On the 22nd of February, a workshop on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was held for the first time at the Municipality of Prishtina. Considering the fact that the Law on Gender Equality 05/L-020 and the Budget Circulars put out by the Ministry of Finance yearly form the legal framework which legally oblige every budget organization in Kosovo to institutionalize GRB, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and the Municipality of Prishtina have started their collaboration towards its institutionalization in this municipality. The Municipality of Prishtina is the fourth municipality which KWN is providing technical assistance towards the institutionalization of GRB at the local level. By the way of implementing GRB, budget planning, implementation and monitoring becomes more transparent, efficient and equal for women and men, boys and girls.
     Fitore Pacolli, Chief of the Cabinet of the Mayor, expressed during her opening remarks that “it is a legal obligation to start this process. I, together with the Head of the Finance Directory, Mr. Ismail Kokaj, will push this process forward.”
     Premtime Preniqi, Coordinator of the Sector on Human Rights and Gender Equality at the Municipality of Prishtina stated that; “Within the Municipality of Prishtina we have three women heads of directories and one woman Chief of Cabinet. We are interested in increasing the number of women in decision making positions’.
     “The Municipality of Prishtina organizes public consultations related to planned capital investments but the participation rate among men is very low, and none among women,”- added the Chief of the Cabinet of the Mayor, during this discussion.
     The issue of subsidies and transfers which the Municipality of Prishtina budgets for was discussed as well. Mr. Arbër Ahmetaj, the official that deals with wages within the Personnel Directory, said: “The municipality has given subsidies up to an amount of 4,000 Euro to 22 women in the agriculture sector”. Moreover, he expressed that this project was rather successful and that it resulted in an increase of participation among women within this sector.
     These discussions, among other developments during the workshop, showed the willingness of the officials from the Municipality of Prishtina to work towards decreasing inequalities among women and men.
KWN will offer assistance to the different directories of the municipality during the process of budget planning, implementation and monitoring in order for this process to be more transparent and responsive from a gender perspective.
KWN’s assistance for the Municipality of Prishtina is financed by Austrian Development Agency (ADA).