The Management of Immovable Property, Resources by the Local Government in Republic Albania

The focus of this presentation will be the important role that local government has in the management of immovable property. The approval of the legal framework by the central government in the last five years in Albania has been carried out taking into consideration the following objectives: 1. The transference and enhancement of the powers pertaining to central government units with the aim of managing immovable property resources by means of leasing, in which third parties are involved. These items of immovable property include forests, meadows, barren land, abandoned plots of land, etc, which have been transferred to the local government units either in use, or as property of these local government units. 2. The transference of those poëers concerning the management of all legal procedures related to the settlement of the legal titles. This has been one of the pressing issues after the year 1991 in the course of the implementation of the land reform. The uncertainty over the legal titles prevents a great amount of the available land from being part of the land market. The pressure – coming from the citizens as ëell as from various international organizations – to reach a solution is very high. 3. Local government powers, aiming at implementing and carrying out the subsidy plan which aims to support the farmers in planting fruit trees and nut trees, in accordance with the international policies concerning the fuller management and exploitation of the arable land. The issue i focus on in this presentation is: Are there any obstacles to the implementation of these services? Is the legal framework appropriate for their implementation? In this article i have pinpointed current problems, which require that the legislation be reviewed and modified, so as to make possible the use of those powers pertaining to the local government and the fulfillment of the tasks that the local government units need to carry out, in the framework of the decentralization process. Finding the solution to these problems would lead to a sustainable development, which is indispensable considering the globalization issues and EU integration. The decentralization process, aiming at improving the services which have a bearing on the life of the community, demands a higher level of attention.