USAID Conference Highlights Municipal Borrowing as a Means to Improve Economic Growth in Cities

TIRANA, April 8, 2008   Today, mayors and other officials from nearly all 65 of Albania’s municipalities and representatives of the business community attended a conference on municipal borrowing.  The conference was sponsored by USAID. Deputy Minister of Finance, Sherefedin Shehu and Deputy Minister of Interior, Ferdinand Poni as well as USAID Albania Mission Director, Edward T. Landau delivered opening remarks.

Prompted by the recent enactment of a municipal borrowing law, which enables local governments to borrow money from commercial lenders to finance infrastructure and other development projects in their jurisdictions, the conference provided a forum for city officials to learn about and discuss opportunities created by this important law. 

Over the last two years USAID has assisted the Institute of Contemporary Studies (ISB) and the Association of Albanian Municipalities, in the development of this law, helped local officials lobby for its enactment and prepared supporting regulations. 

According to Landau, USAID’s new local governance program will help cities “take full advantage of the authority enshrined in this new law to bring home concrete results to their communities. We will help cities in alliance with local business associations develop projects and finance those projects.”

Conference presentations by local and international experts focused on the details of the law and secondary legislation, as well as topics like credit worthiness, and methods of developing creditworthy projects.

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