an independent country.  “Speaking as an individual, this is the biggest step that was taken by the government of Kosovo since its inception. It is the responsibility of the Government to prepare defense scenarios that educate us on how to protect ourselves against threats such as this.” Stated Mayor Elezaj. This lecture ended with an interactive discussion between Mayor ZenunElezaj and the students of the Faculty of Public Administration from AAB College.