Which are the burning issues of the citizens in the four of the regions

From 30 August to 1 September, Civica Mobilitas team had many meetings with the representatives of civil society organizations from the four regions of Macedonia, grantees of the program. At these meetings, they listened to and discussed with the grantees about the problems considered by them as burning and urgent, and that should be a topic for the next two regional forums at the beginning of October, but they should be also addressed by other activities.

Civil society organizations from the Polog and Southwestern region with whom Civica Mobilitas team talked to think that the the waste management is the main problem faced by the population, more specifically the dump sites are priority for solution, and this should be the main topic of one of the forums. The need for greater engagement in the area of inter-ethnic relations improvement, was also discussed. Also, the civil society organizations from the Eastern and Southeastern region with whom the team met were unanimous about their biggest problem – opening of the mines Ilovica and Kazan Dol, as well as the exploration of the possibility for opening of other new mines. They think that the work of the new mines will cause irredeemable environmental damage, harmful for the health of population, not only in this region, but much wider. “If there are mines, there will be no people”, one of the participants in the meeting said. A great problem, according to civil society organizations from all regions, is the emigration. There are towns and villages in the Eastern region where you can hardly meet people in the streets, they said, adding that it was not always the money to be the the main reason for migration, but the lack of quality life. The insufficient cooperation between the local authorities and civil society organizations, but also between the municipalities themselves, especially in regard to regional problems, was also discussed. Usually, there is also a lack of information and involvement of the citizens in the work of municipalities and in the adoption of municipal policies, programs, and budgets. At the forums, which will be open to the citizens and all interested persons, including the candidates for mayors and counselors, specific solutions to the identified problems and priorities at regional level will be discussed. It is expected that all participants commit to transparency, participation, and cooperation for a solution of specific problems, especially those that bother the citizens in more municipalities and regions. The regional forums are planned to be held at the beginning of October and organized by the project office and grantees of Civica Mobilitas, and it is expected, as it was the case so far, to have numerous participation of citizens and civil society organizations, as well as all interested persons and stakeholders.