USAID helps local communities clean environment

LIBRAZHD, Dec. 12 – Dozens of citizens, civil society organizations, businesses and students, volunteered to join the City of Librazhd and USAID in a city-wide clean-up effort to jump-start the city’s new service improvement action plan.
With the support of USAID’s Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA), the Municipality of Librazhd has embarked on an effort to improve public services for the community, particularly in waste collection and disposal.
With the cooperation of engaged local citizens and community stakeholders, the city developed a Service Improvement Action Plan (SIAP) for improving solid waste collection and disposal services that established, for the first time a set of performance indicators based on recent public opinion surveys. The new and improved services have been approved in the current municipal budget.
With USAID support, the city reached out to local high schools to increase awareness of the economic, social, and health costs of environmental degradation. In his remarks at the event, USAID officer, Stephen Herbaly, underlined the important role citizens should play to help keep their community safe, clean and beautiful.
USAID purchased several large and small trash bins for the city and several local businesses donated products to support the clean-up effort.
USAID’s Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA) works with ten municipalities throughout Albania to foster local economic growth, improve local governance, and strengthen civic and private sector engagement in local development. LGPA’s partner municipalities are: Fier, Fushe-Kruje, Gramsh, Himare, Kor襬 Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Pogradec and Shkoder.