By Xhelal Neziri
While exiting Skopje in the direction of Tetovo, just before entering the highway near Saraj, I received a message from the Ministry of Interior Affairs(MIA). “A traffic violation has been recorded for the car with license plates… You can find the official report at this link.” I saw that the same message had also arrived in my email inbox. The report document was attached there as well, detailing how, where, and why the violation had been registered.
The message genuinely surprised me in a positive way, even though it was a warning I should have been concerned about. It surprised me because, finally, something seems to be working properly when it comes to the long-discussed digitalization of public services.
It is a term we hear very often, especially from EU representatives, who have placed digitalization and green energy at the center of their long-term strategy. Beyond the many definitions, digitalization means replacing human involvement with technology in the relationship between the citizen (as a taxpayer) and the state. In this relationship, the human factor has often proven to be an obstacle to the rule of law because of the selective approach it allows. For example, when it comes to traffic fines, it is rare to find a police officer who would fine a state or party official, while meeting the quota by penalizing citizens without political influence. Digitalization does not care who you are, what ethnicity, party, or gender you belong to. It simply acts based on legal regulations and the basic principle that everyone is equal before the law.
Therefore, the “Safe City” project is the greatest achievement of this government in its 16 months in office. It is a tool that can promote digitalization as a remedy against ethnic, political, gender, or other forms of discrimination that have been present here since North Macedonia’s independence.
Since the project is still in the testing phase, I believe there is enough time to adjust the software so that digitalization does not turn into a tool for disregarding the legal framework of the state, adopted by the people’s representatives:
First, the use of languages in accordance with the relevant Law: What I saw in the notice sent to my email, and in the message, was the absence of the Albanian language, despite it being a legal and constitutional obligation. If the Constitution and the Law on the Use of Languages clearly regulate the matter of language use in the relationship between the state and the citizen, then digitalization must be adjusted to implement the rule of law, not behave like administrators who, based on their own will, decide whether or not to respect such legal obligations.
Second, the exceeded speed: Exceeding the limit by up to 10 kilometers per hour is a tolerance accepted everywhere in the world, because a driver must primarily pay attention to the road ahead, not constantly stare at the speedometer.
Third, the use of cameras for illegal parking: In many cities across the country, we have total traffic blockages at certain times of the day (in some cities, throughout the entire day) because of illegal parking in the right lanes, reducing a boulevard to a single functioning lane. The violations are so numerous that even thousands of traffic police officers would not be able to clear the roads, since for each illegally parked car they must personally deal with each owner. If police vehicles were equipped with smart cameras similar to those used to detect speeding violations, then with a simple drive through the city the entire traffic situation could be regulated.
Fourth, the absence of the state’s official name in accordance with the 2018 constitutional amendments, when the country was renamed North Macedonia. The rule of law is not a supermarket where you choose what you want and what you don’t; it is an obligation for the executive and the administration to implement as long as it is in force.
If “Safe City” proves to be a successful project, it could be followed by the digitalization of obtaining documents from local or central authorities, tax payments, business operations, and many other fields, all aimed at improving the quality of democracy. In short, digitalization should be seen as a tool for implementing laws and the constitution—thus ensuring the rule of law—without being excessively influenced by the human factor. Only in this way can corruption be fought, discrimination eliminated, efficiency increased, and the quality of democracy improved.