NGO Info-centar, together with its partner organizations and members of the Forum for Civic Dialogue (FCD)—Glasen Tekstilec from Shtip, Youth Cultural Center – Bitola, Spektar from Kriva Palanka, Women’s Civic Initiative from Sveti Nikole, and the Community Center of Struga Municipality—has continuously monitored the implementation of identified citizens’ priorities in six municipalities (Shtip, Struga, Kriva Palanka, Sveti Nikole, Krushevo, and Demir Hisar) during the period 2022–2025.
As part of this multi-year monitoring, we conducted a series of meetings and discussions with mayors and municipal administration, and tracked the fulfillment of priorities through information and documents obtained from the municipalities, including official municipal websites.
The citizens’ priorities emerged from a series of consultative meetings with citizens in 2021 and 2022. Memoranda for the implementation of priorities during 2022–2025 were signed with five municipalities (Shtip, Kriva Palanka, Krushevo, Demir Hisar, and Struga).
The monitoring showed that citizens’ priorities are most often related to improving traffic and urban infrastructure, enhancing water supply and sewage networks, creating and maintaining green and recreational areas, managing waste and improving public hygiene, functional public transport, digitalization and greater accessibility of municipal services, and increased support for youth and marginalized groups.
This report provides an overview of the progress in implementing citizens’ priorities in each of the included municipalities, including the challenges faced by local authorities. The monitoring shows that over the past four years, municipalities and local authorities have made efforts to address and implement the key priorities identified by citizens.
However, it is evident that most citizens’ priorities are not fully implemented and remain in the implementation phase. Infrastructure priorities (water supply, waste management, sewage) are most often partially realized. In all monitored municipalities, activities on these issues have been initiated, but implementation is ongoing.
The realization of priorities is uneven and often depends on the availability of financial resources, inter-institutional coordination and cooperation at both local and national levels, as well as the degree of citizen engagement and the level of municipal transparency and accountability.
On the other hand, good practices in municipalities demonstrate that regular communication and citizen involvement, planning activities based on real needs, and efficient and transparent use of available resources can achieve visible results, leading to the implementation of citizens’ priorities and the improvement of public services and quality of life at the local level.
The monitoring also highlighted the need to strengthen institutional coordination, as well as support from central authorities, particularly in areas where local governments lack sufficient authority or capacity, such as regional waste management, water supply, and similar sectors.
For municipalities to plan and implement citizens’ priorities in a timely manner—especially those involving capital investments—financial decentralization and predictable budgeting are necessary. Clear and measurable plans must be developed for sustainable management of public spaces, traffic, and municipal services, alongside continuous strengthening of municipal administration capacities, particularly in digitalization, public communication, and strategic planning. At the same time, citizen participation should be enhanced through institutionalized forums, public debates, consultations, and digital tools.
This monitoring was carried out as part of the project Active Citizens and Participatory Democracy at the Local Level, supported by the Olof Palme International Center from Sweden.
Read the findings of the Monitoring: Municipalities and the implementation of the citizen priorities (2022 – 2025).
