The NGO Infocenter, as a member of the Forum for Civil Dialogue (FCD), from November 15 to 25, 2022, conducted an online survey for the residents of the Municipality of Centar.
The purpose of the survey was to detect the biggest problems faced by the residents of this Skopje municipality, as well as to probe the opinion of the citizens about the key priorities in their local community, which the municipal government should work on in the coming period.
For the needs of the public opinion survey, a structured questionnaire was prepared, based on the detected problems and priorities from the online survey and consultations with the citizens of the municipality of Centar in 2021, before the holding of the local elections. A total of 823 respondents, residents of the municipality of Centar, filled in the anonymous online survey questionnaire.
Key survey findings
• In the period from November 15 to 25, 2022, a total of 823 respondents filled out the anonymous online survey questionnaire.
• Almost two-thirds or 61.8% of respondents are women.
• The most numerous (59.3%) are respondents aged 36 to 55 years.
• A high 81.2% believe that the biggest problem in urban planning is excessive construction at the expense of public space.
• For 73.4%, the biggest problem in the area of the environment is the lack of green areas and parks, followed by air pollution (72.7%).
• In the area of infrastructure, by far the biggest problem is the lack of parking spaces, especially for the residents of the municipality (71.7%).
• For 51.9%, the bad quality of thoroughfares, streets and sidewalks is also a big problem.
• For 72.4%, the biggest problem in the field of communal services is unhygienic public areas.
• For 52.7% of “centers” street dogs and the lack of care for them are an extremely big problem.
• From the perspective of the transparency of the municipal government, for 65.9% the biggest problem is the dominance of the private interest over the public interest in the issuance of construction permits.
• Key priorities for 2023 are: solving traffic problems (67.2%), new parks and green areas (54.3%), improving communal hygiene (43.7%).
• The most effective form of civic participation is public hearings (62.2%) and gatherings in urban communities (53.1%).
• The least efficient form of citizen participation is budget forums (16.2%).
• A high 64.5% would participate in a meeting about the key problems and priorities in the municipality, while only 10% gave a negative answer.
Here, you can find the full text of the report ENG_Opinion Poll CENTAR
The forum for civil dialogue consists of nine civil society organizations (NGO Info-centre, Community Centre of the Municipality of Struga, Glasen Tekstilets, Multiculture, Idea SEE, Youth Cultural Centre-Bitola, Center for Media Development, Spectrum and Civic Initiative of Women from Sveti Nikole) who, with their activities, strive to encourage the inclusion and participation of citizens in the creation and implementation of policies and services at the local level.
This survey of public opinion was carried out with the support of the Olof Palme International Centre from Sweden, within the project “Civil Alliance for Progressive Changes at the Local Level”.
