USAID Deputy Mission Director Lisa Magno spent the morning in Viti/Vitina on May 23^rd, meeting with beneficiaries and visiting USAID projects.  She joined Mayor Sokol Haliti to help inaugurate a new e-kiosk in the municipality that will make it easier for Viti’s citizens to access to their property rights.  USAID’s property rights reform assistance helps Kosovo’s citizens acquire, use, register, and sell their property with greater ease and effectiveness, including working with municipalities to provide clear and useful information on property rights.  As a part of this effort, USAID has worked with the Viti/Vitina Municipal Administration and Municipal Cadastral Office on the creation of a second-generation e-kiosk that provides property certificates and statements on property tax, in addition to civil status documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates.  Previous USAID projects have established e-kiosks in a number of Kosovo municipalities that enable citizens to obtain civil status documents, and USAID will now upgrade the other e-kiosks in Kosovo to provide these additional property rights services.

Later in a day, Ms. Magno attended a municipal lessons learned session discussing the results of the recently released 2018 Municipal Competitiveness Index (MCI) Report.  The MCI provides an in-depth portrait of Kosovo’s local-level business climate, and measures the quality of local governance as an important factor in enabling Kosovo’s economic potential. 

The 2018 MCI Report was released on May 11^th and ranked Viti/Vitina as the 3rd best performing municipality overall.  The success of the municipality is notable considering that its relative small size, and is proof that municipalities can offer a favorable environment for the private sector regardless of their size.  In her remarks to kick-off the discussion, Ms. Magno praised the municipality’s strong showing.  She also urged the participants to use the report’s data to create positive change in areas needing improvement and to talk to each other about reforms, innovation, and entrepreneurship – and how to foster an environment that gives every business in Vita/Vitina the best chance for success.