The Democratic Party is not the only one that contested the territorial reform of 2014, even though at the time when the administrative map was changed, they did not participate in the process and boycotted it.

The World Bank has also identified a number of problems in the operation of this new division.

“Initially, the spirit of this initiative was positive, but its implementation was wrong, as it resulted in incomplete public services in areas with great needs, analyzed the World Bank in the new cooperation document with Albania 2023-2027”. says the WB report.

According to the bank’s analysis, water supply, sanitation, waste management, education, childcare and reaction to natural disasters deteriorated.

Local authorities with the new decentralization reform that brought the reduction in 61 municipalities, and merged 340 municipalities, according to this analysis, have been unable to increase their financial capacity and manage their services.

The provision of public services turns out to be incomplete mainly in rural areas, influencing the creation of inequalities.

In the new 2023-2027 cooperation agreement, the World Bank has planned support for water and waste management, the modernization of the water sector with a focus on sustainability and regular supply.