Field research on the provision of water supply, waste disposal and parking service in Municipality of Berane and Capital Podgorica was conducted in order to contribute to a regional study on the protection of consumers’ rights in relation to utility service providers.
In the period from 5 to 9 October, Institute alternative has organised meetings with representatives of the Capital Podgorica and the Municipality of Berane, in charge for providing the quality of municipal services in the area of water supply, waste disposal and parking.
Meetings were organised within the project “Strengthening consumer organisations for better Municipal services in South East Europe”, which Institute Alternative is conducting with partners from Serbia and Macedonia within TEN (Think for Europe) network and in cooperation with consumer organizations from the region.
Besides the IA representatives, meetings with local government representatives and head people from utility companies were also attended by Zvezdan Čađenović, a national expert on this project, as well as the representative of the Center for Consumer Protection – CEZAP.
Representatives of local government and utility companies have pointed to the existing legislative framework in the field of utilities, as well as the challenges in the implementation of this framework in terms of protection of consumer rights.
Two focus groups with consumers, organised in the Capital Podgorica and Municipality of Berane in the same period, with the support of CEZAP, were also very significant.
The project “Strengthening consumer organisations for better Municipal services in South East Europe”, besides this research component, foresees the establishment of CONWeb network that would bring together national consumer organizations of the Western Balkans, in order to strengthen their capacities and mutual cooperation in the field of consumer protection.
The project is financially supported by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation-GIZ.
